After being hit back twice in their opening match of the She Believes Cup, the U.S. Women’s National Team completed their own comeback on Saturday.
In front of over 22,000 fans at Nissan Stadium, Jill Ellis’ side used a second-half equalizer from Tobin Heath to tie England 2-2.
Megan Rapinoe broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute, rifling home a half-volleye missile into the roof of the goal. A poor clearance by the Three Lionesses backline allowed Rapinoe to chest the ball down, let it bounce once, and smash it in for her second goal of the tournament.
Perfection doesn't exi—
💥 @mPinoe 💥 pic.twitter.com/0Zgdrmq1Zi— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) March 2, 2019
The lead wouldn’t last long for the USWNT as Steph Houghton beat Adrianna Franch with a curling effort four minutes later.
England would cap off some great passing in the 52nd minute with Nikita Parris giving Phil Neville’s side a 2-1 second-half lead.
The USWNT would dig in however and tie the match after England could not clear a loose ball once again. After a scramble in the box, Alex Morgan’s shot was saved by Karen Bardsley but Tobin Heath was there to put away the rebound in the 67th minute.
France would make one save in the match while Bardsley made three.
THE EQUALIZER.@TobinHeath. Too clutch. pic.twitter.com/3poSZodqlq
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) March 2, 2019
With the draw. England, Japan, and the USWNT all have a chance to lift the trophy on Matchday #3 in Tampa on Tuesday.
Japan will take on England in the early match before already-eliminated Brazil takes on the USWNT.
Ditto on everything Gary said. The U. S. keeps making too many bad passes on attack and too many mistakes on defense. On England’s 2nd goal, the right wing got behind Crystal Dunn. But when that happens, the inside left back is suppose to come over and help. So where was Tierna Davidson?? Just as with the first Japan goal, in a similar situation, she was standing in the middle of the penalty area spectating, with no one to cover. Thus another unobstructed shot for the opponents. Davidson has the skills. She is simply mentally asleep most of the time. To keep her on the back line is a recipe for disaster in the W/C.
Also Samantha Mewis was VERY disappointing. The first 4 times she passed the ball, she put it right on the foot of an opponent. When she came out of UCLA, I thought with her size and skills, she would be the next Michelle Akers. However, she hasn’t improved much and came into this match out of shape. I wonder how much training actually took place in the
“Training Camp” leading up to the “She Believes Cup”.
The first England goal was a gift thanks to a brain cramp by GK Franch. She picked up a back pass when she had plenty of time to kick it away. Then the US played the indirect free kick very poorly, plus Franch didn’t position herself well or have a player on the far post. The US also was more sloppy than usual. Another thing that bothered me about the US play was some of their decision making. Here’s one example that sticks out, The US was bringing the ball into the England third of the field, down the middle. There was a streaking teammate coming down the right flank, with no one within 20 yards of her. Instead of making the obvious pass, the US player tried to make a pass to the lone US striker surrounded by 4 defenders. Too many times the U would choose the wrong pass to make, blunting good attacking opportunities.