The U.S. Women’s National Team did not skip a beat in its first match in more than eight months.
Goals from Rose Lavelle and Kristie Mewis were enough for the USWNT to repeat the scoreling from the 2019 World Cup Final and earn a 2-0 victory in against the Netherlands.
Rose Lavelle opened the scoring in the 41st minute after a pretty dominant first half from the USWNT. Christen Press led the breakout with a 20 yard run from her own half before finding Lavelle on the right flank. The attacking midfielder cut inside and launched a perfect shot into the top corner from outside the penalty area.
Kristie Mewis doubled the lead in the 70th minute, just nine minutes after she came on for her first USWNT appearance since 2014. She collected a through ball from Lynn Williams and made no mistake burying her shot inside the far post past Sari van Veenendaal and the first teammate to greet her overjoyed celebration was her sister Sam.
The USWNT did very well to control the flow of play throughout the match. They were efficient with possession and pressed aggressively when it was lost in their own end. Their dominant control of the ball and effective defense led to the Dutch not taking a single shot on target all game long.
The second half saw much of the same before the second goal. The USWNT was in full control until the elder Mewis found the back of the net, then they felt comfortable sitting back and seeing out the win.
Alex Morgan made her return to the national team when she came on as a halftime substitute for Christen Press. She though she scored in the 90th minute, but was just ahead of the Netherlands back line and was flagged for offside as she put the ball into the net.
Also, NWSL top draft pick Sophia Smith and Stanford University midfielder Jaelin Howell both came on late in the second half to make their first appearance for the USWNT.
The USWNT has nine wins from nine matches in this abbreviated 2020 campaign while only conceding one goal. Overall, they’ve won 11 games in a row and have not lost since January 2019, when France beat them 3-1, a total of 31 matches.