The U.S. women’s national team started slow in its first match of 2023, but eventually used a breakthrough goal to open the floodgates in Wellington.
Mallory Swanson scored her first international brace while Alex Morgan and Lynn Williams both celebrated goals of their own in a 4-0 friendly victory over New Zealand on Tuesday. It was the first win of 2023 for Vlatko Andonovski’s squad, in the first of two head-to-head friendlies between the two nations.
Swanson delivered the opening goal for the Americans in the 52nd minute, heading home Trinity Rodman’s cross for a 1-0 advantage. The USWNT only forced one first-half save out of Ferns goalkeeper Erin Nayler, but found its groove after halftime.
The USWNT doubled its lead in the 60th minute as Alex Morgan slid home a through ball assist from Rose Lavelle into the bottom-right corner. It was Morgan’s 120th international goal in her 201st cap for the USWNT.
Swanson extended the USWNT’s advantage to 3-0 in the 63rd minute after receiving a pass from substitute Ashley Sanchez and drilling a shot into the bottom-right corner.
Lynn Williams joined the action in the 67th minute and delivered the USWNT’s fourth and final goal of the match. Rodman’s second assist allowed Williams to power home a header into the top-left corner of Nayler’s goal.
Alyssa Naeher posted a one-save clean sheet for the Americans for their first shutout since October 2022.
The USWNT will close out its two-match January schedule on Friday in Auckland.
The back heel thru ball from Rose to Morgan was so beautiful! Rose is like Maya Angelou ‘poetry in motion’. Yes, it’s NZ, whom the US women average 5gs a game, and have yet to lose to the Kiwis. I don’t care, no one else in the world, has a player like this! I watched the match live vs watching the Clippers & 76ers game, and the futbol gods rewarded me. We won 4-0, but that sequence w/ Rose to Alex was the best!!