On the heels of its dynamic win of the FIFA Women’s World Cup last Summer, the US women’s soccer team is in line to next go after a gold medal.
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Morgan scored her first in the 30th minute off a header from another newcomer, 21-year-old Lindsey Horan.
There’s no question this was the toughest match of the tournament for both teams, but the rivalry feeling was diminished a bit when Canada opted not to start several of its top players, including star Christine Sinclair and goalkeeper Erin McLeod. Look back through recent history of games with Olympic or World Cup qualification and a pattern develops, starting lineups with one or two, maybe even a few, players around 23 or 24 years old but no younger.
Bronze medal winners at London 2012, Canada will be looking for a medal once again this year in what should be Christine Sinclair’s final Olympics. “The girls on the pitch have one thing on their mind is just to beat the U.S. If you call bloodbath intensity, it’s going to be an intense game”.
Pugh is the youngest player named to a USA qualifying roster. Dunn joined the party in the 66th minute when she replaced Lloyd but did not figure in the scoring.
In a little less than 48 hours, either Team Canada or the U.S. will be lifting and kissing the championship as the 2016 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying champion.
Likely to take the field for the United States are Alex Morgan, Hope Stevens Solo, Kelly O’Hara, Julie Johnson, Becky Sauerburnn, Meghan Klingenberg, Tobin Heath, Lindsay Horan, Carli Lloyd, Morgan Brian and Mallory Pugh. Morgan scored in the 30th, 71st, and 73rd minutes to capture her third career hat trick. It rubs off on the veteran players and alters the attitude heading into a game that really is all for pride with passage to the Olympics already secured for both sides.
“I was so mentally focused and prepared”, said Solo, who extended her USA shutouts record to 94. But Pugh, still months away from college, seems an old hand in many ways when it comes to poise. With her back to goal just inside the penalty box, she pulled down a Costa Rican clearance with her right foot and popped into the air before swivelling and firing a left-footed looping shot into the goal.
The USWNT has been rolling through the tournament including a 10-0 dismantling of Puerto Rico followed by a 5-0 shutout of Trinidad & Tobago in Friday’s semifinal match. “For me, certainly winning is always in the forefront of your mind, but we’re bringing in Germany, France and England in because we want to play those types of quality teams, so I look at this next game as a great opportunity to play a fantastic team”. Dunn, Mewis and Press also scored their first Olympic qualifying goals. Morgan’s 60th global goal tied her with Long Island native Shannon McMillan for eighth place among all-time U.S. goal-scorers.
There is little else on the table at BBVA Compass Stadium.
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WATCH: @TobinHeath puts @ussoccer_wnt up 1-0 over Trinidad and Tobago in Olympic Qualifying semifinal. Next up for Morgan is Cindy Parlow’s 75 career goals. They have never lost a CONCACAF Olympic qualifier, going 17-0-1 while outscoring opponents 96-4. Long-time African power Nigeria, which gave the U.S. a hard match in the Women’s World Cup, fell in the third round of African qualifying to Equatorial Guinea, which in turn fell to South Africa, which earned its second straight Olympic berth.
