USWNT bounces back
After opening loss, goal glut opens up chance to advance
Americans shake off opening loss, rout New Zealand at Olympics.
SAITAMA, Japan — Carli Lloyd felt like a switch had been turned off. Coach Vlatko Andonovski likened his team’s opening loss in the Tokyo Olympics to Sweden to “a wake-upcall.”
Whichever metaphor you prefer, it’s apparent the U.S. women’s soccer team is turned on and fully caffeinated now. And that has its gold-medal hopes back on track too, with a 6-1 win over New Zealand on Saturday night moving the Americans abig step closer to a spot in the tournament quarter finals.
“We came into Game 2 knowing that you don’t go from being a really great team two days ago to not being a great team anymore,” defender Crystal Dunn said. “We just came in a little bit more relaxed and trusting eachother knowing that we’re here and we can get the job done.”
The six goals was the most for the U.S. womenin an Olympic tournament, while the five-goal margin of victory was the greatest in an AmericanOlympic match.
Game 3 is Tuesday against Australia and that will go a long way toward determining the Americans’ placing in the Tokyo tournament. With eight of the 12 teams in the field advancing to the quarterfinals, Saturday’s result greatly improves the Americans’ chances of going through to the knockout round. But how it goes throughis still to be decided.
With a 4-2 win over Australia earlier Saturday, Sweden is on to the second round and virtually assured of finishing atop the group while the winner of the USA-Australia game will advance as the second-place team. The loser will likely move on as well but will face a much more difficult pathto a medal.
With the U.S. playing every three days in the Tokyo Games, Andonovski switched out half his lineup Saturday, benching five starters including forwards Alex Morgan andChristen Press and inserting Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe upfront.
Whatever the reason, the U.S. team came out with pace and conviction, if not precision, finding the back of the net six times in the first half, although only two of those counted — a right-footed shot from Rose Lavelle from inside the box in the ninth minute and a header from Lindsey Horan, who was playing in her 100th international game, justbefore the break.
In between, four goals were erasedby offside calls.
“It’s unfortunate,” Lloyd said. “We could have scored more.”
Lloydset up the third score, with New Zealand defender Abby Erceg misplaying her header over keeper Anna Leat.
Betsy Hassett pulled that back for New Zealand on a counterattack in the 72nd minute. But New Zealand wilted in the heat and humidityof the Japanese summer after that, conceding goals to Press and Morgan, in as substitutes, seven minutes apart before defender CJ Bott knocked in a Press pass in the closing seconds of stoppage time to account for the final score.