England stuns U.S. women 1-0
While Jill Ellis never wants to see the United States women’s soccer team lose a game, the coach believes good things can come out of a setback, especially in an event without a major prize.
Such was the case Saturday when substitute Ellen White scored on a rebound in close in the 89th minute and England stunned the Americans 1-0 in the second round of the SheBelieves Cup at Red Bulls Arena in Harrison, N.J., before a sellout crowd of 26,500.
“I think sometimes you fail, the lesson hits home harder in terms of you feel the sting of it,” Ellis said after the U.S. lost its second game at home since 2004. “When I see the players, I say this is why we play those teams so we can learn about ourselves, so we can test ourselves.”
It marked the first time that England has defeated the United States since a friendly in 2011, and the first time in the States.
In the first match of the day, France and Germany played to a scoreless draw. After two rounds, France leads the tournament with four points. The United States and England have three and Germany one. The roundrobin finishes Tuesday in Washington with the U.S. facing France and Germany playing England.
Kellyn Acosta scored in the 69th minute and FC Dallas won 2-1 at the Los Angeles Galaxy in an MLS opener. Dallas spoiled Curt Onalfo’s first game as Los Angeles’ coach.
In other MLS openers, Erick Torres and Romell Quioto scored first-half goals and the Houston Dynamo won 2-1 at the Seattle Sounders. Clint Dempsey, who hadn’t played a competitive match since August after being sidelined by a heart issue, scored Seattle’s goal in the second half . ... Dominique Badji scored, Zac McMath — subbing for the injured Tim Howard — made three saves and the host Colorado Rapids beat the New England Revolution 1-0. ... Nick Rimando made three saves, including two against Sebastian Giovinco, to help host Real Salt Lake play defending Eastern Conference champion Toronto FC to a scoreless draw . ... Bill Hamid made five saves, including one late against Dom Dwyer, to help host D.C. United tie Sporting Kansas City 0-0 in the last MLS opener at RFK Stadium . ... David Accam turned a defender around and scored in the 73rd minute to give the visiting Chicago Fire a 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew.