Lavelle proves she’s ready for soccer’s world stage

LYON, France — Four summer ago, as the U.S. women’s national team played Japan for the World Cup trophy in Vancouver, British Columbia, Rose Lavelle was 140 miles south eating pizza.

At the time, the rising junior from the University of Wisconsin was spending the offseason with the Seattle Sounders women’s team, a second-tier gig that welcomed amateur players. She was certain the U.S. team would rebound from a stunning shootout loss to Japan in the 2011 final.

“Once they got to the finals, they weren’t going to let it slip. I knew they were going to crush it,” Lavelle said Friday.

Carli Lloyd and the U.S. squad did just that, winning 5-2, for the first U.S. title in 16 years and third overall.

“Man, that was ages ago,” Lavelle said. “I was just a young child.”

Four years on, she is in position to help the United States win another championship. As long as her troublesome hamstring does not betray her, the Cincinnati native is projected to start again Sunday against the Netherlands at Stade de Lyon.

Lavelle, 24, has been a revelation this summer, starting all but one game and scoring twice in the opening rout of Thailand. She also drew

a controversial penalty kick that led to Megan Rapinoe’s tie-breaking goal against Spain in the round of 16.

In U.S. circles, Lavelle’s skill set and creativity are well known. But at the World Cup, performing in the shadows of Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath, Lavelle entered her first major tournament without a global reputation.

Opponents know her now. Just 5 feet 4 and physically unassuming, Lavelle has sparkled in midfield with quick footwork, unpredictable runs and baffling escapes in tight space.

In Tuesday’s semifinal against England, she provided the first highlight by pushing the ball between Millie Bright’s legs along the end line and regaining possession on the other side before testing goalkeeper Carly Telford with a rising shot.

Heath is the master of that move, known as a nutmeg. But on that night, Lavelle drew the gasps from the crowd.

“I don’t think you see that type of player in the U.S. often,” Morgan said. “She is a very special.”

Lavelle paid her dues with the youth national teams, but as she watched the 2015 World Cup from afar, she remembered thinking she was a long way from competing at the premier level.

“I definitely wasn’t ready to be in this environment,” she said Friday. “I wasn’t good enough.”

Coach Jill Ellis, however, thought otherwise. After the Americans won the title, Ellis began integrating new players into the program during the latter part of the fall victory tour. Lavelle was among them; she trained with the squad but did not make her team debut for another 15 months.

“It was a really nice learning experience,” she said of the 2015 call-up, which came after her junior season at Wisconsin. “I don’t think I was really ready, so I felt like it was nice to dip my foot in the water and see what it took to be at that level, to see what I would need to work on if I were to stay on that level.”

Persistent hamstring problems limited her availability, and with Ellis experimenting with players and formations, Lavelle’s immediate future in the system was unclear.

In the six-month buildup to the World Cup, mostly healthy and in good form, Lavelle started seven of 10 games.

“It took me two or three years,” she said, “before I felt like I was able to compete at this level.”