Korea spoils Ellis exit with draw against US
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Ji So-yun scored a first half goal as South Korea tied the United States 1-1 on Sunday, spoiling the final game of coach Jill Ellis and snapping the Americans 17-game winning streak.
South Korea, ranked 20th in the world, opened the scoring on Ji’s goal then held on for the draw despite some furious pressure by the mighty Americans in the final minutes of stoppage time in front of a crowd of 33,020 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
The number one ranked U.S. rang one shot off the crossbar in stoppage time and had another goal called back in extra time because Carli Lloyd was ruled offside.
Lloyd scored the lone U.S. goal in the 37th minute with a superb header that sailed over the top of three South Korean defenders and past the arms of goalkeeper Kang Ga-ae.
Lloyd’s marker came just three minutes after Ji’s goal for South Korea, who were forced to play the final 10 minutes of the contest shorthanded because forward Son Hwa-yeon was sent off for a red card.
Head coach Ellis announced on July 30 that she was stepping down from her post after five-plus years at the helm of the world’s top team.
The Americans were riding a 17-match win streak and Ellis was hoping to sail off into the sunset with another dominant victory against an Asian minnow.
The U.S. did extend its unbeaten streak to 21 games after dropping the first game of 2019 to France 3-1 in Le Havre.
In July, the Americans captured their fourth World Cup title with a 2-0 win over the Netherlands.
The Americans pressed hard in the second half on Sunday to try and get the winning goal but they headed one shot off the post in the 82nd minute and another header by Mallory Pugh clanked off the crossbar in stoppage time.
Earlier in extra time, Pugh whiffed on a half volley from in close that saw the ball dribble into the arms of a diving Kang.
The draw comes just three days after the U.S. beat South Korea 2-0 in Charlotte, NC. That was Ellis’s 106th victory as coach and saw her surpass Tony DiCicco for most at the helm of the U.S. women’s team.