Swanson scores again as US beats Japan 1-0

Mallory Swanson is making the most of every opportunity for the United States, and her timing couldn’t be better ahead of the Women’s World Cup later this year.

Swanson scored in the 45th minute, and the United States shut out Japan 1-0 Sunday to remain undefeated in the Shebelieves Cup.

“Honestly, I think this offseason I kind of just reevaluated my game,” Swanson said. “And I think one thing was that I wasn’t finishing easy chances, all of last calendar year, so I just wanted to come into this year and just be able to finish easy chances and just put them away.”

She did just that when she got the ball on a pass from Alex Morgan and outraced the defender before beating goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita from the center of the box with a shot off her right foot to the far corner.

U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said Swanson’s speed certainly makes his life easier. He also made clear Swanson showed much more on her goal, controlling the ball with two touches in the air at full speed.

The forward in her team-best fourth start this year leads the U.S. in scoring after scoring both goals in Thursday night’s win over Canada in Orlando. .271 with nine homers and 28 RBIS in 43 games after he was cut by Oakland.

He was signed by the White Sox after Tim Anderson had surgery for a torn ligament in his left middle finger, but the All-star shortstop is healthy again and the team has an opening at second.

Andrus is a .270 hitter with 96 homers, 731 RBIS and 335 steals in 14 years in the majors. The twotime All-star broke into the big leagues with Texas in 2009 and played for the Rangers for 12 seasons before he was traded to Oakland in February 2021.

Andrus has never played second in a major league game. Romy Gonzalez and Leury Garcia also are possibilities for Chicago at second.

Toews said in a statement released by the team. “In the last few weeks, it has reached the point where I had no choice but to step back and concentrate on getting healthy. I am thankful for the patience and support of my teammates, the coaching staff, and the entire Blackhawks organization.”

Toews missed the 2020-21 season with what he described as chronic immune response syndrome.