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USWNT Routs Russia in 8-0 Victory

After letting Atlanta thaw from another major winter storm, the United States women’s team defeated Russia 8-0, Thursday night in front of 15,133 fans at the Georgia Dome. Scorers for the U.S. included Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Holiday, Heather O’Reilly, and Christen Press, with a goal each and were assisted with a pair of Russian own goals.

“The first half was more difficult in this game,” U.S. women’s national team head coach Tom Sermanni said if the match. “Two days stuck up in the hotel and we looked a little bit rusty. Russia had done their homework from the last game. The difference in the game was the two early goals in the second half and that opened up the game.”

Even though it was a delayed a day after Atlanta received major snow, fans still came out in full force and the game received the largest crowd for a friendly match in the state of Georgia. The United States dominated the score sheet, collecting 24 (17 on goal) shots, eight corners, and did not allow the Russians to get one of their four shots on net.

“Any team you want players to score goals, and if you look at last year, we had multiple players scoring multiple goals. It’s great when you have a team that scores goals, that’s how you win games,” the manager added.

The U.S. defeated the Russians the Saturday previous, as they demolished them 7-0 in Florida. Thursday night’s win moved the unbeaten streak to 42 games, and now are just nine away from tying their record set from December 2004 through September 2007.

“It’s not just the midfield, but we also have defenders that are able to get forward and get goals,” Sermanni said of the Americans being able to get a variety of their players on the scoring sheet.

The Americans would strike first, albeit from a Russian defender, but led 1-0 in the 12th minute. Whitney Engen took a shot from the left side that rattled off the near post. The fortuitous bounce knocked of the unsuspected defender’s shin and crossed the line for the own goal; that being the only goal of the half.
Whatever Sermanni said at the halftime break worked, as the U.S. pushed across three goals in a matter of ten minutes after the half.

“We talked about a couple of things at halftime,” Sermanni said. “We looked to stretch the Russians a little but more and we wanted to get behind them more. We started to do that and those two early goals, that’s what made the difference.”

Right after the halftime whistle, the Americans received another goal from Russia. Bad defending from an American cross saw the ball in the back of their own net again and USA led 2-0 at the 50th minute.

USA finally scored their first goal of the match as Amy Rodriguez put in a gorgeous scissor kick in the box as Heather O’Reilly provided the cross and led 3-0 just two minutes after the second own goal.

“I was really excited for tonight’s game,” Rodriguez exclaimed. “It was my first start back as a mom, my first game in about a year. We were looking for another win against Russia, I was really happy with the result.”

Goal number four was Abby Wambach’s 165th career and her assist came from Rapinoe in the 54th minute.

The lead swelled to five as the Americans played a well-organized play as Rodriguez played a short ball back to Morgan Brian. Brian took a long left-footed shot from outside of the box, with Rapinoe deflecting it with her head into the back of the Russian’s net. The Americans led 5-0 in the 65th minute and were cruising.

“We’re a 90 minute team, and we’ve shown that time and time again,” Sydney Leroux said of the match. “They got us for the first 45, but we wanted to compete in stride.”

Lauren Holiday added a penalty in the 80th minute as she took her own pk after she was brought down in the box. USA led 6-0. O’Reilly scored her first in the 83, as she had a quick tap in that came off the head of Christen Press, which came from a U.S. cross, as the Americans matched their seven goal tally from the weekend.

Not to be out done, Press added her first; as she dribbled through the box and put the right footed shot perfectly into the corner, giving the Americans an 8-0 lead with five minutes to go.

The United States will now head to Portugal for the Algarve Cup, where they will play Japan, Sweden, and Denmark in opening round play.

U.S. Women’s National Team Rolls to 7-0 Victory Against Russia in Boca Raton, FL

Led by two-goal efforts from midfielder Carli Lloyd and forward Christen Press, the U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Russia 7-0 at FAU Stadium in the first meeting of a two-game set.

Midfielder Heather O’Reilly and forward Sydney Leroux also supplied a goal each and world goal scoring record holder Abby Wambach tallied the 164th of her career in the second half.

The U.S. WNT extended its unbeaten streak at home to 79 games (69-0-10) and extended its unbeaten streak overall to 41 games (35-0-6), dating back to March of 2012.

The USA and Russia square off again on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be live on ussoccer.com. Fans can also follow the U.S. WNT on Twitter@ussoccer_wnt.

The Americans thoroughly controlled the run of play against Russia, dominating possession from the start, and opened the scoring deluge in the 29th minute.

Lloyd, who missed the USA’s 1-0 victory against Canada on Jan. 31 while serving a red card suspension, beautifully split a pair of Russia defenders on the dribble to give herself a free look at goal. She then blasted her shot past Russia goalkeeper Elvira Todua and into the upper right corner for a 1-0 lead. Lloyd was set up by O’Reilly, who terrorized the right flank before exiting the game for Florida native Erika Tymrak in the 68th minute. The assist was the 48th of O’Reilly’s career, passing Carin Gabarra for sole possession of seventh place all-time.

In the 32nd minute, O’Reilly found herself in the right place when a cross from the left deflected off of Russia left back Marina Pushkareva and ricocheted to the U.S. midfielder. O’Reilly blasted her shot into the upper right corner for a 2-0 advantage and her 38th-career goal.

With O’Reilly’s early dominance, Russia head coach Sergey Lavrentyev was forced to replace left back Pushkareva with Elena Medved after little more than 30 minutes.

The move did nothing to slow the U.S. attack, and in the 37th minute Lloyd scored one of her signature blasts from distance. After bringing down a Stephanie Cox pass from the left side with her chest, Lloyd dribbled laterally until she found some space for her world-class right foot. With a strike reminiscent of her game-winner against France at the 2012 Olympics, she drilled her shot into the upper left corner to make it 3-0 lead.

In the second half, the USA picked up right where it left off with Lloyd crossing from the left to find Press, who redirected the ball with her head past Todua in the 51st minute.

Leroux made it 5-0 just three minutes later as she thundered into the penalty area to latch on to a well-weighted slip pass from Lauren Holiday. While fighting off a defender, she lunged for the ball and cut her shot past Todua on the ground and inside left post. Holiday’s assist was the 27th of her career, passing Brandi Chastain for sole possession of 13th place on the all-time WNT assists list.

Press grabbed her second goal of the match and 10th of her young international career in the 58th minute after a corner kick bounced out to Ali Krieger at the top of the box. The right back’s shot smacked off the chest of the Russia goalkeeper and Press was first to the rebound to tap it home for a 6-0 lead.

U.S. WNT head coach Tom Sermanni replaced Leroux and Press with Amy Rodriguez and Wambach, respectively, in the 60th minute, and seven minutes later the fresh forward tandem connected for the final goal. Rodriguez supplied a nifty back heel pass to Wambach on the left side and she finished into the open net for the final margin.

Russia had to play the last 20 minutes or so with 10 players after defender Valentina Orlova took down Rodriguez on a breakaway and was shown a straight red card for being the last defender.

The seven-goal victory was the USA’s most lopsided win since a 7-0 rout of Mexico on Sept. 3, 2013, at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Want to see the USWNT take on Russia in Atlanta? Leave a comment or retweet/share on social media for your chance to win tickets to see this great match on February 12 at the Georgia Dome. Even if you aren’t a winner you can still follow Robert Ivory’s live coverage of the match here on ISN!

U.S. WNT Draws New Zealand 1-1 at Columbus Crew Stadium

Photo Credit: Kevin Cross/ISNSoccer.com

The U.S. Women’s National Team, led by a Sydney Leroux first-half goal, played New Zealand to a gritty 1-1 draw in front of 15,139 fans at Columbus Crew Stadium.

The match was the second in four days against the Football Ferns with the U.S. earning a 4-1 victory on Oct. 27 in San Francisco, but New Zealand was able to salvage a draw this time with a late tally from forward Hannah Wilkinson.

The U.S. players will now have a few days off before getting back together in Orlando, Fla., in preparation to face Brazil on Nov. 10 at the Florida Citrus Bowl. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET in a match that will be broadcast live on NBC. Fans can also follow on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.

The U.S. is currently 12-0-3 in 2013 and has a chance to complete the year with double-digit victories and zero losses for just the second time in WNT history. The only other year was in 2006 when the U.S. Women posted an 18-0-4 record.

The U.S. generated a multitude of scoring chances in the first half and Leroux was finally able to capitalize in the 42nd minute. With her back to the goal, Leroux received the ball from Kristie Mewis well outside the box and made a gliding spin to her left, eluding several New Zealand defenders. After several touches, Leroux fired a low strike into the left corner past New Zealand goalkeeper Erin Nayler.

It was Leroux’s eighth goal of the year, tying her for second on the team this year with Christen Press. Mewis notched her second assist in nine appearances in 2013.

It appeared the U.S. was headed toward back-to-back wins against New Zealand, but Wilkinson spoiled those plans in the 87th minute. Wilkinson had been denied a great chance in the 54th minute when Hope Solo made a clutch save, but she managed to squeeze her shot home this time. She received a pass from Rebekah Stott down the right side and then shot to the far left corner past Solo for the equalizer.

The U.S. had the majority of the game’s scoring chances, out-shooting New Zealand 14-6, but put just five shots on goal, The USA’s first big moment came following a handball by New Zealand’s Ria Percival inside the penalty area. Percival tried to intercept Heather O’Reilly’s cross directed toward Leroux, but the ball bounced up and struck her arm. Wambach took the penalty kick in the 10th minute, but Nayler was moving to her right during the run-up and batted the ball away to keep things scoreless.

Photo Credit: Kevin Cross/ISNSoccer.com

Wambach had a great look at the goal off of a Mewis cross from the left wing in the 26th minute, but her header hit the crossbar and New Zealand’s defense was able to clear the ball out of danger. Wambach had another header in the 34th minute off of Megan Rapinoe’s corner kick, but once again the world’s leading goal scorer just missed the frame.

New Zealand changed goalkeepers to open the second half, going with 40-year-old veteran and Belleville, Ill., native Jenny Bindon. Bindon also was able to hold Wambach at bay, saving a 53rd-minute header attempt off a O’Reilly’s cross from the right side.

Match and Training Photos

USWNT Rout Mexico at RFK

After a slow start on a warm night at RFK Stadium, the U.S. Women’s National Team exploded for five first half goals in a 30-minute span – which included four goals from forward Sydney Leroux – on the way to a convincing 7-0 victory against Mexico.

Photo Credit: Jeff Gossel/ISNSoccer.com

Leroux was making just her sixth start in her 39th game for the USA and upped her goal total to 21 in her career. Abby Wambach opened the scoring with her 161st career goal, extending her world record, while defender Rachel Buehler and 20-year-old midfielder Morgan Brian added second half scores.

Two players earned first caps on the night with midfielder Erika Tymrak earning her first start as well and defender Leigh Ann Robinson entering the game in the 56th minute for defender Crystal Dunn.

Mexico created a few dangerous chances early on from U.S. giveaways, but the Americans settled down after 10 minutes and overlapping left back Kristie Mewis assisted on the first goal. Her cross on the ground from outside the penalty area skipped through some traffic to Wambach, who struck a left-footed shot off the hands of Mexico goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago and into the right side of the net.

Wambach then turned provider, playing a part in the next three goals.

In the 21st minute she received a pass inside the penalty area and was able to spin toward goal as she shot from 16 yards out. Santiago managed to parry the driven ball to her right, but it fell directly to Leroux who headed the rebound into the empty net.

Leroux struck again just about a minute later as Wambach, with her back to the goal, flicked a perfect first-time pass with her heel to the streaking Lauren Holiday, putting her through on the breakaway straight up the middle. Once again Santiago was able to get a piece of the ball as Holiday tried to slip her shot into the lower left corner. She couldn’t hold it and the shot dribbled behind the Mexican goalkeeper. Leroux won the race to the ball ahead of two Mexico defenders and stuffed her shot home from two yards away.

Photo Credit: Jeff Gossel/ISNSoccer.com

Leroux got her third – and completed the perfect hat trick – in the 30th minute after Wambach won a header off a long ball and it skipped to Leroux running at the Mexico net. She drove about 40 yards all the way into the penalty area, out-sprinting and out-muscling three defenders before sliding to roll a left-footed shot past the stranded Santiago and into the lower right corner from 10 yards out.

Leroux’s fourth goal came in the 41st minute off a free kick from the left side as Holiday spun a perfect cross into the goal mouth and Leroux cut in front of a defender to head into the right corner from six yards out.

Rachel Buehler added the sixth goal in the 55th minute after entering the game just three minutes prior. The goal came off a corner kick that bounced around before Heather O’Reilly had a crack at the net. The shot was deflected by a defender and fell right to Buehler who rolled it into the net from seven yards out. It was Buehler’s fifth goal in her international career.

The seventh goal came from Brian, a member of the USA’s 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup champions, who came in for Tymrak in the 70th minute. Just two minutes later Wambach played a short pass back to Brian at the top of the box from inside the penalty area. The junior at the University of Virginia, took a touch to the left and struck a shot that deflected off a Mexican defender and over Santiago for her first national team goal in just her second cap.

The U.S. team will now go on a six-week break before getting back together in mid-October for several more soon-to-be-announced friendly matches.

Match Photos

Two More National Team Giveaways from Allstate

Photo Credit: Brent Durken/ISNSoccer.com

Allstate, a sponsor of both the USMNT and USWNT, has provided ISN with more great tickets as a reward to our readers.

We have two tickets to the USWNT match against the Korea Republic at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ on June 20.  We also have three tickets to the USMNT match against Honduras at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, UT on June 18.

How can you win these great seats from our friends at Allstate?

Simply answer the following question:

Why are you excited about the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) playoffs?

Send your response to [email protected] with your name and the match you would like to attend.  We will choose our favorite answers and get in touch with the winners.

Photo Courtesy of Allstate

The Allstate Fan Zone is an interactive area where fans can come together outside the stadium prior to the game. Fans can register to win ticket upgrades, signed merchandise, and take part in other fun activities.

Simply put, it is a great place to stop at before the big match! Thank you to Allstate for their continued support of U.S. Soccer and best of luck to all of our contestants.