CLEVELAND (Sept. 16, 2021) -- Legendary forward Carli Lloyd – playing in her fourth to last game for the U.S. Women’s National Team before she retires -- led an offensive explosion, tying a team record with five goals in a single match as the USA defeated Paraguay 9-0 in the USA’s first match after the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The offensive fireworks started early and didn’t cease for the entire evening in front of more than 14,000 fans at FirstEnergy Stadium as Lloyd moved up to third on the U.S. all-time goal scoring list. She now has 133 career international goals, passing Kristine Lilly (130 goals), and its only behind Mia Hamm (158) and Abby Wambach (184). Lloyd, who announced her retirement from international soccer following the USA’s October friendlies, became the 10th player in USWNT history to score five goals in a game.
Midfielder Andi Sullivan netted her first two international goals, forward Lynn Williams added a single score and two assists while forward Tobin Heath put an exclamation point on the affair with a late goal. Making her first USWNT start since October of 2019, forward Mallory Pugh added three assists on the evening.
In a dominant performance against an badly overmatched Paraguay, the USA held the South Americans to zero shots on goal while piling up a 32-1 margin in shots. The USWNT got off to a red-hot start and never looked back in its first-ever match vs. La Albirroja. In just the third minute, Pugh sent in a corner for Lloyd to finish while defender Crystal Dunn and midfielder Rose Lavelle teed up Lloyd for another three minutes later.
The U.S. dominated on set pieces throughout the evening and added another on a corner in the 25th as Williams set up Sullivan for her first international tally to spark another stretch of scoring. Williams netted one of her own on a strike from distance in the 30th. Lloyd then added her second two tallies of the evening in quick succession, finishing a service from Sullivan with a deft move in the 34th and a finishing a service from Williams in the 38th.
The attacking outburst continued in the second half as another strong Pugh service on a set piece led to Sullivan’s second international goal in 18 appearances for the USA. Lloyd made more history in the 60th minute as she headed in a corner from Dunn for her fifth goal. A lovely cross-field pass from Tierna Davidson set Heath up for the final goal of the night in the 86th minute.
The USWNT will face Paraguay again on Tuesday, Sept. 21 in its first match at Cincinnati’s new TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET; FS1, TUDN).
USA - Carli Lloyd (Mallory Pugh), 3rd minute: Making her return to the USWNT for the first time since March of 2020, Pugh served a ball on an early corner kick to the six-yard line. An onrushing Lloyd leapt above a number of Paraguay defenders to head the ball over the goalkeeper and into the net for the game’s opening goal. USA 1, PAR 0
USA - Carli Lloyd, 6th minute: Working the ball down the left side, Pugh found Crystal Dunn with a ball down the wing. Dunn crossed it into the box where it deflected off a Paraguay defender as Rose Lavelle reached for the ball and the ball rolled to an unmarked Lloyd eight yards out. She one-timed it home with her left foot. USA 2, PAR 0
USA - Andi Sullivan (Lynn Williams), 25th minute: On another corner kick, Kristie Mewis sent a ball to the far post where Williams rose above two Paraguay defenders to get her head on it. The ball bounced to Sullivan lurking near the right post and she easily tapped it home with her heel for her first career international goal. USA 3, PAR 0
USA - Lynn Williams (Mallory Pugh), 30th minute: After intercepting a Paraguay goal kick, the U.S. restarted its attack quickly, with Pugh playing to Williams in transition. She took a touch 25 yards out before launching a shot from distance over Paraguay goalkeeper Cristina Recalde that took a nasty deflection off a defender and looped into the net her 13th career goal. USA 4, PAR 0
USA - Carli Lloyd (Andi Sullivan), 34th minute: Off a throw-in deep in Paraguay territory, Rose Lavelle, Lynn Williams and Kelley O’Hara combined to find Sullivan open at the top right corner of the box. She one-timed a booming service for Lloyd into the six-yard box and Lloyd got around her defender just enough to tap it in with the bottom of her boot past Recalde to complete her hat trick. USA 5, PAR 0
USA - Carli Lloyd (Lynn Williams), 38th minute: Building from the back, Tierna Davidson broke lines with a pass forward to Kristie Mewis, who sent a ball flying across the box to Williams on the right side of the box. She settled the ball a bit before wend a cross to Lloyd, floating unmarked near the left post. The veteran forward one-timed it past the onrushing Recalde for her fourth of the game. USA 6, PAR 0
USA - Andi Sullivan (Mallory Pugh), 49th minute: Sullivan netted her second of the night on another set play opportunity. Pugh lined up for a free kick 36 yards out near the left sideline and sent driven service to the six-yard line where Sullivan met it for a glancing header that skipped all the way inside the right post. USA 7, PAR 0
USA - Carli Lloyd (Catarina Macario), 61st minute: This time, Macario lined up for the corner kick, putting another soaring ball in to the six-yard line. Lloyd rose to meet it above two Paraguay defenders, putting a well-struck header past Recalde and another Paraguay defender in the net for a record-tying fifth goal. USA 8, PAR 0
USA - Tobin Heath (Tierna Davidson), 86th minute: Playing well in possession, Tierna Davidson launched a beautiful cross-field ball from the left side to Tobin Heath on the run down the right flank. The forward took two touches before ripping a hard-hit shot from nine yards out to the inside the far left post for her 36th international goal. USA 9, PAR 0
Tonight’s match marked the first-ever meeting between the USA and Paraguay.
The USWNT’s home unbeaten streak now stands at 59 games, which includes 54 wins and five draws. During that stretch, the U.S. has outscored its opponents 213-27, including an 83-3 margin during its last 20 matches at home, all of which have been wins.
It’s the USA’s 21st-straight home victory, dating back to head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s first match in charge of the team in November of 2019.
With the result, Andonovski is now 25-2-3 in his first 30 games.
Tonight’s match marked Lloyd’s 24th multi-goal game, the fifth-most in U.S. history.
Lloyd now leads the team in scoring this year with 10 goals. She also leads the team with six assists.
Tonight’s win is the USA’s biggest margin of victory since beating Thailand 13-0 in the opening game of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It’s the ninth nine-goal margin of victory in USWNT history.
Eight other players have scored five goals in one game for the WNT - Brandi Chastain (1991), Michelle Akers (1991), Tiffany Milbrett (2002), Abby Wambach (2004), Amy Rodriguez (2012), Sydney Leroux (2012), Crystal Dunn (2016) and Alex Morgan (2019).
This was only the second time that a player had scored five goals in a friendly match. Wambach scored five vs. Ireland and the rest came in Concacaf qualifying tournaments, or in the case of Akers and Morgan, in a World Cup.
At 39 years old, Lloyd is the oldest player to score five goals in a single game after previously becoming oldest to score in any game.
Lloyd is the only player to appear in all 19 matches for the USA so far in 2021.
In her 17th year with the U.S. Women’s National Team, this is now the 6th time Lloyd has scored double-digit goals in a calendar year.
Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch made her second consecutive start and ninth appearance for the USA, recording a shutout vs. Paraguay. It was the third clean sheet of her career.
Mallory Pugh’s three assists tonight mark the most in any game in her international career and the most by any USWNT player since Alex Morgan had three assists in the USA’s 13-0 win over Thailand to open the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Pugh now has four assists in her last two appearances for the USA combined, also dishing up an assist in the 2020 SheBelieves Cup which had been her most recent outing for the USA until tonight.
Andonovski made all six allowed subs in the second half, giving a seventh career cap to forward Sophia Smith and a ninth to midfielder Catarina Macario.
Match: United States Women’s National Team vs. Paraguay
Date: September 16, 2021
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium; Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 14,117
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: 75 degrees, clear
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 6 3 9
PAR 0 0 0
USA – Carli Lloyd (Mallory Pugh) 3rd minute
USA – Carli Lloyd 6
USA – Andi Sullivan (Lynn Williams) 25
USA – Lynn Williams (Mallory Pugh) 30
USA – Carli Lloyd (Andi Sullivan) 34
USA – Carli Lloyd (Lynn Williams) 38
USA – Andi Sullivan (Mallory Pugh) 49
USA – Carli Lloyd (Catarina Macario) 61
USA – Tobin Heath (Tierna Davidson) 86
Lineups:
USA: 18-Adrianna Franch; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.) (2-Abby Dahlkemper, 72), 12-Tierna Davidson, 19-Crystal Dunn (14-Emily Sonnett, 63); 25-Andi Sullivan, 22-Kristie Mewis (13-Alex Morgan, 59), 16-Rose Lavelle (17-Catarina Macario, 59); 6-Lynn Williams (7-Tobin Heath, 74), 10-Carli Lloyd, 11-Mallory Pugh (27-Sophia Smith, 59)
Substitutes not used: 21-Jane Campbell, 20-Casey Krueger
Head coach: Vlatko Andonovski
PAR: 1-Cristina Recalde; 2-María Martínez (18-Ramona Martínez, 69), 3-Limpia Fretes, 4-Daysy Bareiro, 5-Tania Riso; 8-Lorena Alonso, 6-Fany Gauto; 7-Celsa Sandoval, 10-Fanny Godoy (Capt.), 14-Deisy Ojeda (16-Cynthia Ayala, 63); 11-Mirta Pico (9-Liz Peña, 45)
Substitutes not used: 12-Alicia Bobadilla, 13-Fiorella Martínez, 15-Sofía Almirón, 17-Yanina Servín
Head coach: Epifanía Benítez
Stats Summary: USA / PAR
Shots: 32 / 1
Shots on Goal: 18 / 0
Saves: 0 / 8
Corner Kicks: 15 / 0
Fouls: 7 / 6
Offside: 6 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Referee: Karen Abt (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Jennifer Garner (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Deleana Quan (USA)
4th Official: Danielle Chesky (USA)
U.S. Soccer Insiders Woman of the Match: Carli Lloyd