JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Nov. 10, 2019) – The U.S. Women’s National Team closed out an historic 2019 that saw the team win its fourth World Cup title with a 6-0 win vs. Costa Rica in front of 12,914 fans at TIAA Bank Field.
Lynn Williams had a pair of second half strikes while Carli Lloyd, Morgan Brian and Christen Press also scored. The final tally came via Costa Rica own goal.
The USA heads into 2020 on a winning note after compiling a 20-1-3 record this year, marking 12th time in 35 years of WNT play the team has won 20 or more games in a calendar year.
Like in many matches this year, the USA once again wasted no time taking control of the match. For the second straight game captain Carli Lloyd scored an early goal, this time in just the fourth minute. With 16 goals in 2019, Lloyd finishes the year as the WNT’s top scorer, marking the third time she has led the team in scoring during a calendar year. She tied as the leading scorer once.
Brian, who was playing in the city where she spent almost her entire youth soccer career, then doubled the USA’s advantage in the 10th minute and the USA cruised into the break sporting the 2-0 lead.
U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski, who handed debuts to defenders Midge Purce and Alana Cook when he included them in the USA’s starting XI, made a trio of subs at half time, bringing on goalkeeper Adriana Franch for Ashlyn Harris, Andi Sullivan for veteran defender Becky Sauerbrunn and Williams for Lloyd.
Within five minutes of the restart, Williams had made an impact by scoring the USA’s third and Press added a tally for a second consecutive game with a solo effort in 56th minute to put the U.S. up 4-0. Williams would add her second and the WNT’s fifth in the 68th and nearly had a hat trick but her attempt was cleared off the line by Costa Rica goalkeeper Noelia Bermúdez.
Costa Rica was not without its opportunities throughout the game, twice hitting the cross bar and at times possessing the ball well, but ultimately Harris and Franch record just one save a piece while in net for the U.S.
The USA did not let up as the curtain began to come down on the match and their triumphant year, continuing to attack until the final whistle. The pressure paid off in the 86th minute when a Purce cross was deflected for an own goal by Costa Rica defender Stephanie Blanco to provide the final 6-0 margin of victory.
Next on the Schedule: The WNT’s first games of the team’s 2020 schedule will be at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, which will begin on Jan. 28 with group play in Houston and Edinburgh, Texas before culminating with the semifinals and title game in Carson, California. The USA will hold its traditional training camp in January to begin the year and prepare for Olympic qualifying, which will send two teams to the 2020 Olympic Women’s Football tournament in Japan next summer.
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USA – Morgan Brian (Rose Lavelle), 10th minute: Julie Ertz won the ball in midfield and pushed it forward to Lavelle, who danced past a few defenders before slipping the ball into the path of the overlapping Brian. She took one touch into the left side of the box before picking out the lower right corner with a textbook left-footed finish. USA 2, CRC 0 [WATCH]
USA – Lynn Williams (Tobin Heath), 50th minute: The USA countered Costa Rica with Heath collecting the ball in midfield and sending a perfectly weighted ball behind the visitors’ defense for Williams to run down. With a burst of pace, she zipped by one defender to reach the ball before cutting into the middle of the box, drawing out the goalkeeper and then snapping a low drive into the lower left corner. USA 3, CRC 0 [WATCH]
USA – Christen Press, 56th minute: Margaret Purce beat two defenders in the right side of the box and got to the end line to hit a low cross into the heart of the box that was cleared directly to a lurking Press. Having missed an a closer-range opportunity seconds earlier, Press left no doubt by faking to her right before cutting to her left past a defender and drilling a left-footed shot into left corner of the goal. USA 4, CRC 0 [WATCH]
USA – Lynn Williams (Jessica McDonald), 68th minute: Emily Sonnett lofted a cross from the left touchline toward the back right post when McDonald outjumped her defender to nod the ball down to the feel of Williams in the middle of the box. The speedy forward crushed a first-time shot into the underside of the crossbar and it bounced down into the right side of the goal. USA 5, CRC 0 [WATCH]
USA – Own Goal (Stephanie Blanco), 86th minute: As she had throughout the night from her right back position, Margaret Purce made an overlapping run, received the ball and beat a defender in the Costa Rica box. After driving to the end line, her cross attempt was deflected by Costa Rice defender Stephanie Blanco and arched high through the goal box before falling perfectly into the left side netting. USA 6, CRC 0 FINAL
With the win, the USWNT is now 15-0-0 all-time vs. Costa Rica, which the USA will play in the final match of Olympic qualifying group play on Feb. 3, 2020 in Houston.
With her goal, Carli Lloyd now has 121 in her WNT career and finishes 2019 with 16 total, the most on the team. It is third most goals she has scored in a calendar year and the third time she has let the team outright scoring in a calendar year. She had 18 goals in 2015 and 17 in 2016 to lead the team.
Morgan Brian scored her second goal of 2019 and eighth of her career.
Lynn Williams scored her fifth and sixth career goals. They were her first tallies for the USA since she scored against Korea Republic on Oct. 22, 2017. Tonight marked her first multi-goal game for the USA.
Christen Press’ goal is her fifth of 2019 and 51st of her WNT career.
Today, two players will earn their first cap as starters: Margaret Purce and Alana Cook.
The last time this happened was Oct. 29, 2016 against Switzerland in Utah when five players earned their first caps: Casey Short, Andi Sullivan, Ashley Hatch and Abby Dahlkemper. Two of them started: Short and Sullivan.
The last time before that was 1/16/08 against Canada in China when Ali Krieger & Becky Sauerbrunn earned their first caps.
In making her debut in the starting XI for the USA, Purce became the first player to have played collegiately at Harvard to earn a WNT cap.
Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Costa Rica
Date: Nov. 10, 2019
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: TIAA Bank Field; Jacksonville, Fla.
Attendance: 12,914
Kickoff: 8:08 p.m. ET
Weather: 60 degrees; clear
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 2 4 6
CRC 0 0 0
USA – Carli Lloyd (Rose Lavelle) 4th minute
USA – Morgan Brian (Rose Lavelle) 10
USA – Lynn Williams (Tobin Heath) 50
USA – Christen Press 56
USA – Lynn Williams (Jessica McDonald) 68
USA – Stephanie Blanco (Own Goal) 86
USA: 18-Ashlyn Harris (21-Adrianna Franch, 46); 30-Margaret Purce, 28-Alana Cook, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (25-Andi Sullivan, 46), 14-Emily Sonnett; 8-Julie Ertz, 16-Rose Lavelle, 6-Morgan Brian (20-Allie Long, 63); 17-Tobin Heath (2-Mallory Pugh, 63), 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.) (27-Lynn Williams, 46), 23-Christen Press (22-Jessica McDonald, 63)
Substitutes not used: 26-Casey Short
Head coach: Vlatko Andonovski
CRC: 1-Noelia Bermudez; 2-Gabriela Guillen, 6-Carol Sanchez, 15-Stephanie Blanco, 12-Lixy Rodriguez; 7-Melissa Herrera, 16-Katherine Alvarado, 10-Shirley Cruz (capt.), 14- Priscilla Chinchilla; 9-Gloriana Villalobos (17-Maria Paula Salas, 66), 11-Raquel Rodriguez (4-Mariana Benavides, 86)
Substitutes not used: 3-Maria Paula Elizondo, 5-Maria Jose Morales, 13-Dinnia Diaz, 18-Priscilla Tapia, 19-Valery Sandoval, 20-Viviana Chinchilla
Not eligible: 8-Daniela Cruz
Head coach: Amelia Valverde
Stats Summary: USA / CRC
Shots: 17 / 6
Shots on Goal: 7 / 2
Saves: 2 / 0
Corner Kicks: 12 / 1
Fouls: 5 / 7
Offside: 6 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Referee: Karen Abt (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Brooke Mayo (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Deleana Quan (USA)
4th Official: Katja Koroleva (USA)
Budweiser Woman of the Match: Rose Lavelle