For the second time in five days, the U.S. women’s national team defeated Mexico by a 4-0 margin on Sunday.
The Americans were dominant in closing out the Olympic Send-Off Series at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut. Though the scoreline was the same as Thursday’s contest, the second half of the game saw the team slow things down and preserve its efforts.
Prior to moving to a five-woman backline to close things out, the USWNT earned its safety with a four-goal outburst in the first half.
Lindsey Horan, Carli Lloyd, and Tobin Heath scored for the Americans, in addition to an own goal from Mexican defender Reyna Reyes.
Horan’s strike came via a perfectly-placed assist from Lloyd, good for Horan’s 22nd international goal.
This @LindseyHoran strike: Pure freaking class 🔥 pic.twitter.com/G16U1sC9f0
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 5, 2021
Horan repaid the favor moments later, and set Lloyd up for her 126th career goal.
We think she’s pretty excited for her fourth Olympics 😏🇺🇸
Like a fine wine, @CarliLloyd! pic.twitter.com/lRTk8RKGjN
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 5, 2021
Heath’s goal was her second in as many appearances in 2021, and it appears that she is in full stride after a lengthy time away with injuries.
Raise your hand if you love having @TobinHeath back on the field 🙌 pic.twitter.com/mIT9bHY89F
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 5, 2021
It is worth noting the lead could have been more lopsided had VAR been available.
Christen Press was ruled offside before hitting the net in the 10th minute, and none of the replays showed support of the call being accurate. In the 20th, there was a clear foul on Heath in the box that the referee was not interested in investigating.
Press was also unlucky to not get any credit in Mexico’s own goal. She was there to clean up a ricochet from a Heath shot which smacked the post, but she was not the last one to touch it before it crossed the line.
Coach Vlatko Andonovski rotated throughout the game, and used all six field players on his bench. It was a good opportunity for Catarina Macario, who will likely be one of the beneficiaries of the reported change set to be implemented by the International Olympic Committee, which would expand Olympic rosters from 18 to 22.
Kristie Mewis replaced Rose Lavelle at halftime. Lavelle was on limited minutes after missing the last two games with an injury, and appeared to be up to speed in her 45-minute shift.
The USWNT travels to Tokyo looking for its next triumph in Olympic group stage competitions. The Americans take on Sweden on July 21, New Zealand on July 24, and Australia on July 27.
