Rapinoe, Morgan Lead USA Past Mexico; Carli Lloyd Scores 100th Career Goal

By
Spencer Rodak
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USA-Defeats-Mexico-Lloyd-100th-goal

For the second time in four days, the USWNT came away with a victory over CONCACAF rival Mexico, winning 6-2 in Houston.

The game started off well for the U.S., when Megan Rapinoe found a streaking Mallory Pugh, who rounded the keeper and scored on an open net, giving the U.S. an early 1-0 lead in the 3rd minute.

The U.S. continued to dominate possession, and it only seemed like a matter of time before another strike. Instead, Mexico evened the score, when a corner kick was sent into the box by Monica Ocampo and bounced into the goal without touching a single player.

The U.S. set piece problems only continued from there, when Mexico scored a second goal off a corner in the 24th minute. The ball came in high towards the far post and was directed into the goal by Kiana Palacios, giving Mexico a surprise 2-1 advantage.

The lead didn’t last long however, with the U.S. evening the score in the 25th minute off a corner of their own. Rapinoe launched the ball into the box, which found the head of Lindsay Horan for the equalizer.

Only 10 minutes later, the U.S. added a third goal, retaking the lead when Horan sent the ball across goal, where Alex Morgan nearly slipped the ball in.

After a momentary clearance, Carli Lloyd was there to tap the ball into the net, giving the U.S. a 3-2 lead on Lloyd’s 100th career international goal. Lloyd, joins elite company and became just the sixth U.S. women’s national team member to score 100 career goals.

Despite regaining the lead, the U.S. looked to remain aggressive and add another goal to the scoresheet. In the 43rd minute, Rapinoe found Morgan who finished with a sliding goal through traffic. The goal was Morgan’s 11th in 13 games and gave the U.S. a 4-2 lead just before the half.

After halftime, neither team could capitalize on early chances, but it was the U.S. that would take advantage first. In the 64th minute, Morgan’s shot was stopped by the Mexico keeper, but bounced directly into the path of Rapinoe, who fired the ball into an open net, making the score 5-2.

Only a few minutes later in the 68th minute, Alex Morgan redirected a corner kick into the goal, giving the U.S. a 6-2 lead. It was Morgan’s second of the game, her second consecutive brace against Mexico, and added to her scoring hot streak of 12 goals in 13 games.

After a few decent chances in the following minutes, including Morgan nearly scoring a third, and Lloyd nearly adding another to her already historic day, the U.S. was kept at bay in the closing minutes and easily cruised to a 6-2 victory.

Megan Rapinoe had herself quite a game, scoring a goal and adding four assists. Morgan added a brace, and Lloyd scored career goal No. 100, as the U.S. offense was too much for Mexico to overcome.

Notes

First caps

Haley Hanson, Tegan McGrady, and Hailie Mace all earned their first caps for the USWNT. Hanson came on in the first half to replace Horan, while McGrady and Mace were subbed on in the 59th minute.

Lloyd’s 100th goal

Carli Lloyd made history in the 34th minute, becoming just the sixth U.S. player and 16th player in women’s soccer history to reach 100 international goals. The 2-time Women’s World Player of the Year now only needs six more goals to pass Michelle Akers for 4th on the all-time USWNT scoring list.

Morgan’s hot streak continues

Morgan bagged her second brace in a row against Mexico, scoring her 11th and 12th goals of the past 13 games. Morgan now has 85 career international goals in 140 appearances and needs just 15 more to become the next woman to join the 100-goal club. Here’s to hoping the goal scoring spree continues during the June friendlies, the Tournament of Nations, and Women’s World Cup qualifying in October.

Up Next

The USWNT will return in June, with a pair of friendlies against China PR. The first will be one June 7 as they travel to Utah for a game at Rio Tinto Stadium. The game will kick off a 7 p.m. and be televised on FS1. They will follow that up with a match on June 12 in Cleveland, which will begin at 5 p.m. Mountain Time and be televised on ESPN2.

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Alex Morgan Scores Twice, Leads USWNT Past Mexico, 4-1

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