USWNT trounces Ireland 5-0 in first match of 2016

SAN DIEGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Women’s National Team opened up its 2016 campaign with a dominant 5-0 shutout against the Republic of Ireland at Qualcomm Stadium in front of 23,309 fans, a record crowd to watch a WNT game in San Diego.

It was all USA from the beginning as midfielder Carli Lloyd scored three goals in 28 minutes with her first coming in the sixth, and was assisted twice by Alex Morgan, who was celebrating her 100th game with the WNT. The scoring duo swapped roles just before the break as it was Lloyd who provided the assist for Morgan for a 4-0 halftime U.S. lead.

Forward Mallory Pugh, the captain of the U-20 Women’s National Team that will compete at the U-20 WWC later this year, came in for Morgan in the 58th minute of the game to make her USWNT debut. At 17 years, 8 months and 25 days, she is the youngest player to make her debut in the last 11 years of the program and became the 19th player to score in her first cap when she added the fifth and final goal of the game in the 83rd minute of the game.

The WNT is now 12-0-0 all-time vs. Ireland. Of the 12 meetings, seven have seen the USA score five goals.

Up next, the USWNT travels to the Lone Star State to begin the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship fromFeb. 9-21 for a berth to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Carli Lloyd (Alex Morgan), 6th minute: Alex Morgan ran deep into the attacking third down the left side and crossed the ball on the ground. An uncovered Carli Lloyd outran her defenders and came through to finish with her right foot into the back of the net.USA 1, IRL 0 ( SEE GOAL)

USA – Carli Lloyd, (Alex Morgan), 21st minute: Tobin Heath began the play with a deep run on the left flank and crossed the ball towards the back post. Alex Morgan headed it on goal but Ireland’s goalkeeper Emma Byrne punched it out. Carli Lloyd took advantage of the poor clearance from the Irish goalkeeper and headed it to the back of the net from close range for her second goal of the day. Carli was shaken up after knocking heads with an Ireland defender on the play but was okay and retuned to the game shortly after.USA 2, IRL 0. (SEE GOAL)

USA – Carli Lloyd, 28th minute: Carli Lloyd took advantage of a poor back pass to run past the Ireland defense and slot one past the goalkeeper for her third goal of the game. USA 3, IRL 0 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Alex Morgan (Carli Lloyd), 45th minute: Crystal Dunn played a great ball from the right side to the middle of the box. Carli Lloyd jumped up for the header but the ball bounced off the post. Alex Morgan was there for the loose ball and tapped it for the USA’s fourth goal of the game. USA 4, IRL 0

USA – Mallory Pugh (Christen Press), 83rd minute: Christen Press made the first run to get inside the box and looked to crossed the ball before running out of bounds. The cross reached Pugh who was quick to head it to the near post for her first international goal in her first cap. USA 5, IRL 0. FINAL. ( SEE GOAL)

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:
USA – Hope Solo, 80th – Late in the game, U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo was called into action on back-to-back plays, but both times she was ready to preserve the shutout for the USA.

Next on the Schedule: The U.S. WNT heads to Texas to begin the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship that will run from Feb. 10-21 in Houston and Dallas. The USA will open the Olympic Qualifying Championship in Group A against Costa Rica on Wednesday, Feb. 10, at 7:30 p.m. CT. The U.S. will be attempting to qualify for a sixth consecutive Olympic Games and win the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship for the fourth consecutive time.

Milestone Watch:

• Forward Alex Morgan became the 34th player in U.S. history to play 100 times for her country. Morgan debuted on Oct. 2, 2010, vs. China.
• Carli Lloyd has scored 82 international goals. She is in sixth place on the USWNT all-scoring list. Lloyd has scored 19 goals in the USA’s last 14 matches, starting with the Round of 16 game vs. Colombia at the WWC in 2015. Her three goals today marked this her sixth career hat trick.
• Mallory Pugh made her debut for the USWNT, coming in for Alex Morgan in the second half. Pugh, the captain of the U-20 WNT team that will compete at the U-20 WWC in Papua New Guinea at the end of the year, is 17 years, 8 months and 25 days old, becoming the youngest player to debut for the U.S. in the last 11 years. Heather O’Reilly debuted for the WNT just a few months past her 17th birthday in 2002 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal. Amy Rodriguez debuted at the 2005 Algarve Cup just a few months past her 18th birthday. Lauren Holiday first trained with the senior team a few months shy of her 18th birthday in 2005.
• With her goal in the 83rd minute, Pugh becomes the 19th U.S. player to score in her debut. The last player to do it was Stephanie McCaffrey on Oct. 25, 2015 against Brazil. Per Elias Sports Bureau, Pugh is the youngest WNT goal scorer in the last 16 years and sixth youngest in team history.
• Hope Solo recorded her 91st career shutout in today’s match. With 186 caps, she is the leader for caps by a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Briana Scurry earned 173 caps in her career (1994-2008).
• Solo has 143 goalkeeper wins and is the all-time leader in wins for a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Scurry posted 133 wins during her career (1994-2008).
• Midfielder Samantha Mewis made her first career start for the U.S. WNT and earned her fifth cap.
• Defender Whitney Engen made her first start for the USA since doing so against England on Feb. 13, 2015.
• Jaelene Hinkle, Stephanie McCaffrey and Emily Sonnett all earned their fifth caps. It was Sonnett’s second start. Lindsey Horan earned her seventh cap and fourth start.
• Today’s attendance was 23,309, which marks the largest crowd to watch a U.S. WNT match in San Diego. The previous record was 12,857 (a 3-0 win vs. China PR on April 10, 2014, also at Qualcomm Stadium).

Additional Notes:

• Carli Lloyd is the USA’s top scorer on the roster with 82 career international goals. Alex Morgan is next with 57 and Heather O’Reilly has scored 46.
• Heather O’Reilly earned her 228th cap when she came on at halftime. She’s currently the most capped player on the team.
• Midfielder Carli Lloyd and defender Becky Sauerbrunn have been named captains of the U.S. Women’s National Team by head coach Jill Ellis. The duo becomes the 13th and 14th players officially named captain of the U.S. WNT over the 31 years of the program, although many others have worn the captain’s band during a match.
• OnJanuary 11 at the FIFA Gala Awards in Zurich, Switzerland, Carli Lloyd, the co-captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, was named the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, and Jill Ellis, who led the USA to the 2015 Women’s World Cup title, was named as the 2015 World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer
• Long-time U.S. captain Christie Rampone underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left knee before Christmas and midfielder Megan Rapinoe is doing well in her rehab from ACL surgery. Forward Amy Rodriguez is pregnant with her second child and will be off the soccer field for a large part of the year.
• The match in San Diego was the USA’s sixth match in “America’s Finest City” and second at Qualcomm Stadium, current home to the NFL’s San Diego Chargers. The U.S. Women have never lost in San Diego but did tie their first match there, 0-0, against Japan on Jan. 12, 2003. This is the second time the USA has played Ireland in San Diego, winning 5-0 both times (July 23, 2006 and January 23, 2016).

-U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report-

Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Republic of Ireland
Date: Jan. 23, 2016
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego, Calif.
Kickoff: 2 p.m. PT
Attendance: 23,309
Weather: 65 degrees; mostly cloudy

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 4 1 5
IRL 0 0 0

USA – Carli Lloyd (Alex Morgan) 6th minute
USA – Carli Lloyd (Alex Morgan) 21
USA – Carli Lloyd 28
USA – Alex Morgan (Carli Lloyd) 45
USA – Mallory Pugh (Christen Press) 83
Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 11-Ali Krieger, 27-Emily Sonnett (5-Kelley O’Hara, 58), 6-Whitney Engen, 7-Meghan Klingenberg; 29-Samantha Mewis, 31-Lindsey Horan (26-Jaelene Hinkle, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd (12-Christen Press, 46); 25-Crystal Dunn (9-Heather O’Reilly, 46), 13-Alex Morgan (capt.) (22-Mallory Pugh, 58), 17-Tobin Heath (28-Stephanie McCaffrey, 46)
Subs Not Used: 18-Ashlyn Harris, 21-Alyssa Naeher
Head coach: Jill Ellis

IRL: 1-Emma Byrne (capt.), 2-Sophie Perry (11-Julie Ann Russell, 46), 3-Megan Campbell, 4-Louise Quinn, 6-Karen Duggan (17-Meabh De Burca, 72), 7-Diane Caldwell (14-Jessica Gleeson, 46), 8-Aine O’Gorman, 9-Ruesha Littlejohn (18-Megan Connolly, 65), 10-Denise O’Sullivan, 13-Stephanie Roche (21-Fiona O’Sullivan, 46), 15-Katie McCabe (12-Siobhan Killeen, 65)
Subs Not Used: 5-Ciara Rossiter, 16-Niamh Reid Burke, 19-Clare Shine, 20-Grace Wright, 22-Savannah McCarthy
Head coach: Sue Ronan

Stats Summary: USA / IRL
Shots: 23 / 2
Shots on Goal: 9 / 2
Saves: 2 / 4
Corner Kicks: 8 / 2
Fouls: 9 / 8
Offside: 0 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
None

Officials:
Referee: Karen Abt (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Amanda Ross (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Deleana Quan (USA)
4th Official: Ekaterina Koroleva (USA)

Woman of the Match: Carli Lloyd