Teenage phenom Olivia Moultrie records brace in first career start with USWNT

CARSON, Calif – The U.S. Women’s National Team opened its 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup campaign with a convincing 5-0 win against the Dominican Republic.

A brace from 18-year-old midfielder Olivia Moultrie and two assists from forward Midge Purce led the way as forwards Lynn Williams and Alex Morgan also added goals of their own while defender Jenna Nighswonger scored her first career goal from the penalty spot. (FULL HIGHLIGHTS)

The USA will now take on Argentina on Feb. 23 (10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT) and Mexico on Feb. 26 (10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT) to close out the group stage with the goal of earning a spot in the quarterfinals. Both matches will be played at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.

The U.S got off to a red-hot start as Williams put away a corner kick from Nighswonger with a quality header just two minutes into the match. Unfortunately, the goal was disallowed due to an offside call on forward Sophia Smith, but the Americans’ dominance was established.

After stringing together a few runs of quality combination play, the U.S. found its opener in the eighth minute as Purce dribbled past her defender on the right flank and sent a cross into the box which Smith redirected into the path of Moultrie for a one-touch finish from point-blank range. The goal was Moultrie’s career first and came in just her third cap and first career start.

The 2023 NWSL Rookie of the year get’s her FIRST international goal ??? pic.twitter.com/ofG5hjXzHq

— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) February 21, 2024

The USA doubled the lead in the 30th minute as Purce once again received the ball on the right wing and beat her defender with an explosive dribble before sending a low pass into the six-yard box for Williams to finish on her first touch from five yards out. The Americans almost added another just before the halftime break, but midfielder Korbin Albert’s shot from inside the box was deflected by a defender and then crashed off the crossbar.

The USA faced a 90-minute bunker from the Dominican Republic, a side clearly intent of keeping the score down, and with nine defensive players crowded in the final third, the Americans had a hard time finding space in the attack. Still, a patient U.S. team did well to knock the ball around at pace with short and long passes, moving the DR defense back and forth while probing for attacking seems. The USA did find quite a bit of success on the wings, but a crowded penalty area definitely made finishing difficult and a bit more precision and ruthlessness inside the final third could have easily doubled the score.

The second half was much of the same story as the USA maintained pressure in the attack, dominating possession and connecting at pace. Purce and Moultrie – two of the night’s most dominant players – combined for Moultrie’s second of the night in the 58th minute. This time Purce found the teenager with an impeccable pass from the top of the box to split a line of defenders and her first-touch finish from inside the six-yard box notched her first career brace.

The USA then struck back-to-back on penalty kicks, first in the 86th minute after a VAR review awarded the Americans a penalty for a foul on forward Jaedyn Shaw inside the box which Nighswonger stepped up to convert. In the 90th minute, a VAR review awarded another penalty for a foul on substitute forward Trinity Rodman. This time it was Morgan who stepped up to the spot and finished calmly with a low shot less than 24 hours after being added to the roster due to the knee injury to Mia Fishel.

When all was said and done, the U.S. tallied 31 shots – the most in any match since April 2022 – and 10 on target while limiting the opposition to only one shot and none on target. With the win, the USWNT is unbeaten in its last 80 matches against Concacaf opposition on home soil, posting a record of 78 wins, two draws and zero losses during this run which dates back to December of 2000.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:

USA – Olivia Moultrie (Sophia Smith), 8th minute: Midge Purce dribbled past her defender and into the penalty box from the right wing and sent in a low cross deep into the box where Smith got a touch on the ball to place it right at Moultrie’s feet for a one-touch tap in from two yards out. USA 1, DOM 0

USA – Lynn Williams (Midge Purce), 30th minute: Purce received the ball on the right flank and again dribbled past her defender with explosive speed. She dribbled into the box and sent a pass into the six-yard box where Williams finished on her first touch from five yards out. USA 2, DOM 0

USA – Olivia Moultrie (Midge Purce), 58th minute: Purce received the ball near the top, right side of the penalty area and put her incredible vision on display as she sent a perfect low, diagonal pass across the box to split four defenders and find Moultrie, who finished on her first touch from about four yards out. USA 3, DOM 0

USA – Jenna Nighswonger (Penalty Kick), 86th minute: The USA was awarded a penalty kick following a VAR review for a foul on Jaedyn Shaw. Nighswonger stepped up to the penalty spot and converted smartly for her first career goal. USA 4, DOM 0

USA – Alex Morgan (Penalty Kick), 90+2 minute: The USA was awarded a penalty kick following a VAR review for a foul on Trinity Rodman. Morgan stepped up to the penalty spot and converted for her 122nd career goal. USA 5, DOM 0

Additional Notes:

• At 18 years and 156 days of age, Moultrie becomes the 33rd teenager to score in USWNT history and the youngest player to score for the USA since Mallory Swanson (formerly Pugh) scored against Colombia at the 2016 Summer Olympics at 18 years and 102 days of age.
• Moultrie is just the third player in USWNT history to score multiple goals in a game at the age of 18 or younger. The others to do so are Mia Hamm and current U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone.
• Smith’s assist marked her eighth career assist.
• Moultrie and Korbin Albert both made their first starts for the USA.
• Purce’s assists were the fifth and sixth of her international career and marked her first multi-assist game for the USWNT.
• Lynn Williams’ goal was the 18th of her international career and third since the conclusion of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
• Morgan’s goal was the 122nd of her international career but just her fifth goal for the USWNT from the penalty spot.
• Tonight’s five goals and four goal scorers marked the most in any game since the team’s 5-0 victory over New Zealand on Jan. 21, 2023.
• U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher earned her 98th cap and her 60th career shutout. With two more caps, she will become just the third goalkeeper in U.S. history to reach that mark, joining legends Briana Scurry and Hope Solo.

-U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT-
Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Dominican Republic
Date: February 20, 2024
Competition: Concacaf W Gold Cup – Group A
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park; Carson, Calif.
Attendance: 3,242
Kickoff: 7:15 p.m. PT (10:15 p.m. ET)
Weather:  57 degrees, light rain

Scoring Summary:  1          2          F
USA                           2          3         5
DOM                          0          0         0

USA – Olivia Moultrie (Sophia Smith)            7th minute
USA – Lynn Williams (Midge Purce)              30
USA – Olivia Moultrie (Midge Purce)              58
USA – Jenna Nighswonger (Penalty Kick)     86
USA – Alex Morgan (Penalty Kick)                 90+2

Lineups:

USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 14-Emily Sonnett (23-Emily Fox, 46), 5-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.), 2-Abby Dahlkemper, 3-Jenna Nighswonger; 17-Sam Coffey, 15-Korbin Albert (16-Rose Lavelle, 77), 13-Olivia Moultrie (8-Jaedyn Shaw, 66); 9-Midge Purce (22-Trinity Rodman, 66), 11-Sophia Smith (7-Alex Morgan, 67), 6-Lynn Williams

Substitutes not used: 18-Casey Murphy, 21-Jane Campbell, 4-Naomi Girma, 10-Lindsey Horan, 12-Tierna Davidson, 19-Crystal Dunn, 20-Casey Krueger
Head Coach: Twila Kilgore

DOM: 20-Paloma Peña; 16-Renata Mercedes, 19-Gabriella Cuevas, 22-Brianne Reed, 5-Nadia Colon (13-Keisla Gil, 68); 14-Lucia Marte (Capt.), 21-Jaylen Vallecillo (2-Alexa Pacheco, 46), 3-Stella Tapia, 7-Winibian Peralta (11-Alyssa Oviedo, 85); 10-Vanessa Kara (15-Kathrynn Gonzalez, 68), 9-Mia Asenjo (17-Jazmin Jackson, 46)

Substitutes not used: 1-Odaliana Gomez, 12-Carolina Moreno, 4-Giovanna Dionicio, 6-Yomerci Brito, 8-Dahien Cabrera, 18-Claudia Alcantara, 23-Angelina Vargas

Head Coach: Henry Parra

Stats Summary: USA / DOM
Shots: 31 / 1
Shots on Goal: 10 / 0
Saves: 0 / 5
Corner Kicks: 14 / 0
Fouls: 9 / 6
Offside: 1 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
DOM – Brianne Reed (Caution)       85th minute

Officials: 
Referee: Astrid Gramajo (GUA)
Assistant Referee 1: Iris Vail (GUA)
Assistant Referee 2: Dina Socop (GUA)
4th Official: Mayary Cartagena (GUA)
VAR: Ricardo Montero (CRC)
AVAR 1: Daneon Parchment (JAM)

U.S. Soccer Insiders’ Woman of the Match: Olivia Moultrie