U.S. Women’s National Team topples Costa Rica 8-0 to open Fan Tribute Tour in Rochester
The U.S. Women’s National Team, playing in its first match since winning gold at the 2012 London Olympics, defeated Costa Rica 8-0 on Saturday in front of a sell-out crowd of 13,208 at Sahlen’s Stadium.
The USA touted the same starting 11 that started the gold medal match against Japan at Wembley Stadium. That included forward and Rochester native Abby Wambach, who scored two goals. Megan Rapinoe added two goals in the first half and Alex Morgan also contributed a goal in the opening 45 minutes. Sydney Leroux, Carli Lloyd and Heather O’Reilly contributed goals in the second half.
The team resumes the Fan Tribute Tour when it faces Australia at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 16, at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The match will be broadcast on NBC.
The day started with the announcement that U.S. WNT head coach Pia Sundhage will be returning home to pursue opportunities in Sweden. Sundhage will coach her final two matches for the U.S. against Australia on Sept. 16 at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., and then three days later on Sept. 19 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo.
The USA scored five goals in the first half, and it could have been more as Costa Rica goalkeeper Erica Miranda made a whopping 11 saves in the first 45 minutes.
Rapinoe scored on a free kick in the 13th minute as her shot grazed Costa Rica’s wall and went in just underneath the crossbar.
Wambach, who had multiple scoring chances throughout the first 20-plus minutes, finally found the back of the net in front of her hometown fans in the 24th minute when she placed her header into the goal off of Rachel Buehler’s cross from the left.
Wambach then scored her 145th career goal in the 31st minute off of a Rapinoe corner kick from the left side as she rose above the Costa Rica defense. Costa Rica defender Daniela Cruz got her left foot on Wambach’s shot, but the deflection hit the upper netting and had already crossed the goal line.
Morgan got into the scoring act in the 38th minute, eluding Cruz and placing her left-footed shot past Miranda.
Rapinoe pushed the lead to 5-0 with a strike from outside the box on the left side as Miranda partially deflected the shot and the ball trickled across the goal line.
Costa Rica’s best scoring chance came in the 67th minute as Cristin Granados took a shot at the near left side. USA backup goalkeeper Jill Loyden, who entered the match for Hope Solo 13 minutes earlier, made the save and kept the clean sheet intact.
USA forward Leroux replaced Wambach in the 72nd minute, and the Rochester fans gave Wambach a warm applause as she exited the field.
Leroux scored her ninth goal of the year in the 77th minute off of a Morgan assist for a 6-0 lead. Leroux matched a U.S. WNT record for goals scored off the bench, equaling Debbie Keller’s nine goals off the bench in 1998.
Lloyd tallied a free kick goal in the 83rd minute for the team’s seventh tally of the match – the third-highest total in a match this year. The USA opened 2012 with a 14-0 win against the Dominican Republic and a 13-0 victory against Guatemala in CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying in late January.
Capping off the scoring, O’Reilly scored off of a Leroux assist in the 88th minute as Leroux initially took a shot against Miranda and got the ball back after the save deflected right back to her to set up O’Reilly.
Additional Notes:
- In the 54th minute, goalkeeper Jill Loyden replaced starting goalkeeper Hope Solo, ending Solo’s consecutive minutes played streak at 1,163. That is a U.S. WNT goalkeeping record as Solo surpassed Briana Scurry’s previous mark of 990 minutes during the 2012 London Olympics.
- The U.S. improved to 94-2-5 when Abby Wambach scores a goal.
- The USA improved to 10-0-0 this year when Wambach and Alex Morgan both contribute at least one goal in the same match.
- U.S. defender and team captain Christie Rampone played in her 267th career international match on Saturday. She now sits five behind third-place Julie Foudy (272) on the all-time list.
- Pia Sundhage improved her USA coaching record to 89-6-10.
- Sundhage made three substitutions at halftime, changing up much of the defense and the midfield. Becky Sauerbrunn replaced Rachel Buehler and Heather Mitts came in for Amy LePeilbet for the defense. In the midfield, Heather O’Reilly was brought in for Shannon Boxx.
-U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report-
Match: U.S. WNT vs. Costa Rica
Date: Sept. 1, 2012
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Sahlen’s Stadium
Kickoff: 2:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: 13,208
Weather: 79 degrees, partly cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 5 3 8
CRC 0 0 0
USA – Megan Rapinoe 13th minute
USA – Abby Wambach (Rachel Buehler) 24
USA – Abby Wambach (Megan Rapinoe) 32
USA – Alex Morgan (Abby Wambach) 38
USA – Megan Rapinoe 45
USA – Sydney Leroux (Alex Morgan) 77
USA – Carli Lloyd 84
USA – Heather O’Reilly (Sydney Leroux) 89
Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo (21-Jill Loyden, 54); 6-Amy LePeilbet (2-Heather Mitts, 45), 3-Christie Rampone (capt.), 16-Rachel Buehler (4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 45), 5-Kelley O’Hara; 15-Megan Rapinoe (8-Amy Rodriguez, 55), 10-Carli Lloyd, 7-Shannon Boxx (9-Heather O’Reilly, 45), 17-Tobin Heath; 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Abby Wambach (11-Sydney Leroux, 72)
Substitutions Not Used: 12-Lauren Cheney
Head coach: Pia Sundhage
CRC: 1-Erica Miranda; 5-Diana Saenz (2-Noelle Sanz, 85), 8-Daniela Cruz, 14-Miriam Ugalde, 4-Gabriela Guillen (22-Yesmi Rodriguez, 89); 16-Cristin Granados, 10-Katherine Alvarado, 7-Mariela Campos; 9-Daphne Herrera (15-Mariana Benavides, 64), 11-Raquel Rodriguez, 6-Maria Barrantes (12-Mayra Almazan)
Substitutions Not Used: 17-Andreina Baltodano, 18-Noelia Bermudez, 19-Gabriela Alfaro
Head coach: Karla Aleman
Stats Summary: USA / CRC
Shots: 29 / 10
Shots on Goal: 20 / 5
Saves: 5 / 12
Corner Kicks: 5 / 1
Fouls: 6 / 12
Offside: 3 / 0
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Referee: Christina Ibanez (USA)
Assistant Referee 1: Melanie Johnson (USA)
Assistant Referee 2: Amanda Ross (USA)
Fourth Official: Kristen Schiereck (USA)
Budweiser Woman of the Match:
Abby Wambach
