USWNT players Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis win FA Cup title with Manchester City

U.S. Women’s National Team midfielders Rose Lavelle and Samantha Mewis have had added a prestigious trophy to their resumes, winning the Women’s FA Cup Final with Manchester City on Sunday.

Man City won the match over Everton 3-1 in extra time at the famed Wembley Stadium in London.

Mewis scored the game’s opening goal in the 39^th minute on a towering header, becoming the second USWNT player and third U.S. international overall to score in an FA Cup Final. She joins her USA teammate Carli Lloyd, who scored in Manchester City’s 4-1 FA Cup final win in 2017, and U.S. Men’s National Team standout Christian Pulisic, who tallied the opening goal for Chelsea in the 2020 Men’s FA Cup final.

The six-foot Mewis, who scored the game-winning goal in City’s FA Cup Semifinal win over Arsenal, gave her side a deserved lead in the 39^th minute with her header off a corner from England international Alex Greenwood. It was Mewis’ fourth goal in all competitions since joining Manchester City over the summer.

GOAL!@sammymewy gets the opener for @ManCityWomen! ⚽️#WomensFACupFinal pic.twitter.com/hbuM5G7PeP

— Vitality Women's FA Cup (@VitalityWFACup) November 1, 2020

The match, which featured chances for both sides and a few world-class saves from both goalkeepers, ended regulation tied 1-1. The teams slugged it out in extra time and the contest seemed destined for penalties until young England international Georgia Stanway slipped a shot past Everton goalkeeper Sandy MacIver in the 111^th minute to give Manchester City a 2-1 lead. Late substitute Janine Beckie, a Canadian international, scored just seconds before the final whistle to clinch City’s third FA Cup title.

Lavelle and Mewis become the third and fourth American women to win the FA Cup, which is in its 50^th year of competition. Two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion Carli Lloyd lifted the trophy with Manchester City in 2017 while U.S. youth international Tracy Osborn Nelson won the FA Cup with Millwall in 1997.  Wembley Stadium has featured American success in the past. The USA won the 2012 Olympic gold medal at the iconic venue.

Leading 1-0 at the half, Manchester City nearly doubled its lead in the 55^th minute on a play started by a pinpoint pass from Lavelle, but Everton goalkeeper Sandy MacIver came up with an impressive save to deny “The Cityzens” a second. Lavelle was subbed off after 70 minutes of action. Mewis went the full 120 minutes.

Everton produced an equalizer in the 60^th minute when French international Valerie Gauvin got her head on a corner kick at the near post.