USWNT plays Korea Republic to scoreless draw in World Cup send-off

HARRISON, New Jersey (Via U.S. Soccer) – Before a sellout crowd of 26,467 at Red Bull Arena, the U.S. Women’s National Team played the Korea Republic to a 0-0 draw in its final game of the Send-Off Series before departing to Canada for the start of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

After dropping its first match of the year to France 2-0 in Lorient, France, on Feb. 8, the USA has gone unbeaten in its next nine games and has outscored opponents 20-2 heading into Canada.

With two saves – the second of which was an acrobatic diving stop on the final kick of the match – U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo posted her 84th-career clean sheet, extending her WNT record for most shutouts.

The U.S. created chances throughout the match, especially on a sequence play involving Carli Lloyd, Morgan Brian and Sydney Leroux that culminated in the USA’s best chance for a scoring opportunity.

The USA was drawn into Group D at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup where it will face Australia, Nigeria and Sweden. The seventh edition of the tournament takes place from June 6-July 5 throughout Canada. The U.S. opens the tournament against Australia on June 8 at Winnipeg Stadium, faces Sweden on June 12 in Winnipeg, and finishes Group D play against Nigeria on June 16 at BC Place in Vancouver. The USA, Nigeria and Sweden have competed in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
None

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:

KOR – Kim Soon Yun, 32th minute: Morgan Brian moved into the box and sent a pass from the left side to Abby Wambach who was in the middle. Wambach saw Carli Lloyd come into the attacking position inside the box, sending her a slight pass. As Lloyd ran to the ball however, Kim Soon Yun beat her to it and tapped it with her right foot to deviate it from Lloyd’s path and direct it out of bounds for a U.S. corner kick.

KOR – Kim Jung Mi, 50th minute: Carli Lloyd won the ball in the midfield, ran with it to the top of the box and sent a pass to the far left post to Morgan Brian, who waited toward the left side of the net. Brian controlled it, and before running out of room in the back line, crossed it back to Lloyd, who then tapped it to Sydney Leroux. Leroux was positioned right in the middle of the box and after receiving the pass sent a powerful shot straight to the middle of the net where Kim Jung Mi made a great save as she pushed the ball out with her hands to avoid the U.S. score.

USA – Hope Solo, 90+3 minute: In a last-minute effort, Korea Republic’s Lee Geum Min sent a cross from about 20 yards on the left side that Solo expertly batted away with a diving save to maintain the draw.

Next on the Schedule:
The U.S. WNT will open up Group D play at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday, June 8, against Australia. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Winnipeg Stadium in Winnipeg, Canada.
Broadcast information: FOX Sports 1, NBC Universo

Milestone Watch:

• Hope Solo now has a U.S. record 84 career shutouts in 170 caps with the USWNT, the second-most for a goalkeeper in U.S. history behind Brianna Scurry (173; 1994-2008.)
• Solo has the most starts by a WNT goalkeeper with a 164, surpassing Scurry’s 159 (from 1994-2008). Solo is in 10th place on the WNT’s all-time starts list surpassing Brandi Chastain (160 games from 1988-2004).
• Wambach earned her 242nd cap and is fifth all-time in the U.S. record list for most capped players.
• Carli Lloyd now has 195 caps, and is closing in to the 200 cap milestone. Should she reach that total she would become the 10th WNT player to make that many appearances for her country and the fourth on the current roster (Wambach, Rampone and O’Reilly.)

Additional Notes:

• The USA is now 9-0-2 all-time against Korea Republic.
• The last time the USWNT tied 0-0 on home soil was Nov. 5, 2008 against Korea Republic in Cincinnati, Ohio. That was also the last time the U.S. was held scoreless on home soil, a span of 66 games.
• The last game of the 2015 Send-Off Series had an attendance of 26,467, making it the third straight sellout crowd for a WNT game on U.S. soil – the first time the program has achieved three consecutive sellouts in its history. By comparison, the 2011 Send-Off match against Mexico before the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup recorded an attendance of 5,852.
• In its last nine games, the U.S. has surrendered just two goals and has scored 20.
• The USA’s current 96-game unbeaten streak at home (84-0-12 since Nov. 6, 2004) is a team record. The next-highest streak is 50 games (48-0-2) from Feb. 10, 1996, through April 22, 1999. The USA tied the record on May 14, 2011 (2-0 win against Japan at Columbus Crew Stadium) and broke the record with the 51st game on May 18, 2011 (another 2-0 win against Japan at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina).
• U.S. captain Christie Rampone is currently the second most-capped player in U.S. and world history with 306 appearances.
• Becky Sauerbrunn is the only player on the roster to start and play every game for the USA. She has played the most minutes (879) of anyone on the team.

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

Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Korea Republic
Date: May 30, 2015
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Red Bull Arena; Harrison, New Jersey
Kickoff: 5:05 p.m. ET
Attendance: 26,467 (sell out)
Weather: 82 degrees, partly cloudy

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA                   0 0 0
KOR                   0 0 0

Lineups:

USA: 1-Hope Solo; 11-Ali Krieger (16-Lori Chalupny, 66), 19-Julie Johnston (3-Christie Rampone, 60), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 22-Meghan Klingenberg (5-Kelley O’Hara, 84); 14-Morgan Brian, 12-Lauren Holiday (17-Tobin Heath, 60), 10-Carli Lloyd, 23-Christen Press; 2-Sydney Leroux (9-Heather O’Reilly, 75), 20-Abby Wambach (capt.) (8-Amy Rodriguez, 60)
Subs Not Used: 6-Whitney Engen, 7-Shannon Boxx, 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Megan Rapinoe, 18-Ashley Harris, 21-Alyssa Naeher 

Head coach: Jill Ellis

KOR: 21-Kim Jungmi; 3-Kim Hyeri, 5-Kim Sooyun, 6-Shim Seoyeon, 19-Kim Doyeon; 8-Park Heeyoung (12-Jung Seolbin, 17 (10-Jeon Gaeul, 65)), 13-Kang Yumi (9-Park Eunsun, 86), 15-Cho Sohyun, 16-Kwon Hahnul (4-Hwang Boram, 46); 7-Ji Soyun (23-Lee Sodam, 83), 11-Yoo Younga (22-Lee Geummin, 70)
Subs Not Used : 1-Yoon Younggeul, 18-Jun Minkyung, 2-Shin Damyeong, 14-Suran Song, 17-Lee Eunmi, 20-Kim Seonjoo

Head coach: Yoon Dukyeo

Stats Summary: USA / KOR
Shots: 15 / 7
Shots on Goal: 5 / 2
Saves: 2 / 5
Corner Kicks: 3 / 1
Fouls: 13 / 2
Offside: 2 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Carli Lloyd (caution) 56th minute

Officials:
Referee: Mirian Leon (SLV)
Assistant Referee 1: Emperatriz Ayala (SLV)
Assistant Referee 2: Lixy Enriquez (MEX)
4th Official: Alondra Arellano (MEX)

Budweiser Woman of the Match: Carli Lloyd