USWNT defeats Colombia 7-0 in International Friendly

EAST HARTFORD, Connecticut (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Women’s National Team scored four first-half goals and three in the second, each flurry in a span of 12 minutes, to defeat Colombia 7-0 in front of a record crowd of 21,792 on a cold night at Pratt & Whitney Stadium.

Tonight’s crowd set a new record for an all-women’s soccer event in Connecticut, besting the previous mark of 18,870 that watched the USA play Germany at the same venue on Oct. 23, 2012.

Forward Crystal Dunn kicked off the scoring in the 27th minute with a quick touch and shot from the middle of the box past Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez. Allie Long notched her first international goal five minutes later in her first WNT start since 2014. Seventeen-year-old winger Mallory Pugh and co-captain Carli Lloyd assisted each other within a span of six minutes, both scoring from close range to give the WNT a 4-0 lead heading into the half.

Midfielder Tobin Heath continued to pour in the goals in the second half with a well-executed volley off a Dunn cross in the 62nd minute. Three minutes later Long notched her second goal of the match, and first career brace, on a header assisted by Julie Johnston, who was celebrating her 24th birthday. Christen Press rounded out the scoring with an impressive curling right-footed shot from the top left corner of the box, which bent around Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez and into the right corner for her 32nd career score.

Hope Solo extended her all-time USA record for U.S. goalkeeper caps (194) and shutouts (98) and is now two shutouts away from becoming the first goalkeeper in U.S. history to reach the century mark.

The USA and Colombia complete the two-game series of friendlies on Sunday, April 10 in Chester, Pennsylvania (2 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Goal Scoring Rundown:

USA – Crystal Dunn (Carli Lloyd), 27th minute: Colombia’s backline did well to block two consecutive shots inside the box, but Carli Lloyd gathered a loose rebound and dribbled along the top of the penalty area before splitting the defense with a short pass to Crystal Dunn. Dunn battled Colombia captain Natalia Gaitan for the ball, used her left foot to nudge the ball toward the penalty spot and send a shot past Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez for the game’s first score. USA 1, COL 0 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Allie Long (Lindsey Horan), 32nd minute: Following a free kick, the USA worked the ball from the right side to the left where Dunn found Lindsey Horan with space on the flank. Horan sent a right-footed cross to a well-positioned Allie Long in the middle of the penalty area and she re-directed a perfect header into the left corner past the diving ‘keeper for her first career international goal. USA 2, COL 0 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Mallory Pugh (Carli Lloyd), 33rd minute: Lloyd gathered the ball just shy of the 18-yard box, employed a nifty spin move to create space and slipped a perfect pass to 17-year-old Mallory Pugh past a lunging Leidy Asprilla. Pugh took two quick right-footed touches inside the box and toward goal before sending a low right-footed shot into the net for her second career goal in just her 10th cap. USA 3, COL 0 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Carli Lloyd (Mallory Pugh), 39th minute: Pugh returned the favor six minutes later when she collected a Dunn pass near the left side of the penalty box, took a diagonal touch toward the near post and sent a low pass through the Colombia defense to Lloyd who was crashing the goal. The U.S. captain wasted no time using a left-footed first touch to send a seven-yard shot past Perez for her eighth goal of 2016. USA 4, COL 0 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Tobin Heath (Crystal Dunn), 62nd minute: Dunn chased a ball down the right side of the box and played a perfect far post cross to the wide open Tobin Heath who struck a powerful right-footed volley past Perez. USA 5, COL 0 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Allie Long (Julie Johnston) 65th minute: Colombia’s Catalina Usme clearance attempt following a U.S. corner kick spun awkwardly off her foot and toward Julie Johnston at the far post. Johnston won the aerial battle and headed the ball across the face of the goal to Long, who redirected the ball with her head into the net for her second score of the match. USA 6, COL 0 (SEE GOAL)

USA – Christen Press (Crystal Dunn) 74th minute: Long capitalized on a quick free kick at midfield with a short pass to Dunn, who led Christen Press with a diagonal through ball down the left side of the field. In full stride, Press bent a perfect right-footed shot from the top left corner of the box into the right side of the net for her third goal of the year. USA 7, COL 0 (SEE GOAL)

Key Saves and Defensive Stops:

COL – Orianica Velazquez, 5th minute: Tobin Heath went on a fantastic dribbling run down the left side, beating four defenders (which included a nutmeg) before attempting to play a pass across the face of the goal, but Colombia’s Natalia Gaitan deflected the pass toward Crystal Dunn at the top of the six-yard box. Dunn collected the ball and sent a right-footed shot on target, but Orianica Velazquez managed to stop it with her body on the goal line.

USA – Hope Solo, 57^thminute: On a rare counter attack, Colombia managed to get behind the U.S. defense as Catalina Usme played in Liecy Santos and she raced at the U.S. goal with a defender in tow. Santos had a good look at the goal, but Solo stepped up and smothered the hard shot to preserve her shutout.

Next on the Schedule: The U.S. WNT will host Colombia again on Sunday, April 10 at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa. (2 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Additional Notes:

After today’s tallies, Dunn and Lloyd are now tied with Alex Morgan for the team lead with eight goals apiece this year. Press’ goal moves her into a tie with Lindsay Tarpley for 16th on the WNT’s all-time scoring list.
The USA is 10-0-0 in 2016, having scored 39 goals and allowing only one, good for an average of 3.9 per match.
The win marked the WNT’s largest margin-of-victory against Colombia in the four all-time meetings between both sides (previous: 3-0 in 2011, 3-0 in 2012, 2-0 in 2015.)
The U.S. recorded its ninth clean sheet of the year, having allowed just one goal through 10 matches.
The WNT improved to 4-0-0 in the series against Colombia. Tonight’s game was the first friendly between the two teams.
Carli Lloyd’s goal was the 87th of her career and 24th over the last 23 matches, dating back to the WNT’s last match against Colombia in the Round of 16 at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Lloyd also improved her career total to four goals against Colombia. The only player to have scored in all four matchups.
Seventeen-year-old winger Mallory Pugh recorded her fifth assist along with her second goal in her first year of action with the WNT.
Pugh’s five assists are tied with Lloyd for the team lead in 2016.
Allie Long scored her first and second career international goals in her first cap since Aug. 20, 2014 against Switzerland in Cary, N.C.
Tobin Heath notched her third goal of the year and 15th career international goal in her 115th career cap.
The WNT used six subs: Samantha Mewis replaced Lindsay Horan and Christen Press replaced Mallory Pugh in the 45th minute; Whitney Engen replaced Julie Johnston and Emily Sonnett replaced Becky Sauerbrunn in the 67th minute; Heather O’Reilly replaced Kelley O’Hara in the 69th minute and Ali Krieger replaced Meghan Klingenberg in the 70th minute.
The USA improved to 6-2-1 all-time in Connecticut and 4-0-1 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium.
The U.S. trained in Orlando, Fla. with 23 players for six days leading up to the match, but only 23 made the trip to Connecticut after defender Jaelene Hinkle injured her ankle late in camp and returned to her club, and 17-year-old forward Ashley Sanchez left to return to school. Alex Morgan (hip) and Morgan Brian (hamstring) did not play tonight due to minor injuries. Both have been progressing well in training and could be available for selection for the April 10 match in Chester, Pa.

Milestone Watch:

Carli Lloyd earned her 221st cap tonight, while Hope Solo recorded her 194th, extending her record for a U.S. goalkeeper, and Heather O’Reilly earned her 229th.
Solo recorded her 148th career win, improving her all-time U.S. record for a goalkeeper.

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

Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Colombia
Date: April 6, 2016
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Pratt & Whitney Stadium; East Hartford, Conn.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Attendance: 21,792
Weather: 47 degrees, Cloudy

Scoring Summary:       1          2          F
USA                             4          3          7
COL                              0          0          0

USA – Crystal Dunn (Carli Lloyd)                                     27th minute
USA – Allie Long (Lindsey Horan)                                    32
USA – Mallory Pugh (Carli Lloyd)                                    33
USA – Carli Lloyd (Mallory Pugh)                                    39
USA – Tobin Heath (Crystal Dunn)                                   62
USA – Allie Long (Julie Johnston)                                    65
USA – Christen Press (Crystal Dunn)                              74

Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 5-Kelley O’Hara (9-Heather O’Reilly, 69), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Emily Sonnett, 67), 8-Julie Johnston (6-Whitney Engen, 67), 7-Meghan Klingenberg (11-Ali Krieger, 70); 23-Allie Long, 20-Lindsey Horan (3-Samantha Mewis, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.); 2-Mallory Pugh (12-Christen Press, 46), 16-Crystal Dunn, 17-Tobin Heath
Subs not used: 21-Alyssa Naeher
Not available: Alex Morgan, Morgan Brian, Ashlyn Harris
Head coach: Jill Ellis

COL: 1-Catalina Perez; 3-Natalia Gaitan (capt.), 14-Nataly Arias, 17-Leidy Asprilla (2-Carolina Arbelaez, 78), 9-Orianica Velasquez; 5-Isabella Echeverri (13-Maria Jaramillo, 90), 6-Liana Salazar 8-Carolina Pineda, 68), 10-Yorely Rincon (18-Yisela Cuesta, 65), 4-Diana Ospina (15-Tatiana Ariza, 84), 16-Leicy Santos, 11-Catalina Usme (7-Nicole Regnier, 87)
Subs not used: 12-Paula Forero
Head coach: Felipe Taborda

Stats Summary: USA / COL
Shots: 24 / 6
Shots on Goal: 14 / 2
Saves: 2 / 5
Corner Kicks: 5 / 1
Fouls: 10 / 18
Offside: 3 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
COL – Orianica Velasquez (caution) 18th minute
COL – Yisela Cuesta (caution) 78

Officials:
Referee: Marie-Soleil Beaudoin (CAN)
Assistant Referee 1: Marie-Han Gagnon (CAN)
Assistant Referee 2: Chantal Boudreau (CAN)
4th Official: Carol Anne Chenard (CAN)

Woman of the Match: Tobin Heath