USWNT walk off the field after defeating Russia 5-1 April 9,2017 (Photo by Jose Castellanos).
After winning in Frisco on Thursday, the US Woman’s National Team continued their positive momentum when they played round two against Russia in Houston on April 9th. This is the 19th match the Americans have played in the Lone Star State, where they have won the 18 previous matches. Russia, on the other hand, has never won against the USA with a record of 0-9- 1.
In an extraordinary day of soccer the USWNT defeated Russia 5-1 . This match was also the perfect scenario to provide new players the opportunity to have playing time and gain experience. The Americans controlled the match from the beginning. Using Mallory Pugh and Crystal Dunn on the wings, they were able to generate many chances on offense. The offensive game plan paid off in the 20th minute when, home fan favorite Carli Lloyd, scored a PK for US putting them up 1-0. Keeping possession of the ball was key for the Americans in their second score. In the 37th minute Rose Lavelle scored her first goal with the senior team making it 2-0. Two minutes later Crystal Dunn scored the third goal which gave a comfortable lead to the US. However, on one of the few occasions the Russians had to score Nadezhda Karpova capitalized off a penalty to score via Penalty Kick to make it 3-1. Jill Ellis’ team kept up the pressure on the Russians before half time. This pressure increased the lead for the home team when Kseniya Kovalenko scored an own goal to make it 4-1 at the half.
The second half the Americans came out as aggressive as they played in the first half. This led Crystal Dunn to capitalize on another opportunity, she had many throughout the game, for the final score 5-1.
Over 11,000 fans came to support the USA in the final match before the NWSL starts its fifth season on April 15th. Russia is preparing for the UEFA Woman’s Championship this summer.
