New England Soccer Today

Lloyd’s Header Sends U.S. to Semis

Photo credit: Huffington Post

Photo credit: Huffington Post

Carli Lloyd broke a scoreless match on a 51st minute header to steer the United States to a 1-0 win over China in Friday’s World Cup quarterfinal match at Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa, Canada.

Lloyd scored when she put her forehead on the end of a Julie Johnston cross inside the box and pushed it under the reach of China goalkeeper Wang Fei in the 51st minute.

With the win, the U.S. defense posted its fourth consecutive clean sheet, and to date, have only allowed one goal throughout the tournament. The U.S. is one of three countries, including Brazil and Germany, to concede only a single goal during the World Cup.

Rapinoe and Holiday out: U.S. midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday were forced to sit out Friday’s match after they picked up their second cautions of the tournament in Monday’s win over Colombia. With Rapinoe and Holiday out, former Breakers forward Kelley O’Hara and Morgan Brian, who at 22 is the youngest player on the squad, both earned starts.

A-Rod replaces Wambach in the XI: Former Breakers first round pick Amy Rodriguez started up top in place of 35-year-old Abby Wambach, who went 69 minutes in Monday’s win over Colombia.

Game could’ve changed if…Amy Rodriguez latched onto Carli Lloyd’s through ball and buried it instead of, well, completely botching it inside of two minutes. While the U.S. found plenty of opportunities during the remainder of the first half, Rodriguez’s clear shot on goal was their best, and could’ve allowed the Americans to run away with it from the start.

Lloyd collects 200th cap: Veteran midfielder Carli Lloyd made her 200th appearance for the U.S. in Friday’s match. As fate would have it, Lloyd went on to score in the 51st minute.

Former Breakers star makes cameo: Heather O’Reilly, who became one of the most popular players to ever suit up for the Breakers during her time in Boston (2012-2014), made her 2015 World Cup debut when she came on for Alex Morgan in the 81st minute.

Germany awaits: The U.S. will move on to the semifinal where they’ll face top-ranked Germany on Tuesday. Germany booked its ticket to the semifinal following a 1-1 (5-4 PKs) win over France on Friday.

Leave a Reply