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Carli Lloyd bags brace in USWNT victory over New Zealand

Carli Lloyd bagged a brace, a certain defender made her 100th appearance for the United States and the USWNT bagged a big victory over New Zealand.
Carli Lloyd

St. Louis, Missouri (May 16, 2019) — Carli Lloyd has battled adversity throughout her career. She has been told that she’s not good enough. Lloyd has been brushed off when nominated for FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year.

However, throughout all the adversity, Lloyd still finds a way to remain on top. She showed off her goal-scoring prowess tonight in St. Louis, fighting with her national team against New Zealand. Both teams are qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which is just three weeks away.

Carli Lloyd bags brace in United States victory over New Zealand

Lloyd bagged a brace in the match. Her first goal came just 44 seconds after entering the match. Lloyd entered for Megan Rapinoe, then slipped a goal past Erin Nayler in the 61st minute.

However, she wasn’t done with just one.

Instead, Carli Lloyd wanted more — and she got it. Lloyd found the back of the net again, on a beautiful cross from Christen Press, in the 83rd minute. Her two goals were part of a five-goal final score for the United States Women’s National Team. This was the second match of a three-match Send off Series. The United States defeated South Africa, on Mother’s Day, with a 3-0 final.

Tonight produced another clean sheet for goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. The veteran goalkeeper, and Chicago Red Stars goalkeeper, didn’t have much to reckon with tonight. New Zealand only took one shot and it did not register on goal. The shot from was Rosie White, who made her 100th appearance for the Ferns.

Meanwhile, also making her 100th appearance was Ali Krieger. The right back defender was not called into the national team for two years. However, the wait was over and Krieger was awarded her 100th appearance by manager Jill Ellis. Krieger entered the match in the 60th, replacing Kelley O’Hara.

Other goals this evening were scored by Tobin Heath, Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis. Meanwhile, Mewis also scored two of the three goals for the United States against South Africa.

Three Takeaways

  1. New Zealand’s strong 30 minutes: Before Tobin Heath opened the floodgates in the 35th minute, New Zealand had strong defending. They frustrated Alex Morgan all night. Abby Erceg, one of the veteran defenders of the team, was paired at centerback with Meikayla Moore. Goalkeeper Erin Nayler made four strong saves, including a stretching save against Morgan. There are positives that New Zealand can take away from this performance.
  2. It’s all about the assists: While the goals were nice tonight, the assists were even better. Three assists mainly stood out. Megan Rapinoe’s assist on Heath’s goal was superb. Meanwhile, Lindsey Horan followed up with a nice tuck to Lavelle. As for Christen Press, she got in on the action with a sneak slide to Lloyd.
  3. Has Tierna Davidson lost her starting spot? For a while, it seemed like Tierna Davidson and Becky Sauerbrunn were going to be the starting centerback duo. However, Abby Dahlkemper has stepped up to the plate and performed admirably. Right now, that duo seems to work for the United States — and looks to be the starting duo heading to France.

What’s Next? 

The United States has one more match in their Send off Series. At Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, the United States will host fellow CONCACAF team, Mexico.

Mexico did not qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. However, they will prove to be a good test for the United States. The match time has changed to 11:30 a.m. ET. This will be the United States’ final match before jetting off to France.

See the Goals! 

 

Embed from Getty Images

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