U.S. Women Dominate Against Brazil In Victory Tour Friendly in Orlando
By Travis Failey on October 31, 2015Sunday afternoon in Orlando turned out to be bittersweet for the United States Women’s National Soccer team as they defeated the mighty Brazil by the score of 3-1 but two of the staples of the team retired.
Midfielder Lauren Holiday and Defender Lori Chalupny played in their final international match for the USWNT and were honored before the game. They retire as two of the most successful players, with both of them winning the World Cup and the gold medal in the Olympics and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
The game would get off to a blistering start as All-World forward Marta and Cristiane would bombard U.S. Goalie Hope Solo, with shots and Solo was on her game with a little help from the cross bar.
The U.S. would get on the board first in the ninth minute of the match. Tobin Heath threaded a pass to Alex Morgan and Alex used her blistering speed to avoid the defense of Brazil and crushed a left footed shot past Brazil’s goalkeeper Luciana, who came out to the top of the box to stop Morgan.
It looked like Brazil would get the tying goal but Becky Sauerbraun would stop Christiane on the goal line after Marta beat Hope Solo with a beautiful cross pass. Sauerbraun played it perfectly and Christiane and Brazil could not believe that the touch shot was cleared out of harm’s way.
Brazil would not be denied though. Nearing the end of the first half regulation time, Brazil got its equalizer when Cristiane received a nice slip pass from Marta in the right side of the penalty box. She cut back inside and hit a powerful left-footed shot from just inside the penalty box that flew straight to the left corner past a diving Hope Solo.
As Brazil celebrated and halftime neared closer, the U.S. would take the lead for good in stoppage time as Crystal Dunn drove home a rebound off a point-blank header from Lindsey Horan to make the score 2-1 going into the locker room.
During the break for halftime, I spoke to some of the 32,000 plus fans and many wondered if fan favorite Abby Wambach would enter the game. We also discussed if she would be joining Lauren Holiday and Lori Chalupny by retiring soon. Our thoughts would be confirmed as Wambach would retire two days later. Our coverage:
https://www.rocketsports-ent.com/abby-wambach-a-legend-retires/
The second half would be a back n forth battle between the teams and their stars dominated the action with Marta leading the way for Brazil. She tried to spin her way through the United States defensive zone but the back line was smothering and when Megan Rapinoe and World Cup hero Carly Lloyd were subbed in midway through the second half, they United States once again started to dominate.
Brazil’s goalkeeper Luciana, would hold off the U.S. charge but once again they would break through in stoppage time with a goal by Stephanie McCaffrey. It would be MaCaffrey’s first international goal off a beautiful pinpoint cross from Megan Rapinoe. I can’t say enough about the effort from Rapinoe. Every time she had possession of the ball, Brazil’s defenders where on their heels and their heads where spinning. She is a superstar in the world of soccer as are many on Team USA including Alex Morgan. With the recent retires of past greats, both of them are now the faces of U.S. Women’s Soccer.
When the game concluded and the fans cheered, the members of team USA went around the stadium and greeted the fans and signed autographs. It was a special moment not only for the fans but all in attendance including myself. Ive been a fan and watched this team since 1999 when I was in California during the World Cup. They have gone through many ups and downs and reached the pinnacle once again this summer by winning the World Cup and have rewarded the fans with this victory tour across the country.
They will play four more matched during this tour with their next stop being in Honolulu against Trinidad and Tobago.
For more information and other upcoming matches: http://www.ussoccer.com/matches
Tags: becky Sauerbraun, brazil womens soccer, hope solo, Lauren Holiday, Lindsey Horan, Lori Chalupny, Luciana, Megan Rapinoe, Stephanie McCaffrey, USWNT
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