By Amelia Hirtle
In the previous friendly, the USWNT beat Nigeria by a score of 4-0, extending a home unbeaten streak to 70 games.
In what was expected to be another friendly ending in similar fashion, it turns out the home team had a tall task ahead of them in Washington DC.
Coming off a short rest and a trip to the nation’s capital, Andonovski made a few changes in the lineup. He inserted Sam Coffey, Naomi Girma, and Casey Murphy in for Andi Sullivan, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Alyssa Naeher, respectively. Coffey earned her first cap with the team and played the full 90 minutes.
From the start of the game, the US had some decent looks that they were unable to capitalize on. However, they caught a break in the 24th minute when Mallory Pugh sent a ball that was deflected into the net by a Nigerian defender to give the US a 1-0 lead.
Shortly after the second half, Nigeria scored, making it 1-1. It ended the USWNT shutout streak of 880 minutes. In the 65th minute, Megan Rapinoe subbed on for Sophia Smith, who put in a good shift on the evening. Within seconds, Rapinoe had the ball at her feet and sent in a ball to Rose Lavelle. The pass looked to be behind Lavelle, but she was able to contort her body and get her head on the ball and aim it towards the goal. It bounced off the near post and rolled into the net. It was a much-needed goal after Nigeria had equalized.
It bears repeating that that is one of the (many) reasons Head coach Vlatko Andonovski brought Rapinoe back into the mix, other than her form and leadership. Her ability to create chances within minutes of stepping on the pitch has been part of resume for quite some time and it showed again tonight.
Tuesday night was also celebratory for a different reason other than the win. After the match, both the U.S. women’s and men’s national teams signed the new CBA into law. It has been six years since the official complaint with the EEOC had been filed, but the battle started long before that. Now, with a revolutionary CBA, the U.S. Soccer slogan “One Nation. One Team” is starting to feel like it.