Credit Brandon Koodish
By Amelia Hirtle
The USWNT is currently in Connecticut as they prepare for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In their Send-Off Series, they will face Mexico twice at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field. Their first match against Mexico occurred Thursday, July 1st, 2021, in the heavy rain.
Sam Mewis got the team on the scoreboard in the 21st minute after an assist from her sister. Megan Rapinoe dribbled the ball up the left side and passed to Kristie Mewis in the box. She found her sister, Sam, who fired a shot past the Mexico goalkeeper, Emily Alvarado.
The next chance for the US came from a fantastic ball in from Megan Rapinoe, but Alex Morgan’s attempt on the ball hit the post.
Maria Sanchez, forward for the Mexico team, sent in a long shot towards goal but keeper Alyssa Naeher was able to punch it away in the 30th minute.
The rain subsided for a bit as the US team scored their second goal to make it 2-0. It was a great buildup that started with Lindsey Horan in the midfield. Sam Mewis was able to take the pass from Horan and split the defense to slip it to Megan Rapinoe who had gotten behind the defense of Mexico. She passed the ball on the end line to Christen Press who tapped it home.
The US made one change to start the second half, replacing Alyssa Naeher with Adrianna Franch. The long-awaited return of Tobin Heath occurred when she came on and scored in less than a minute of being on the field. The last goal of the match came from Christen Press in the 85th minute off a cross from Tierna Davidson.
After the match, I asked USWNT Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski what he thought of the team’s execution. “I was happy with some of the team combinations that we had. I was also happy to see some of the small group or sub-group combinations. I feel like the team did a very good job adjusting to what was given to us.
The US will face Mexico one more time on Monday, July 5th at 5:00 PM ET. This will be their last match before they take off for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.