Harrison, NJ, 4 March 2017 – England stunned the US in the second round of the She Believes Cup, beating the World Cup Champions 1-0 on a positively arctic evening at Red Bull Arena. The match featured big chances and big saves on both ends. In the final minutes, what looked to be a well-earned draw became triumph for England and Ellen White the heroine.
Rose Lavelle got the US off to a great start, getting in behind the English defense on the left in the 15th minute. Her cross was cleared off the line by Demi Stokes. Lavelle had a great chance on goal just four minutes later when Crystal Dunn beat Stokes on the right side and sent a cross to the wide-open Lavelle who fired on goal. Lavelle’s shot at the first cap, first goal club was denied by English goalkeeper, Siobhan Chamberlain, who came up with the huge point-blank save to keep the match level.
England answered with a golden chance of their own in the 32 minute. Stokes floated the free kick to the far side and a weak US clearance fell to Nikita Parris. Parris struck a hard half volley toward the US net, forcing Ashlyn Harris to make a spectacular point blank save of her own.
The US came out firing in the second half. Again, it was Lavelle leading the way. In the 54th minute, she received the ball from a corner kick and cut to the center to fire a strike just over the bar. A couple minutes later, Dunn took a similar path from the right side, but her shot went wide. The Lionesses almost scored in the 71st minute on a free kick bent around the wall by Stephanie Houghton, but Harris was able to parry the ball away for the Americans.
In the dying minutes of the match, England earned a corner kick. The US cleared the kick directly to Lucy Bronze who struck a wicked volley off the crossbar. Chaos ensued as the US scrambled to try to clear the ball away once again, but Ellen White was there to pick up the pieces for England, punching the ball into the Americans’ net for the game winner.
The major bright spot for the US was Rose Lavelle. Her work rate throughout the match was second to none. She figured in most of the Americans’ chances and quickly got her feet under her on the defensive side of the ball as well.
View our gallery of the match here.
Next Matches:
The US looks to overcome this loss with a win over France, but they will need some help from England to clinch the top spot in the tournament. A US win combined with an English loss or draw will clinch it for the Americans.
England will attempt to knock off Germany for the second time in their history in order to have a chance at the top spot in the tournament. They need the USA and France to play to a draw in order to win the tournament without going to tie-breakers.
Currently, France is in the lead with 4 points (1-0-1), with England (1-1-0) and the USA (1-1-0) nipping at their heels with three points apiece. Germany (0-1-1) is in fourth with one point.
Attendance: 26,500
Lineups:
USA: 24-Ashlyn Harris; 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 8-Julie Johnston, 11-Ali Krieger; 19-Crystal Dunn, 3-Samantha Mewis, 9-Lindsey Horan, 16-Rose Lavelle, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.); 2-Mallory Pugh, 13-Alex Morgan
Available Substitutes: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Morgan Brian, 7-Casey Short, 12-Lynn Williams, 14-Jessica McDonald, 15-Emily Sonnett, 17-Tobin Heath, 18-Jane Campbell, 20-Allie Long, 22-Brianna Pinto, 23-Christen Press
Head coach: Jill Ellis
Substitutions Made:
63′ Press in for Morgan
64′ Williams in for Dunn
76′ Heath in for Lloyd
76′ Long in for Mewis
77′ Brian in for Horan
England: 13-Siobhan Chamberlain; 3-Demi Stokes, 4-Lucy Bronze, 5-Steph Houghton (capt.), 7-Jordan Nobbs, 10-Izzy Christiansen, 15-Laura Bassett, 17-Fara Williams, 19-Toni Duggan, 20-Karen Carney, 22-Nikita Parris
Available Substitutes: 1-Karen Bardsley, 21-Mary Earps, 6-Millie Bright, 8-Jade Moore, 9-Jodie Taylor, 11-Ellen White, 12-Rachel Daly, 14-Casey Stoney, 16-Gemma Bonner, 18-Jill Scott, 23-Rachel Williams
Head coach: Mark Sampson
Substitutions Made:
63′ J. Scott for Carney
76′ White in for Duggan
77′ Taylor in for Parris
90’ Bright in for Christiansen
90+3’ Moore in for Nobbs
Misconduct:
68’ YC: USA Lloyd
