After a tumultuous 2016 for the US Women’s National Team, Sunday night’s friendly match against Romania at StubHub Center in Carson, California brought the year to a close.
The air was thick with expectation. FIFA has Romania at 36th in world rankings, while the US is still at No. 1 in spite of their disappointment in the Olympic tournament this summer. Nobody expected anything less than a win, especially after their 8-1 win over Romania in San Jose a few days earlier.
That was what fans at StubHub Center got. The US handily beat Romania 5-0 once the final whistle blew.
US Coach, Jill Ellis, riled up the USWNT fanbase a few weeks ago when she left a few veterans off the roster for the upcoming friendlies, calling up NWSL players like Kealia Ohai, Casey Short, Lynn Williams, and Jessica McDonald, as well as Stanford standout Andi Sullivan.
The newbies brought an interesting dynamic to the team on the field, but there is still a lot of room for improvement. In spite of beating Romania in shots 31 to 0 during the game in Carson Sunday night, the US wasted some good opportunities, especially in front of goal; something the team has struggled with all year.
The first goal against Romania came off the chest of Romanian player Teodora Meluta as Crystal Dunn swept a hard cross in from the right flank. In spite of the own goal, Romania kept the US at bay going into halftime, letting only one more goal in from Dunn in first half extra time. Lynn Williams had a chance right in front of the goal minutes earlier but skidded it off the outside of the goal post instead of sinking it in the net.
The US came out hard after halftime, and the Tobin Heath/Christen Press connection delivered the third goal for the US, with Press rocketing a Heath cross into the back of the net. Christen Press has scored for the US in four straight games. Minutes later, Alex Morgan tipped the ball to Heath in the Romanian box and Heath missed the goal, pinging it off the outside of the post.
Morgan Brian made it 4-0 in the 88th minute after a Romanian hand ball inside of the penalty box, her PK steady and sure in the lower corner.
In the 91st minute, Heath took a short corner to Kelley O’Hara who put the cross into the box. Romania weren’t tight enough on Samantha Mewis and she easily redirected the ball into the back of the net with her head, making it 5-0.
It was a commanding performance, though Ellis has a lot to think about as far as who of the newbies proved themselves worthy of a future USWNT call-up during those four friendlies. Ellis already has speed up front with Crystal Dunn, Christen Press, Alex Morgan, and Mallory Pugh, and adding Kealia Ohai and Lynn Williams to that makes for a mean forward line. After the US failure against Sweden during the Olympics, Ellis will be looking for the key to breaking down bunker-style defense. Andi Sullivan was a mature and calming presence in the midfield, not afraid to take shots from outside the box when she had them. It’ll be interesting to see what Ellis does with her as the team moves forward.
Then there was the interesting experimental twist with Allie Long as a center fullback as well, so it will be interesting to see if she keeps her there during matches against higher ranked teams. Will the USWNT stay with the youth, or rely on veterans like Ali Krieger, Carli Lloyd, and Megan Rapinoe (who wasn’t on the roster for either friendlies in California this past week)?
The USWNT finishes 2016 with a record of 22-0-3, scoring 91 goals and allowing only 10. It’s safe to say the team ended on a positive note with these last four friendlies.
