New Zealand defender Meikayla Moore scored three goals — for the U.S. women's national team — and the Americans won in a bizarre manner, 5-0, in Carson, Calif., on Sunday in their second match of the SheBelieves Cup.
The Americans, who tied the Czech Republic 0-0 in their tourney opener on Thursday, got all the help they needed when Moore had own goals in the 5th, 6th and 36th minutes.
To my knowledge, there's been one hat-trick of own goals in football history (although even that's disputed). On Sunday, USWNT fans were witness to a second.
New Zealand's Meikayla Moore, who plays her club ball for Liverpool and was receiving her 50th cap on Sunday, put the ball into her own net three times in 36 minutes during the Football Ferns' SheBelieves Cup match against the USWNT.
Barbora Votikova made eight saves for the Czech Republic in a surprising 0-0 tie with the U.S. women's national team in Carson, California, in their opening match of the SheBelieves Cup.
One of Votikova's best saves was on a blast by Catarina Macario in the 29th minute. In the 66th minute, Rose Lavelle forced a near-post save, and a Kristie Mewis header in the middle of the box was stopped 10 minutes later.
The women’s soccer world anxiously awaits the outcome of a much-needed investigation into widespread abuse of players in the National Women’s Soccer League.
USWNT stars have demanded answers. On Thursday, they got some, but they probably won’t appease immediate concerns over systemic abuse in women’s soccer.
Nine of the world’s best footballers want answers. Christen Press, Crystal Dunn, Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, Sam Mewis, Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara, Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn are questioning how so many kids and women were allowed to be abused repeatedly just for playing the sport they love. And the women’s soccer world hopes they get those answers.
One of the most important aspects of sports is impossible to quantify and nearly undefinable. Team chemistry is often underrated in professional sports, but there’s no doubt any team works better together when people like each other, whether it’s an office or one of the best soccer teams of all time.
To paraphrase the Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart when asked to define pornography, you know team chemistry when you see it. And we definitely see it with the U.S. women’s national team.
Back in November, Rory Dames tried to quietly exit the NWSL with a press release hours before a Washington Post story outlined years of his alleged abuse of players while he coached the Chicago Red Stars. The allegations came from NWSL stars like Christen Press, one of the most recognizable players in league history.
Trinity Rodman's profile continues to expand after the 19-year-old was added to the United States women's national team roster Monday for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup.
Rodman, a Washington Spirit forward who last week signed the most lucrative contract in NWSL history, was named as an injury replacement for defender Abby Dahlkemper. It is her first appearance with the USWNT.