It’s hard to remember a time when ESPN and Fox didn’t dominate the U.S. soccer TV landscape. The two have aired every World Cup since 1994 and have been the consistent home for U.S. women’s and men’s national team games over the last decade. That era is ending, though worry not, it won’t change too much.
The USWNT just won a landmark settlement to end its long battle with U.S. Soccer for pay equity on Tuesday. On Wednesday night, many of those players were back using their platform to bring attention to another human rights issue: transgender rights.
We here at The18 have long touted the exploits of Catarina Macario, from her time at Stanford to the start of her pro career with Lyon to her naturalization from Brazil to join the USWNT. Finally given the keys to drive the U.S.
Hope Solo had some choice words for Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe on Wednesday. The former U.S. goalkeeper used a Twitter thread to blast the USWNT players for Tuesday’s landmark settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation, saying it was “an easy out of a fight they were never really in.” It highlighted the divide in opinion over whether the settlement was good or bad for women’s soccer in the U.S.
For decades, U.S. women’s national team players have fought for equal pay for equal work. From trailblazers like the beloved 1999ers to the divisive 2019 World Cup winners, USWNT players have long battled to receive pay commensurate to their worth.
The U.S. women have won their fight for equal pay.
The USWNT bounced back from a poor performance against the Czech Republic by crushing New Zealand 5-0 on Sunday. It helped to have Football Ferns defender Meikayla Moore score a perfect hat trick of own goals, but the Americans were far more adventurous on offense, creating better scoring opportunities than in the stunning 0-0 draw a few days earlier.
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.