Southern Soccer Scene

Klingenberg’s Clearing Header Good As A Goal

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USAs Meghan Klingenberg Saved 0-0 Draw
USAs Meghan Klingenberg Saved 0-0 Draw

The U.S. Women’s National Team drew Sweden 0-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 32,716 at Winnipeg Stadium to remain in first place of Group D at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Sweden’s strongest opportunity and only shot on goal came in the 77th minute from a set piece play. After a scramble in the USA box, Caroline Seger took a shot that looked like it would give Sweden the lead, but U.S. defender Meghan Klingenberg made an unbelievable save, heading the ball off the goal line with a little help from the crossbar to keep Sweden off the board.
In the day’s other Group D match, Australia defeated Nigeria 2-0 with two second half goals by Kyah Simon. Following today’s matches, the USA (1-0-1; 4 points) sits in first place of Group D, followed by Australia (1-1-0; 3 points), Sweden (0-0-2; 2 points) and Nigeria (0-1-1; 1 point).
The U.S. continues the tournament against Nigeria on June 16 at BC Place in Vancouver where it will wrap up Group D play.
 
Advancement Scenarios:
The U.S. Women’s National Team will advance to the knockout stage if it finishes Group D in first or second place.
USA will finish in first place if:
  • It beats Nigeria
  • It ties Nigeria and Australia vs. Sweden finishes in a tie
  • It ties Nigeria and Sweden beats Australia by one goal
  • It loses to Nigeria by one goal and Sweden ties Australia
USA will finish in second place if:
  • It ties Nigeria and Australia beats Sweden
  • It ties Nigeria and Sweden beats Australia by more than 2 goals
  • It loses to Nigeria and there is a winner between Australia and Sweden
The USA can also advance if it finishes as one of the top four third-place finishers across the six World Cup groups. Advancement as a third-place team will not be assured until the Group Stage concludes on June 17.
USA will finish in third place if:
  • It loses to Nigeria by two or more goals
If the USA finishes first in Group D, the team would play the third place finisher of Group B/E/F on June 22 in Edmonton.
If the USA finishes second in Group D, the team would play the winner of Group E on June 21 in Moncton.
If the USA finishes third in Group D and advances, the team could play the winner of Group B on June 20 in Ottawa – or – play the winner of Group A on June 21 in Vancouver.
 
Milestone Watch:
  • Hope Solo recorded her 85th career shutout. It was the first World Cup clean sheet for the USA since July 2, 2011, when Solo and the USA defeated Colombia 3-0 in group play. It was also Solo’s sixth clean sheet in World Cup play, the second most by a U.S. goalkeeper behind Brianna Scurry’s 10.
  • After tonight’s start, Solo now has 172 caps with the USWNT, the second-most for a goalkeeper in U.S. history behind Scurry’s (173; 1994-2008) and could tie the record if she starts the final group stage match for the USA.
  • Solo has the most starts by a WNT goalkeeper with a 166, surpassing Scurry’s 159 (from 1994-2008). Solo is also in 10th place on the WNT’s all-time starts list surpassing Carla Overbeck (161 games from 1988-2000) and behind ninth place Carli Lloyd who has 169.
Additional Notes:
  • The U.S. now has a record of 20-5-11 against Sweden all time.
  • Amy Rodriguez made her first appearance of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup when she entered in the 58th minute for Morgan Brian, who made the first World Cup start of her career.
  • The game was the first scoreless draw in U.S. history during group play in a World Cup. It was the second overall scoreless draw (0-0 against China in the 1999 WWC Final).
  • Defender Becky Sauerbrunn is the only player on the roster to start and play every game for the USA in 2015. She has played the most minutes (1059) of anyone on the team.
  • Carli Lloyd earned her 197th cap and could hit the 200 mark during the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She would become the 10th player in U.S. history to reach that mark and the fourth on the current roster. Christie Rampone, Wambach and Heather O’Reilly are the other three.
  • The USA, Nigeria and Sweden have competed in every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match:  U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Sweden
Date:  June 12, 2015
Competition:  2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup – Group D
Venue:  Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada
Kickoff:  8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local)
Attendance:  32,716
Weather:  84 degrees; Partly Cloudy
Scoring Summary:   1          2          F
USA                          0          0          0
SWE                         0          0          0
Lineups:
USA:  1-Hope Solo; 11-Ali Krieger, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 19-Julie Johnston, 22-Meghan Klingenberg; 14-Morgan Brian (8-Amy Rodriguez, 58), 12-Lauren Holiday, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.), 15-Megan Rapinoe; 23-Christen Press (20-Abby Wambach, 68), 2-Sydney Leroux (13-Alex Morgan, 78)
Subs Not Used:  3-Christie Rampone, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Whitney Engen, 7-Shannon Boxx, 9-Heather O’Reilly,  16-Lori Chalupny, 17-Tobin Heath, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 21-Alyssa Naeher
Head coach: Jill Ellis 
SWE : 1-Hedvig Lindahl; 23-Elin Rubensson, 14-Amanda Ilestedt, 5-Nilla Fischer, 7-Lisa Dahlkvist; 17-Caroline Seger, 18-Jessica Samuelsson, 10-Sofia Jakobsson, 16-Lina Nilsson (3-Linda Sembrant, 70); 15-Therese Sjogran (20-Emilia Appelqvist, 75), 8-Lotta Schelin (capt.)
Subs not used: 2-Charlotte Rholin, 4-Emma Berglund, 6-Sara Thunebro, 9-Kosovare Asllani, 11-Jenny Hjohlman, 12-Hilda Carlen, 13-Malin Diaz Pettersson, 19-Emma Lund, 21-Carola Soberg, 22-Olivia Schough
Head coach: Pia Sundhage
Stats Summary: USA / SWE
Shots: 12 / 9
Shots on Goal: 2 / 1
Saves: 0 / 2
Corner Kicks: 9 / 8
Fouls: 6 / 11
Offside: 2 / 1 

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