The World Champion U.S. Women’s National Team opened its Victory Tour in style with an 8-0 win against Costa Rica in front of a crowd of 44,028 at Heinz Field. The attendance set a record for the largest crowd for a stand-alone U.S. WNT match on home soil.
In a special homecoming, Pittsburgh native Meghan Klingenberg scored early in the second half, by which time the USA already held a substantial lead. Christen Press and Heather O’Reilly led the scoring for the USA with a hat trick and a pair of goals, respectively. Defenders Julie Johnston and Whitney Engen also put their names on the scoresheet with header goals while Ashlyn Harris and Hope Solo split the goalkeeping duties for the shutout. Solo made three saves in the second half on Costa Rica’s only three shots.
The team entered the stadium to a rapturous standing ovation from the Heinz Field crowd and will likely see a similar scene when it next travels to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where it will face a rematch with Las Ticas before a sold-out crowd of more than 20,000 at Finlay Stadium on Aug. 19. That match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN2 and WatchESPN.
After the double-header with Costa Rica, the USA continues its Victory Tour with a pair of matches against Australia, at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama on Sept. 17 and 20, respectively. From there the Victory Tour continues with a pair of games against Brazil in October before taking a break in November and then finishing with four matches in December. Dates and venues for those games will be announced in the near future.
Next on the Schedule: The WNT continues the 2015 Victory Tour with a stop in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Aug. 19, where it will take on Costa Rica before a sold out crowd of over 20,000 at Finley Stadium.
Milestone Watch:
- Christen Press scored the second hat trick of her career. Her first came in a four-goal performance against Argentina at the International Tournament of Brasilia in December of 2014.
- Heather O’Reilly notched her second multi-goal game of her career. The first came on Jan. 20, 2012, when she scored a hat trick against the Dominican Republic during Olympic Qualifying.
- The 8-0 wins ties the USA biggest win in the history of its series with Costa Rica. The WNT beat the Ticas by the same score line on two previous occasions, in 2000 and 2012.
- The crowd of 44,028 at Heinz Field is the largest stand-alone attendance on home soil in the history of the U.S. WNT.
Additional Notes:
- Ashlyn Harris got the start for the USA in goal for the first time since pitching a 1-0 shutout against England in Milton Keynes in February of this year. Hope Solo replaced her in net for the U.S. at halftime.
- This is the first game of the year that Becky Sauerbrunn did not start for the USA. She had previously started all 17 matches, playing the most minutes on the team with 1,509.
- Veterans Shannon Boxx and Christie Rampone, who played all 90 minutes, both made their first starts of 2015. Boxx was removed at halftime for Morgan Brian.
- The USA remains perfect against Costa Rica, improving its all-time record to 11-0-0.
- Julie Johnston has scored all four of her WNT goals off set plays.
– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Costa Rica
Date: Aug. 16, 2015
Competition: International Friendly – Victory Tour
Venue: Heinz Field; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: 44,028
Weather: 87 degrees, sunny
Date: Aug. 16, 2015
Competition: International Friendly – Victory Tour
Venue: Heinz Field; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Kickoff: 1:30 p.m. ET
Attendance: 44,028
Weather: 87 degrees, sunny
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 4 4 8
CRC 0 0 0
USA 4 4 8
CRC 0 0 0
USA – Heather O’Reilly 4th minute
USA – Christen Press 29
USA – Julie Johnston (Megan Rapinoe) 36
USA – Christen Press (Shannon Boxx) 45
USA – Meghan Klingenberg (Tobin Heath) 56
USA – Heather O’Reilly (Christen Press) 59
USA – Whitney Engen (Abby Wambach) 63
USA – Christen Press (Heather O’Reilly) 68
USA – Christen Press 29
USA – Julie Johnston (Megan Rapinoe) 36
USA – Christen Press (Shannon Boxx) 45
USA – Meghan Klingenberg (Tobin Heath) 56
USA – Heather O’Reilly (Christen Press) 59
USA – Whitney Engen (Abby Wambach) 63
USA – Christen Press (Heather O’Reilly) 68
Lineups:
USA: 18-Ashlyn Harris (1-Hope Solo, 46); 11-Ali Krieger, 19-Julie Johnston (6-Whitney Engen, 46), 3-Christie Rampone (capt.), 22-Meghan Klingenberg; 9-Heather O’Reilly, 7-Shannon Boxx (14-Morgan Brian, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd (20-Abby Wambach, 54), 15-Megan Rapinoe (17-Tobin Heath, 46); 23-Christen Press, 8-Amy Rodriguez (16-Lori Chalupny, 46)
Subs Not Used: 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 12-Lauren Holiday, 13-Alex Morgan, 21-Alyssa Naeher
Not available: 2-Sydney Leroux
Head coach: Jill Ellis
USA: 18-Ashlyn Harris (1-Hope Solo, 46); 11-Ali Krieger, 19-Julie Johnston (6-Whitney Engen, 46), 3-Christie Rampone (capt.), 22-Meghan Klingenberg; 9-Heather O’Reilly, 7-Shannon Boxx (14-Morgan Brian, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd (20-Abby Wambach, 54), 15-Megan Rapinoe (17-Tobin Heath, 46); 23-Christen Press, 8-Amy Rodriguez (16-Lori Chalupny, 46)
Subs Not Used: 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 12-Lauren Holiday, 13-Alex Morgan, 21-Alyssa Naeher
Not available: 2-Sydney Leroux
Head coach: Jill Ellis
CRC: 1-Dinnia Diaz; 2-Gabriela Guillén (13-Noelle Sanz, 79), 4-Mariana Benavides (17-Karla Villalobos, 61), 5-Diana Saenz, 6-Maria Paula Elizondo (12-Lixy Rodriguez, 60), 8-Daniela Cruz (3-Fabiola Villalobos, 71), 9-Carolina Venegas, 10-Katherine Alvarado, 15-Cristin Granados, 20-Wendy Acosta
Subs Not Used: 18-Yuliana Salas, 7-Melissa Herrera, 14-Mayra Almazán, 19-Maria Paula Coto
Head coach: Amelia Valverde
Subs Not Used: 18-Yuliana Salas, 7-Melissa Herrera, 14-Mayra Almazán, 19-Maria Paula Coto
Head coach: Amelia Valverde
Stats Summary: USA / CRC
Shots: 26 / 3
Shots on Goal: 14 / 3
Saves: 3 / 6
Corner Kicks: 8 / 2
Fouls: 8 / 5
Offside: 0 / 1
Shots: 26 / 3
Shots on Goal: 14 / 3
Saves: 3 / 6
Corner Kicks: 8 / 2
Fouls: 8 / 5
Offside: 0 / 1