The U.S. Women’s National Team finished atop Group A at the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, securing nine points and a 3-0-0 record after a 10-0 shutout of Puerto Rico at Toyota Stadium.Crystal Dunn scored five goals in the match – a brace in the first half and three in the second – to lead the way for the USA. Dunn’s performance ties a U.S. WNT record for most goals scored in a match as she became the seventh player to achieve the feat in the 31 years of the WNT program.
Captain Carli Lloyd and Kelley O’Hara added a goal each to put the U.S. up 4-0 at the half. In the second half the USA added three goals in a span of one minute and 56 seconds, beginning with an own goal from Puerto Rico’s Ashley Rivera, followed by scores from Dunn and Christen Press. Samantha Mewis wrapped up the scoring in stoppage time with her first international goal.
Earlier in the day, Costa Rica defeated Mexico 2-1 in Group A action to finish second in Group A with six points and advance to the semifinal round where it will play the winner of Group B.
The USA now travels to Houston for the semifinal match on Feb. 19. Its opponent will be determined tomorrow following the conclusion of the Guyana vs. Trinidad & Tobago match in Group B. Guyana needs a win or a tie to advance, while Trinidad & Tobago needs to win to secure a place in the semifinals. The winners of the semifinal matches qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
Additional Notes:
- The U.S. WNT extended its streak to eight consecutive games in CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying without allowing a goal, dating back to the Final of the 2008 Qualifying tournament when the U.S. tied Canada 1-1 on April 12, 2008 and went on to win in penalty kicks 6-5.
- U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis made eight changes to the starting lineup that featured in the first two matches of CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying by adding Alyssa Naeher, Kelley O’Hara, Emily Sonnett, Jaelene Hinkle, Stephanie McCaffrey, Samantha Mewis, Moallory Pugh and Christen Press, all of whom made their first start in the tournament.
- Additionally, tonight’s match marked the first appearance in this year’s tournament for Naeher, O’Hara, Sonnett, McCaffrey and Mewis and Olympic Qualifying debuts for Naeher, Sonnett, McCaffrey and Mewis. O’Hara started three games in the 2012 tournament, and Hinkle, Press and Pugh had already seen action in the two previous group stage matches of the 2016 tournament.
- Pugh, Hinkle and McCaffrey made their first career starts; Mewis and Sonnett started for the third time in their careers.
- Ali Krieger, Carli Lloyd and Crystal Dunn are the only three players to start every game of the competition for the USA.
- Six players have scored the USA’s 16 goals in the tournament so far: Dunn (6), Lloyd (3), Alex Morgan (2), Press (2), O’Hara (1) and Mewis (1). One was an own goal.
- Naeher made her first start of 2016 and third career start in goal. She earned her fifth cap and third shutout.
- Pugh became and the youngest U.S. player to start an Olympic qualifier when she was in the starting 11 against Puerto Rico on Feb. 15. She recorded her first career assist in tonight’s match. She became the youngest female player in WNT history to play in an Olympic qualifier match at 17 years, 9 months and 12 days old when she came on for Dunn in the 68th minute against Costa Rica on Feb. 10.
- The USA has never lost a match in Olympic Qualifying, but it did tie Canada 1-1 in the title game of the 2008 tournament before prevailing in penalty kicks.
- The WNT remains unbeaten in all-time CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying with a 16-0-1 record.
- Tonight’s game was the first meeting between the USA and Puerto Rico in international competition.
- The match in Frisco marked the WNT’s sixth at this stadium (formerly Pizza Hut Park and FC Dallas Stadium). The USA owns a 6-0-0 record, including a two wins against Canada, and victories against Costa Rica, Mexico and New Zealand prior to tonight’s match.
Milestone Watch:
- Carli Lloyd leads the team with 12 all-time Olympic Qualifying appearances, followed by Hope Solo with 10. With 11 Olympic Qualifying goals scored, Lloyd is now three goals behind Abby Wambach’s U.S. record of 14 goals in Olympic qualifying.
- Lloyd has now scored 85 international goals. She is in sixth place on the WNT’s all-time scoring list. Lloyd has scored 23 goals in the USA’s last 17 matches starting with the Round of 16 game vs. Colombia at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
- Before coming onto tonight’s match, Dunn had scored five goals for the U.S. WNT. She doubled that total today, notching five goals to tie a U.S. record for most goals scored in a match. She became the seventh player to achieve that feat. The other six were: Brandi Chastain, Michelle Akers, Tiffeny Milbrett, Abby Wambach, Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux. It was Dunn’s first multi-goal game for the WNT.
- Dunn has now scored six goals in Olympic Qualifying, tying Alex Morgan. She became the 21st U.S. WNT player to score in an Olympic qualifier when she scored in her debut against Costa Rica on Feb. 10. Christen Press became the 22nd, O’Hara the 23rd and Mewis the 24th.
- The last time the U.S. Women scored in double-figures was against Guatemala at the 2012 Olympic qualifying tournament in a 13-0 win.
– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Puerto Rico
Date: Feb. 15, 2016
Competition: 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying – Group A
Venue: Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
Attendance: 7,658
Weather: 60 degrees; partly cloudy
Date: Feb. 15, 2016
Competition: 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying – Group A
Venue: Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PT
Attendance: 7,658
Weather: 60 degrees; partly cloudy
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 4 6 10
PUR 0 0 0
USA 4 6 10
PUR 0 0 0
USA – Crystal Dunn (Mallory Pugh) 6th minute
USA – Carli Lloyd (Penalty Kick) 19
USA – Crystal Dunn (Christen Press) 21
USA – Kelley O’Hara (Stephanie McCaffrey) 45
USA – Ashley Rivera (Own Goal) 60
USA – Crystal Dunn (Alex Morgan) 61
USA – Christen Press 62
USA – Crystal Dunn (Meghan Klingenberg) 85
USA – Crystal Dunn (Morgan Brian) 87
USA – Samantha Mewis (Crystal Dunn) 90+1
USA – Carli Lloyd (Penalty Kick) 19
USA – Crystal Dunn (Christen Press) 21
USA – Kelley O’Hara (Stephanie McCaffrey) 45
USA – Ashley Rivera (Own Goal) 60
USA – Crystal Dunn (Alex Morgan) 61
USA – Christen Press 62
USA – Crystal Dunn (Meghan Klingenberg) 85
USA – Crystal Dunn (Morgan Brian) 87
USA – Samantha Mewis (Crystal Dunn) 90+1
Lineups:
USA: 20-Alyssa Naeher; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Emily Sonnett,11-Ali Krieger, 19-Jaelene Hinkle; 15-Stephanie McCaffrey, 3-Samantha Mewis, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.) (13-Alex Morgan, 46), 2-Mallory Pugh (7-Meghan Klingenberg, 67); 12-Christen Press (14-Morgan Brian, 74), 16-Crystal Dunn
Subs Not Used: 1-Hope Solo, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 8-Julie Johnston, 9-Lindsey Horan, 17-Tobin Heath, 18-Ashlyn Harris
Head coach: Jill Ellis
USA: 20-Alyssa Naeher; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Emily Sonnett,11-Ali Krieger, 19-Jaelene Hinkle; 15-Stephanie McCaffrey, 3-Samantha Mewis, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.) (13-Alex Morgan, 46), 2-Mallory Pugh (7-Meghan Klingenberg, 67); 12-Christen Press (14-Morgan Brian, 74), 16-Crystal Dunn
Subs Not Used: 1-Hope Solo, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 8-Julie Johnston, 9-Lindsey Horan, 17-Tobin Heath, 18-Ashlyn Harris
Head coach: Jill Ellis
PUR: 1-Karly Gustafson; 2-Kelley Johnson, 4-Viviana Foil (19-Stephanie Colón, 46), 6-Ashley Johnson (12-Alejandra Carrión, 55); 8-Selimar Pagán (16-Mirianee Zaragoza Hernández, 71), 9-Karina Socarras, 10-Laura Suárez (capt.), 11-Annie Méndez; 14-Ashley Rivera, 17-Adriana Font; 18-Nicole Rodríguez
Subs Not Used: 3-Victoria Barris, 5-Noelia Reyes, 7-Delyaliz Rosario, 13-Sandra Rolón,15-Ángela Díaz Vázquez, 20-María Guerrero
Head coach: Garabet Avedissan
Subs Not Used: 3-Victoria Barris, 5-Noelia Reyes, 7-Delyaliz Rosario, 13-Sandra Rolón,15-Ángela Díaz Vázquez, 20-María Guerrero
Head coach: Garabet Avedissan
Stats Summary: USA / PUR
Shots: 32 / 1
Shots on Goal: 17 / 1
Saves: 1 / 6
Corner Kicks: 9 / 0
Fouls: 8 / 6
Offside: 2 / 1
Shots: 32 / 1
Shots on Goal: 17 / 1
Saves: 1 / 6
Corner Kicks: 9 / 0
Fouls: 8 / 6
Offside: 2 / 1