Ellis Goes Younger In Win Over Swiss

The U.S. Women’s National Team put on a second-half show highlighted by debutante Lynn Williams game-winning goal just 49 seconds into her first international appearance to defeat Switzerland 4-0 in front of a boisterous crowd of 14,336 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

U.S. head coach Jill Ellis brought a slew of new faces into camp for these two games against Switzerland and handed international debuts to five players in the match including starts to U.S. Youth National Team veteran Andi Sullivan and Chicago Red Stars defender Casey Short. In addition to Williams, second half subs who earned their first cap included BYU senior Ashley Hatch and defender Abby Dahlkemper.On the score sheet, the USA’s veterans showed their mettle as Tobin Heath, Christen Press and Samantha Mewis all found the back of the net while Kelley O’Hara and Crystal Dunn added assists.

The new look for the WNT was reflected not just in the new players who were given a chance to shine, but also in a 3-5-2 formation that saw Allie Long, traditionally a center midfielder for the USA play in the center of defense for the first time in her international career. Flanked by Becky Sauerbrunn and Emily Sonnet, the three-player back line did well on both sides of the ball to help earn goalkeeperAlyssa Naeher her sixth career clean sheet.

The U.S. WNT will face Switzerland in the second of its two October friendlies on Sunday, Oct. 23, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The match will air live on FS1 with a full 45-minute pregame show beginning at 12 p.m. CT.

Goal Scoring Rundown:
USA – Lynn Williams, 46th minute: A pair of poor back passes allowed the speedy Williams to run onto a loose ball and rush into the Switzerland box where she calmly drew out the goalkeeper out before slotting a low shot from the middle of the box into the lower left corner, providing the game-winner just 49 seconds into her first international match. USA 1, SUI 0

USA – Tobin Heath (Crystal Dunn), 61st minute: The U.S. won a throw-in just inside the Switzerland half that Becky Sauerbrunn sent far up the right sideline. After jockeying for possession, the ball fell into the path of Dunn who cut in toward goal and unleashed a shot that was blocked by a defender but came right back to her. At the top center of the box, Dunn dug out the loose ball and found Heath with a slipped pass inside the penalty area. Heath expertly held her run to stay onside and then rolled her one-touch shot into lower right corner. USA 2, SUI 0

USA – Christen Press (Kelley O’Hara), 69th minute: Williams displayed great hustle to run down a long ball into the right corner before giving herself some space with a nifty dribble and slipping a slick through ball between a couple Switzerland defenders to Kelley O’Hara. The substitute, who had picked herself off the ground after a hard challenge the sent the ball to Williams, drove along the end line before picking her head up to find an unmarked Press alone in the center of the box and she powered the ball into the open net from close range to push her career total to 36 goals for the WNT. USA 3, SUI 0

USA – Samantha Mewis (Christen Press), 76th minute: Another crisp passing sequence from the USA sprung Press down Switzerland’s right flank and she was able to cut the ball back to evade a closing defender. Press then chipped a low cross toward the penalty spot where an onrushing Mewis snapped a header into the lower left corner of the goal with her first touch of the game to provide the final margin. USA 4, SUI 0 FINAL