Lynn Biyendolo’s first-minute strike and Michelle Cooper’s first international goal lifted the USWNT to a 2-1 win over Australia and onto the threshold of a sixth consecutive SheBelieves Cup crown.
USA 2 Australia 1
Report by USSoccer.com
Japan defeated Colombia, 4-1, earlier Sunday and thanks to its superior goal difference during the four-team round robin, the Nadeshiko need only a draw to win the prestigious annual tournament for the first time. The Americans will have to win to claim their eighth overall SheBelieves championship.
The USWNT will get that opportunity due to a well-earned victory over the spirited Matildas before 25,503fans where coach Emma Hayes made a bit of program history by swapping out all 11 women who started the 2-0 win over Colombia in the SheBelieves opener on Feb. 20. The match marked just the sixth occasion in 758 all-time matches (and first time since 2000) that the USWNT’s starting lineup featured 11 changes in consecutive outings, and it was the first time it occurred during the same event/camp that didn’t include a closed-door friendly.
Sunday’s starting XI was the USA’s youngest since March 2001 and featured international debutant Claire Hutton, the 19-year-old Kansas City Current midfielder, and first-time captain Tierna Davidson, who earned her 66th cap. Alyssa and Gisele Thompson were deployed on the right and became the second set of sisters to start a USWNT game together — Kristie and Samatha Mewis did it three times, most recently on July 5, 2021.
First Half
Mandy McGlynn received her second career nod in goal while left back Crystal Dunn (appearing for the USA for first time since last summer’s Olympic final) and Biyendolo (formerly Williams, who scored her first goal under her married name), added some big-game pedigree.
It took only 41 seconds for that refreshed lineup to make an impact. The USA built quickly through midfield before left forward Emma Sears dribbled toward the penalty area and attracted a trio of Australian defenders. Sears’ foray gave midfielder Jaedyn Shaw the space and time to finish a smart overlapping run and after receiving a short through pass, Shaw slid the ball across the six-yard line to Biyendolo. The simple finish was Biyendolo’s 22nd international goal, the USA’s 50th in SheBelieves history and its fastest to start a game since Ashley Hatch scored on 24 seconds in a November 2021 friendly against the same opponent.
While there are two first-minute goals in U.S. history for which the exact second of the score is unknown, Biyendolo’s goal was the ninth fastest in USWNT history for goals in which U.S. Soccer has an exact time.
Biyendolo had an eighth-minute tap-in nullified for offside and then forced a leaping save from Australia’s Teagan Micah in the 16th. The USA’s speed and efficiency in the attack was giving the fifteenth-ranked Matildas trouble and the visitors’ attempt to build through shorter passes in order to settle the tempo invited U.S. pressure. In the 25th, midfielder Korbin Albert nicked the ball and set up a shot from Shaw that sailed just beyond the left post. Although Australia’s spacing and possession improved as intermission approached, none of its five first-half shots required McGlynn’s intervention.
Second Half
Davidson’s timely recovery after McGlynn was pressured into a turnover by Australia’s Holly McNamara preserved the U.S. lead early in the second half. The goalkeeper recovered quickly, however, and punched away two threatening Matilda corner kicks in the 53rd. Biyendolo then nearly capitalized on an Australian giveaway, but after picking off Winonah Heatley’s errant back pass in the 57th, the first-half goal scorer sent her shot into the side netting.
Hayes made four changes in the 62nd minute, sending on Cooper, defender Tara McKeown, forward Yazmeen Ryan and forward Ally Sentnor. Six minutes later, Cooper and Sentnor combined to double the American lead. Defender Gisele Thompson recovered a rebound in the Australian penalty area and knocked the ball to Hutton, who slipped a perfect through pass back inside to Sentnor. The 21-year-old then cut the ball back past an Australian defender, and it rolled straight to Cooper, who wasted no time in delivering a 10-yard shot inside the left post. It was the 22-year-old Current forward’s first international goal in her second appearance, and it was Sentnor’s first senior assist (she scored against Colombia on Feb. 20).
The Matildas recovered from that blow quickly and halved the deficit with a lightning strike of a goal in the 80th. A long ball from the Australian half found veteran winger Hayley Raso on the right and her driven cross was headed in by substitute forward Michelle Heyman. Australia remained in contention thanks to Micah’s spectacular save on Sentnor in the 88th, but the USA closed the game out without further incident, setting up the SheBelieves showdown with Japan.
The Americans outshot the visitors, 15-7, and the Matildas’ only shot on target was Heyman’s. The USA now hold a 30W-1L-5D advantage in the all-time series against Australia.
Next Game
The USA will face Japan, a familiar foe when a title is on the line, for the SheBelieves Cup trophy on Feb. 26 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego (7:30 p.m. PT / 10:30 p.m. ET; TBS, Universo, Max, Peacock, Westwood One Sports).
Line Ups
USA
18-Mandy McGlynn; 15-Gisele Thompson (23-Emily Fox, 77), 2-Emily Sams, 12-Tierna Davidson (Capt.), 19-Crystal Dunn (9-Ally Sentnor, 62); 3-Korbin Albert, 16-Claire Hutton (17-Sam Coffey, 70); 7-Alyssa Thompson (21-Michelle Cooper, 62), 8-Jaedyn Shaw, 13-Emma Sears (22-Yazmeen Ryan, 62); 6-Lynn Biyendolo (4-Tara McKeown, 62)
Substitutions Not Used: 1-Jane Campbell, 5-Jenna Nighswonger, 10-Lindsey Heaps, 11-Lily Yohannes, 14-Emily Sonnett, 20-Catarina Macario
Head coach: Emma Hayes
AUSTRALIA
12-Teagan Micah; 21-Ellie Carpenter, 14-Alanna Kennedy (5-Natasha Prior, 81), 3-Winonah Heatley, 7-Steph Catley (10-Emily van Egmond, 74); 22-Charlotte Grant, 23-Kyra Cooney-Cross (20-Laini Freier 81); 16-Hayley Raso, 11-Mary Fowler (6-Alana Murphy, 64), 17-Holly Mcnamara (2-Michelle Heyman, 64); 9-Caitlin Foord (8-Kaitlyn Torpey, 74)
Substitutions Not Used: 1-Mackenzie Arnold, 4-Clare Hunt, 13-Tameka Yallop, 15-Daniela Galic, 18-Chloe Lincoln, 19-Katrina Gorry
Head coach: Tom Sermanni