The U.S. women’s national team opened the year with a win as they defeated Colombia 3-0 on Monday night at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The win comes after the team closed out their 2020 back in November with a 2-0 win against the Netherlands in Europe.
The USWNT starting lineup saw the return of veterans Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd, as they worked the top line with Lynn Williams. Lindsey Horan, Julie Ertz, and Sam Mewis were tasked with winning the ball in the midfield. Alyssa Naeher got the start in net, while team captain Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Abby Dahlkemper, and Crystal Dunn rounded out the backline.
USWNT were largely considered favorites heading into the match and they made early work of their goal scoring. The opening goal came in the 4th minute as Rapinoe made quick work of the open lanes Colombia provided early on, feeding Sam Mewis who broke through on net. Mewis would score another ahead of halftime in the 33rd minute, and converted a penalty kick in the early minutes of second half giving USA a three goal lead in the 47th minute as she recorded her hat-trick.
