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 goalkeeper Alyssa 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.
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