Saturday, March 4, 2017

USWNT frozen out by England in 1-0 smash-and-grab loss in SheBelieves Cup

Jordan Nobbs, Steph Houghton and Ellen White
White and England leapfrog the U.S. into second place behind France in the SheBelieves Cup table. (Getty Images)
The United States women’s national team was beaten for the first time in a SheBelieves Cup match in the tournament’s history on Saturday, losing 1-0 to England on an 89th-minute goal on a face-numbingly cold night with wind chills dipping into the single digits.
Following wins in all three games in last year’s inaugural tournament, the U.S. kicked off this edition with a 1-0 victory over Germany on Wednesday. The loss to England means Tuesday’s game with France in Washington, D.C., will require the Americans to win – while England can’t beat Germany, or else it will come down to the goal-difference tie-breaker – in order to secure a second straight first-place finish in this event.
The U.S. controlled the game but had a hard time breaking down the tightly-packed English lines. And in the first half, the Lionesses did just enough going forward to keep the Americans from overcommitting. The USA buildup flowed well – especially considering most of Jill Ellis’s side had not played in a competitive match since November before Wednesday and the English are in the middle of their club seasons. But the final third was invariably congested on every foray down the field. So real scoring chances were scarce.
Mallory Pugh created the first real moment of danger after a quarter of an hour, getting to the endline and rolling a teasing cross in front of goal. But nobody was there to meet it.
Four minutes later, Carli Lloyd went to ground on a cross under a challenge from a defender. There was no call as the ball skipped on to the 21-year-old Rose Lavelle, who was making a hugely impressive national team debut. Her hard shot, however, was parried by goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain.
At the other end, some rather imperfect defending on a free kick by the U.S.’s experimental back three gave England’s Nikita Parris an appetizing opportunity. But American goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris made a mighty point-blank save to conserve the stalemate.
The second half consisted entirely of American waves of attacks stranding on the English beachhead and then resetting again and again.
Until the 89th minute, that is. In a very rare English attack, Lucy Bronze’s shot caromed off the bottom of Harris’s cross bar and bounced free into no-man’s land, where Ellen White eventually managed to poke it home for the winner.
It was the first American loss to England since 2011 and the first time the USA was shut out by the Lionesses since 1988, a run of 11 games.
The debilitating cold made it tricky to draw broad conclusions from this game. But certainly, Lavelle will likely play a larger role in the near future. And Lindsey Horan was absolutely imperious in central midfield, in front of the efficient Samantha Mewis.
On Tuesday, the U.S. women get to play for some more silverware. But, against expectations, they will need help.
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