The U.S. women’s national team showed why it’s ranked tops in the world with a dominating performance against New Zealand on Sunday.
Team USA outshot visiting New Zealand 33-2, including 17-2 in shots on goal, on the way to a 6-1 victory before 7,015 delighted fans at steamy Soldier Field.
The Americans kept the visiting Kiwis so bottled up they didn’t muster a shot on goal until the game’s 73rd minute.
“We created a ton of chances, missed a few chances early, but then took care of the rest of them pretty well,” said Greg Ryan, a one-time Chicago Sting star now in his third year as U.S. women’s coach.
“When you go into the World Cup, it’s good to be hitting the back of the net regularly, just building the confidence of our strikers.”
The Americans, the World Cup favorites, are now 5-0 on a send-off tour that concludes Aug. 25 against Finland in Carson, Calif. They are scheduled to begin FIFA World Cup Group B play on Sept. 11 against North Korea in Chengdu, China.
The U.S. jumped to a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute as veteran forward Abby Wambach scored the first of her two goals.
The U.S. women then scored twice in a short span late in the half. In the 33rd minute, Wambach fed team captain Kristine Lilly, who fired from just outside the penalty box for what proved to be the game-winner.
Late in the 34th minute, midfielder/forward Carli Lloyd launched a long-distance rocket past New Zealand goalie Jenny Bindon.
Forward Lindsay Tarpley made it 4-0 on a short rebound in the 52nd minute after Bindon turned back a try by Lloyd. Lloyd’s second goal came on a header off a Lilly corner kick to make it 5-0.
New Zealand defender Maia Jackman said the U.S. women were pushing her team from the outset.
“It was a bit daunting,” she said. “The first half was pretty rough. No wonder they’re No. 1 in the world. They do all the little things right.
“You can tell they’ve been playing together for a long time.”
New Zealand broke the shutout with less than 17 minutes to play thanks to a penalty by U.S. defender Stephanie Lopez. Captain Rebecca Smith, a former Duke star, beat U.S. reserve goalie Brianna Scurry on the ensuing penalty kick.
Wambach, a 27-year-old forward, now has 77 career goals in 95 games, putting her fifth all-time among American scorers.
Her first goal was a header — the 35th of her career. She also tallied the game’s final goal as time expired in the 91st minute as her shot brushed the leg of teammate Natasha Kai and hit the right side of the net.
