McDonald makes first international start and Colaprico makes first appearance
The U.S. women’s national team earned the 500th win in their history on Thursday, 1-0 over Portugal at the Estadio António Coimbra da Mota in Estoril, Portugal. North Carolina Courage forward Jessica McDonald, the 2018 NWSL Championship MVP, earned her first-ever start and scored her first international goal in the 42nd minute. The game was just […]
The U.S. women’s national team earned the 500th win in their history on Thursday, 1-0 over Portugal at the Estadio António Coimbra da Mota in Estoril, Portugal.North Carolina Courage forward Jessica McDonald, the 2018 NWSL Championship MVP, earned her first-ever start and scored her first international goal in the 42nd minute. The game was just her second career cap, after earning the first on November 10, 2016 vs. Romania. Courage teammate Crystal Dunn, starting at left back, shifted up into the midfield and charged forward on a run down the right sideline. Dunn played a square ball right into the middle of the box and to the feet of McDonald. McDonald’s first shot was saved by Portugal goalkeeper Patrícia Morais, but McDonald stayed with it, and knocked in the rebound for the game’s only goal. [Empty Body] In the first half, the only two U.S. shots on goal were the shots that McDonald took to score. In the 34th minute, McDonald was open in the box, but hit her shot wide. At the start of the second half, Chicago Red Stars midfielder Danielle Colaprico entered for her first international appearance. She replaced Washington Spirit midfielder Andi Sullivan, who was making her first appearance since April 2018. Colaprico played the final 45 minutes of the match. [Empty Body] It was a game short of chances for both teams. Portugal’s best opportunity came in a string of corner kicks at the end of the first half, but Tatiana Pinto’s header skipped wide as Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher dove for it. Morgan had a chance for her 98th international goal in the 74th, but Morais made a point-blank kick save. The U.S. will play their final game of the year on Tuesday vs. Utah Royals FC defender Rachel Corsie and Scotland at The Simple Digital Arena in Paisley, Scotland (2 p.m. ET, FS1 & UDN). [Empty Body] * * * – U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report – Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Portugal Date: November 8, 2018 Competition: International Friendly Venue: Estadio António Coimbra da Mota; Estoril, Portugal Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET (5 p.m. local) Attendance: TBD Weather: 57 degrees; clear Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA 1 0 1 POR 0 0 0 USA – Jessica McDonald 42nd minute Lineups: USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 25-Emily Fox (10-Carli Lloyd, 63), 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 19-Crystal Dunn; 6-Andi Sullivan (22-Danielle Colaprico, 46), 16-Rose Lavelle (8-Julie Ertz, 82), 9-Lindsey Horan; 11-Mallory Pugh (2-Emily Sonnett, 73), 21-Jessica McDonald (13-Alex Morgan, 46), 15-Megan Rapinoe (capt.) Substitutes not used: 24-Ashlyn Harris, 3-Sam Mewis Head Coach: Jill Ellis POR: 12-Patrícia Morais; 5-Matilde Fidalgo, 4-Sílvia Rebelo, 15-Carole Costa, 2-Mónica Mendes; 17-Vanessa Marques, 11-Tatiana Pinto (13-Fátima Pinto, 86), 14-Dolores Silva (capt.); 16-Diana Silva, 18-Carolina Mendes (6-Adreia Norton, 63), 20-Jéssica Silva (10-Ana Leite, 86) Substitutes not used: 1-Inês Pereira, 22-Rute Costa, 3-Diana Gomes, 7-Vânia Duarte, 8-Laura Luís, 9-Ana Capeta, 19-Ana Santos, 21-Monique Gonçalves, 23-Telma Encarnação Head Coach: Francisco Neto Stats Summary: USA / POR Shots: 13 / 13 Shots on Goal: 5 / 4 Saves: 2 / 4 Corner Kicks: 7 / 3 Fouls: 13 / 15 Offside: 4 / 2 Misconduct Summary: USA – Andi Sullivan (caution) 31st minute POR – Jéssica Silva (caution) 48 USA – Crystal Dunn (caution) 69 Officials: Referee: Rebecca Welch (ENG) Assistant Referee 1: Sian Massey (ENG) Assistant Referee 2: Helen Byrne (ENG) 4th Official: Vanessa Gomes (POR) Budweiser Woman of the Match: Abby Dahlkemper
