Macario and Purce open USWNT accounts while Mewis injury scare sours routine Colombia win

The U.S. girls’s nationwide crew simply defeated Colombia 6-Zero on Friday evening in Orlando, following on from Monday’s Four-Zero win over the identical opponent. 

The pair of video games capped off the crew’s January camp, which noticed a largely full-strength USWNT attempt to impress head coach Vlatko Andonovski forward of the Olympics this summer season in Tokyo (ought to the match go forward).

Listed here are three of the largest takeaways from Friday’s match at Exploria Stadium.

Catarina Macario scores first USWNT objective

January camp noticed the USWNT debut of Catarina Macario, who by all accounts is poised to be the crew’s subsequent main star. The Brazil-born attacker, who recently signed with European power Lyon straight from Stanford College, earned her first cap on Monday earlier than scoring her first nationwide crew objective on Friday within the third minute. 

“Cat is a distinct type of participant than I believe we have ever had. She’s a distinct No.9 than we have ever had,” Megan Rapinoe mentioned of the 21-year-old after Friday’s recreation. “She drops in a little bit bit extra, performs extra like a false 9. 

“Bodily, she’s already able to be at this stage and that is an enormous leap for lots of people to go from school to this stage to have the ability to compete bodily. 

“She’s going to be a kind of enjoyable gamers that you simply like to see – somebody that is going to excite the followers, somebody that is going to return out with one thing artistic or a nutmeg.”

Sam Mewis goes off injured

The U.S. obtained a serious scare when Sam Mewis collided with a Colombia defender halfway by way of the second half. The Man Metropolis midfielder seemed to be in a big quantity of ache on the sector after her left ankle rolled beneath her. She was in a position to slowly stroll off the sector beneath her personal energy earlier than being seen on the bench with ice wrapped round her ankle. 

Mewis has been in stellar type for the USWNT and Man Metropolis. Rapinoe referred to as her “the very best participant in our crew proper now” after the sport, so any damage difficulty could be a serious concern for membership and nation. 

Andonovski mentioned that Mewis could be examined after the match, including that her excessive ache threshold made it laborious to find out her prognosis straight away.

“She’s very sturdy and really powerful,” the USWNT coach mentioned. “Once we first requested [how she was] she mentioned: ‘I am high quality, I am high quality,’ however we’re doing all of the exams and following all of the protocol to ensure she’s high quality. 

“She’s powerful and we do not know what ‘high quality’ means in her world. Fairly quickly we’ll know the way she feels.”

Crystal Dunn and Midge Purce get their probability in assault

Crystal Dunn and Midge Purce are each pure attackers who’ve been moved to protection with the USWNT. Dunn, most notably, transformed from a dynamic attacking midfielder to a rock-solid left-back who starred throughout the USWNT’s run to the 2019 World Cup.

Followers have been clamoring for each gamers to get an opportunity in assault for the U.S. and on Friday evening, Andonovski obliged. Purce specifically grabbed the headlines by scoring her first USWNT objective with a header from Carli Lloyd’s cross within the 86th minute.

“We all know that Midge is an effective ahead,” Andonovski mentioned of a participant who had been largely used as a right-back with the nationwide crew. 

“Clearly we noticed one thing in her which will assist us or assist her turn into a superb fullback and we’ll proceed working as we go ahead. However once we want a ahead, clearly she’s adequate and he or she confirmed that she will be able to do a superb job there.”

On Dunn, he added: “Crystal needs to be probably the most versatile participant on the sector. I actually really feel snug placing Crystal in any place on the sector and I do know she’s going to satisfy the usual set.”