USWNT defeats Canada in a dominant performance in the Continental Clásico

On Wednesday night, the US Women’s National Team hosted Canada in Washington, D.C., to play each other in a friendly that would serve as a test for both national teams in preparation for the World Cup in two years' time, which will be held in Brazil. 

After back-to-back friendly wins against Ireland, Emma Hayes' squad was looking to capitalize on their momentum with a mostly young roster. They did just that, as they dominated Canada 3-0 in front of 19,125 fans at Audi Field.    

Claire Hutton scored her first goal for the US Women's National Team. Photo Credit: US Soccer

Canadian head coach Casey Stoney was not pleased with her team’s performance and said this during the post-game: 

"Tonight, we were miles off," Stoney said. "It's almost like] the games we had in preparation for this haven't prepared us. This is the first top opponent we played, and it shows where we're at."

While Hayes was pleased about the result, she downplayed the result a little bit post-game. 

“I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, but we haven’t won anything. We won a game,” Hayes said. “But there were, it felt for me, things I’ve been looking for in terms of dictating tempo, controlling the game from start to finish and finishing strongly.”

The Game

The USWNT came out of the gates swinging, creating several goal-scoring opportunities, but that would be denied by the Canadian defense. The US would open up the scoring in the 17th minute. 

Rose Lavelle sent in a freekick into the box from the left hand side of the field, the defense tried clearing the ball out of the box, but the failed clearance landed at the feet of Avery Patterson who tried the to control the box, but the ball bounced off her foot, the ball would find  Sam Coffey was able to get her foot to the ball and put the ball in the back of the net with a one-time shot that pierced the net defended by Kailen Sheridan. 

When asked what she saw on the goal, Coffey said, “Not Much,” and she further elaborated, “I got to credit Avery [Patterson], we taped it in together. It was a scrappy set-piece goal.”  

Canada would try to tie the game a couple of minutes later when a long ball found  Jordyn Huitema, who left one-on-one with US goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. However, Dickey denied Huitema and the ensuing rebound opportunity from Jessie Fleming to maintain the United States lead at that moment. 

The US doubled its lead in the 35th minute after a Lavelle corner kick found Claire Hutton inside the box. The 19-year-old midfielder headed the ball down as the ball bounced into the far left corner of the net, getting her first international goal in the process. 

“Being able to get my head on Rose’s perfect ball there was just amazing,” Hutton said. “Hoping for more in the future.”

Lavelle talked about the importance of set pieces for both their first two goals and said this post-game: 

“We have been working toward set-piece goals,” Lavelle said. “That has definitely been an emphasis in film sessions and training sessions, so to see the fruition of our work come to play today was really, really nice.”

The US nearly tripled its lead early in the second half when a long ball found Alyissa Thompson close to the box. Thompson made a cutting run inside the box and looked for the upper right corner of the goal, but her shot would go just wide of Sheriden’s net. 

In the 86th minute, Washington Spirit defender Tara McKeown came into the match as a substitute. What made the occasion special, McKeown was it was also her 26th birthday, and she would notch an assist in the 88th minute. 

 McKeown would receive the ball in the midfield and run towards the box. She laid the ball to Yazmeen Ryan at the top of the box. Ryan lined her shot up and placed the ball in the back of the net. 

“It’s a dream come true,” McKeown. “It was amazing, everything came together.” 

The Women’s national team will not be in action again until the FIFA window in October.