Alex Morgan scores both goals to help avoid upset
It took 88 minutes before the U.S. Women’s National Team got on the board, but two late strikes from Alex Morgan lifted the U.S. to a 2-1 win over New Zealand Saturday night in front of a sold-out crowd of over 20,000 in Frisco, Texas.
It was Morgan’s sixth goal in five matches and makes it 16 goals in 32 international games for the 22-year-old native of Diamond Bar, California.
Megan Rapinoe had the helper on the first goal, crossing the ball in before Morgan put it away with a header in the 88th minute. New Zealand keeper Jenny Bindon looked as though she had made the save, but she was standing behind her own goal line. It was enough to give the U.S. a tie game and a glimpse of hope.
Just moments later, in the fourth minute of extra time, Morgan scored her second on the night, this time courtesy of Rachel Buehler and Abby Wambach. Wambach put her head on a Buehler cross, finding Morgan just outside the six-yard box. Morgan did the rest.
Alex Morgan celebrates after scoring the winning goal Saturday against New Zealand. Photo Courtesy of AP Photo/LM Otero
“It was a great ending. I think that we really pushed to the end, to the final whistle,” Morgan told the Associated Press. “We didn’t want to come away with a loss, especially on home turf, so we definitely played it out to the end. Thank goodness we won.”
But the American struggled early on. In the 49th minute, New Zealand took advantage of a U.S. mistake to take the lead and a near victory on U.S. soil. Nicole Barnhart had been subbed into the game for all-star goalie Hope Solo for the second half. Barnhart hesitated for a moment on a ball played back to her from about 35 yards out from defender Kelly O’Hara.
And it cost her.
New Zealand’s Hannah Wilkinson seized the opportunity and beat Barnhart to the ball, giving her New Zealand squad the lead over the heavily favored Americans. It was Barnhart’s first appearance of the year.
Head Coach Pia Sundhage wasn’t expecting the game to play out as it did, she told Dallas Soccer News Editor Phil Stephens afterwards.
“It wasn’t meant to be like that,” Sundhage said. “But, I’ll take it any day. We made it really, really exciting.”
“I’m really thrilled,” Wambach said. “Today was a classic United States win, it kind of shows the fighting spirit this team has and that’s something we are really proud of and something we are going to really embrace.”
Wambach added that Morgan maybe quietly earning herself a starting spot.
“She’s making a very strong case for herself, scoring two goals,” Wambach said. “New Zealand is a very strong team. They are strong on the ball and gave us a lot of problems.”
Wambach missed an opportunity in the ninth minute to give the U.S. an early lead when she failed to convert on a penalty kick, nailing it off the post.
The U.S. outshot New Zealand, 19-7, and held a 9-1 edge in shots on goal. New Zealand kept it close and almost pulled off the upset in a match-up of David versus Goliath.
The U.S. has now won eight straight against New Zealand, outscoring them by a combined mark of 36-2.
Despite the bitter conditions with game-time temperatures dipping down to 34 degrees, the U.S. remains perfect in Texas with a record of 8-0-0 in the Longhorn state.
The U.S. returns to action on Feb. 29th when they head to Portugal to play in the annual Algarve Cup.
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