LOS ANGELES — The first 20 minutes resembled more of a high-speed chase with a wrestling match thrown in as both the USWNT and Colombia national teams kicked off their CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal match.
After the dust-ups and crunching tackles subsided, the USWNT had put forth the perfect response to last Monday’s loss to Mexico.
“I think we kind of knew it was going to be like that going into this game,” USWNT forward Jaedyn Shaw said. “We knew it was going to be a battle and we were up for the challenge.
Lindsay Horan, Jenna Nighswonger and Shaw scored in the chaotic, yet productive first half for the USWNT, leading the way to what would eventually be a 3-0 win in front of 16,746 at BMO Stadium Sunday.
USWNT will face rival Canada in Wednesday’s semifinal at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego.
“This was just a different type of match, it’s our third game against them and they’re a tough team to play against,” USWNT interim coach Twila Kilgore said. “The players did an amazing job carrying out the plan. The job was to advance and we’re thrilled to do that and we have a lot more football left in us.”
The USWNT set a “we’re not backing down” tone early as Alex Morgan and Trinity Rodman were involved in face-to-face disagreements with members of the Colombian team. Both received yellow cards in their separate incidents, but the line had been drawn.
In the 12th minute, Alex Morgan was taken down, leading to a penalty kick. Lindsay Horan stepped up and converted for an early 1-0 lead.
“We knew it would be a big physical battle,” Kilgore said. “We did a good job early matching their physicality.”
The USWNT continued pressing Colombia, lead to the second goal. Nighswonger scored in the 22nd minute, assisted by Morgan for a 2-0 lead. It was Nighswonger’s second goal in the tournament.
“We’re pleased with Jenn,” Kilgore said. “She’s filled different roles in the past, we’ve ask her to play higher up and…
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