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Top 10 Frisco and Little Elm Sports Stories of 2012: 10. Morgan fuels Team USA comeback
BY Chris O’Dell, codell@starlocalnews.com
FRISCO -- The U.S. women’s soccer team had plenty of scoring opportunities during Saturday’s exhibition game against New Zealand.
It was the late chances that mattered most for the Americans though.
Trailing by a goal late in the game, forward Alex Morgan scored the equalizer in the 88th minute and added the game-winner in the 94th minute, just before the final whistle sounded to give the U.S. a dramatic 2-1 victory at FC Dallas Stadium.
Despite outshooting New Zealand, 19-7, and holding a dominant 9-1 edge in shots on goal in the game, the U.S. trailed after forward Hannah Wilkinson intercepted a bad pass from defender Kelley O’Hara for the game's first score and a 1-0 New Zealand lead.
“It was a mistake and they were smart enough to punish us for that mistake,” said Pia Sundhage, U.S. head coach.
Forward Abby Wambach, who recently passed former teammate Kristine Lilly for second place on the world goal list, hit the left post on an early penalty kick attempt, setting the tone for the entire opening half.
Wambach’s miss in the ninth minute was the first of multiple chances the U.S. put on New Zealand goalkeeper Jenny Bindon.
“It seems as though we always wait until the last 15 minutes to turn it on,” Wambach said.
Bindon made seven saves in the losing effort, despite getting little help from her defense, which surrendered more chances as the match progressed.
Knotted at halftime, New Zealand struck in the second half.
Wilkinson’s goal came in the 49th minute when O'Hara attempted a pass from 35 yards out back toward her own goal. O’Hara’s pass ran out of juice before it reached goalie Nicole Barnhart though and Wilkinson sprinted in to chip the ball over Barnhart's head from 15 yards out to give New Zealand the lead. Barnhart had just entered the match after starting goalkeeper Hope Solo held New Zealand scoreless in the opening half.
It was Barnhart's first appearance of 2012.
“I still had a lot of faith in my team,” said Amy Rodriguez, U.S. forward. “I thought we came together in the second half.”
Morgan looked to knot the game at a goal apiece in the 61st minute on a shot from 15 yards out. However, Bindon turned it away.
“We really pushed till the end,” Morgan said.
The U.S. had another scoring opportunity foiled by Bindon in the 67th minute when reserve Megan Rapinoe put a header on goal off a long corner kick. The 39-year-old Bindon would keep the U.S. scoreless until Morgan's first goal in the 88th minute.
Morgan’s equalizer came on a cross from Rapinoe from the right side that found Morgan just in front of the left post. Morgan put in a header that Bindon saved from getting by her. However, the New Zealand keeper was over the goal line and a score was rewarded to the Americans.
“We refuse to lose and we want to win,” Sundhage said.
Morgan got another scoring chance only two minutes later. A long shot went wide left though and appeared to end both team's chance at breaking the tie.
The U.S. starting forward wasn't done there though.
Morgan found the back of the net four minutes into stoppage time after defender Rachel Buehler delivered a cross from the left side. Wambach then headed it high into the air, finding Morgan 5 yards in front of the net for the game's decisive goal.
“That was probably the highest I’ve ever jumped in my life,” Wambach said.
The 2-1 victory saved the U.S. from dropping its first contest on American soil since a 2004 loss to Denmark in Philadelphia. It also improved the team's overall mark in Texas to 8-0-0.
The U.S. delivered the win in front of a sellout crowd of 20,677 at FC Dallas Stadium. The crowd was the largest for a U.S. women’s soccer game since a 2003 contest at the Cotton Bowl.
“We didn't want to come out with a loss,” Morgan said, “especially on our home turf.”
The U.S. will now travel to Portugal to compete in the annual Algarve Cup. The team’s first match is slated for Feb. 29 against Denmark.
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