So far through two games, it continues to be mixture of experience and youth for the United States women’s national.
On the experience side, World Cup veterans such as Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan scored on Friday in the USWNT’s second CONCACAF W Gold Cup match against Argentina on Friday night. On the youth side, it was 18-year old Jaedyn Shaw that had her coming out party, as she scored two goals and the USA secured its spot in the knockout stages of the W Gold Cup with a 4-0 win at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Argentina actually posed a threat to the USWNT at the start of the match. Mariana Larroquette came within inches of putting the US in an early deficit, as she saw US keeper Jane Campbell off her line and chipped a ball from about 15 yards out that had a chance to go in, but the ball instead went off the crossbar. Moments later, trailing by a goal, Larroquette actually found the back net for an equalizer, but the goal was called back, as Larroquette was offside when she received the pass that put her in shooting position.
The USWNT eventually imposed its will on the match. Shaw scored her first goal of the match in the 10th minute, as she received a ball from Horan, touched into the penalty area and fired a shot near post that snuck past keeper Laurina Oliveros to open the scoring for the USWNT. Shaw got her brace in the 18th minute, as a quick one-two between and Horan and Rose Lavelle resulted in Lavelle being unmarked near the end line, Lavelle crossed into the penalty area, and Shaw one-timed a ball into the back net uncontested to double the US advantage.
Then it was the veterans’ turn to take over. Morgan got on the scoresheet for a second straight match one minute after Shaw’s goal, as Casey Krueger crossed from the left side into the penalty area, Morgan headed a ball high, but landed in the perfect spot, as the ball sailed past Oliveros under the crossbar at the upper corner and across the goal line, and just like that, the US was up 3-0. The USWNT salted away the match, then added a fourth goal in the 77th minute, as VAR confirmed an Argentina handball inside the penalty area, which awarded the US a penalty, and Horan converted the penalty to seal the win.