A ball from Rose Lavelle to Olivia Moultrie produced the first goal in the second minute against Italy, a team the United States had not played in 15 years. Lavelle, fresh off an MVP performance for Gotham FC in the NWSL championship last weekend, pulled the strings while Moultrie found a seam to pass through and scored his fifth goal for the United States in 11 appearances for the team.
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In total, the United States has scored in the first two minutes of five games this year: Moultrie (two), Lavelle (one goal, one assist) and Catarina Macario (one goal, one assist). He has scored in the first 10 minutes of his last four games. And Macario scored two goals in the second half to boost the final score and register his second double in two games.
But scoring early doesn’t guarantee wins, as the United States showed last month, and the team needed to finish the game. It was Lavelle who scored in the opening minutes of the first of two games against Portugal in October. The United States ultimately lost that match 2-1. Lavelle told reporters before the match that the loss to Portugal was an opportunity to “learn and grow” from his disappointment in what was one of the team’s worst performances under coach Emma Hayes.
Even with Portugal’s performance fresh in the team’s minds and the subsequent 3-1 rebound a few days later, the United States stumbled again with set pieces. A back-to-back Italian corner and free kick showed shades of the first performance against Portugal.
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On Friday, Italy’s corner came first when centre-back Elena Linari was left open at the far post. However, the London City Lionesses defense was unable to control the ball and instead hit it over the crossbar. The second moment of nervousness for the United States came less than a minute later, when midfielder Claire Hutton conceded a free kick about 25 meters from the goal. Italian midfielder Manuela Giugliano sent a high ball, but her teammate Michela Cambiaghi hit it in the wrong direction.
The United States found its way back in the second half, putting more pressure on Italy’s normally solid defense. The United States increased its 15 shots, including Macario’s two goals. The Chelsea striker has now scored in six of her previous seven games and added 15 goals to her total, the most of any American player this year.
Scoring early against Italy is no easy task. The 12th ranked team likes to sit back and defend. At this summer’s European Championship, Le Azzurre reached the semi-finals, holding all but Spain scoreless in the first half of four of the five games they played.
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However, the Americans also welcomed a key piece of their defense with the return of defender Naomi Girma, who missed most of the year with the United States due to injury.
Hayes opted for one of his oldest lineups on Friday, featuring just three starters with fewer than 10 appearances. It marked Girma’s return to the backline for the first time in 149 games, which proved crucial. The 25-year-old donned the captain’s armband for the fourth time as a starter for the United States.
Girma wasted no time showing why she is one of the best centre-backs in the world. In the 38th minute, Italy cleared a ball from its defense, sending Chiara Beccari and Girma on a two-player race toward the American goal. Fighting from midfield to the United States 18-yard box, Girma put one foot in front of Beccari’s shot as the United States captain lost his balance. The defensive momentum helped the United States to its ninth clean sheet this year.
Lavelle and Girma were the backbone of the United States’ performance against Italy, with Lavelle providing several opportunities in the first half and taking a few shots on goal. Like Girma, Lavelle missed the first half of the year recovering from ankle surgery.
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Despite the strength of his veteran players, Hayes continued his theme of testing the depth of the American player pool. She made the 26th and 27th debuts of her two-year tenure against Chicago Stars forward Jameese Joseph and Washington Spirit midfielder Kate Wiesner in the second half.
The United States and Italy will meet again on December 1 at 7 pm ET at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US women’s national team, NWSL, women’s soccer, women’s sports
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