The U.S. Women’s National Team rebounded from a disappointing draw earlier in the week and defeated Japan 2-0 on goals from Julie Johnston and Alex Morganin front of 23,535 fans – a record attendance for a WNT game in the State of Ohio – in a match that was abandoned in the 76th minute due to inclement weather.
After an exciting 3-3 draw last Thursday in the teams’ first meeting since the historic 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, the USA put in a dominant performance in the second leg of this two-game set, controlling large swaths of the game and generating numerous goal scoring opportunities while holding firm defensively. The USA held Japan to just two shots on goal.
Johnston scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 27th minute with her eighth career goal, all of set plays, before Morgan capped things off in the 62nd with her team leading 11th goal of 2016.
With the U.S. in control of the match, both teams began introducing numerous second half substitutions, but after playing almost the entire match under sunny skies, the weather abruptly took a turn for the worse and in the 76th minute the match officials were forced to send the players back to the locker room due to lightning and heavy rain. After a long delay, and with more bad weather rolling in, the final 14 minutes of the match were called off.
U.S. Soccer is awaiting final word from FIFA as to whether the match and all the statistics will count as official.
The U.S. WNT will finish its preparations for the 2016 Olympics in Rio next month, beginning with the first match in team history against South Africa at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9 (12 p.m. CT; FS1). The team will play a second match later in July against an as yet to be announced opponent before departing for the Olympics.
Next on the Schedule: The U.S. WNT returns to action when it meets South Africa for a friendly for the first time in team history at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9 (12 p.m. CT; FS1).
Milestone Watch:
- Hope Solo, who earned her 196th cap, earned the 99th shutout of her career, and with two games left before the Olympics, could become the first goalkeeper to reach 100 before the USA leaves for Brazil. The USA plays South Africa for the first time in team history on July 9 at Soldier Field in Chicago and will play a yet to be announced match in late July.
Additional Notes:
- The 23,535 fans at today’s game mark the largest crowd to watch the WNT in the state of Ohio. The previous record was 23,101 at Columbus Crew Stadium on Oct. 3, 1999 vs. South Korea.
- Alex Morgan now has seven career goals vs. Japan, the most she has vs. any country.
- Morgan has now scored in seven games of the 11 she’s played in 2016, and with four multi-goal games so far, has a total of 11 goals in 2016.
- Morgan now has 67 career goals and 18 multi-goal games for the USA.
- The only other time Morgan scored double-digit goals for the USA in a calendar year was in 2012, which, coincidently, also happened to be an Olympic year.
- Julie Johnston scored her third goal of 2016 and eighth career goal. All have come off set pieces.
- Allie Long notched her second career assist for the WNT.
– U.S. Women’s National Team Match Report –
Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Japan
Date: June 5, 2016
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium; Cleveland, Ohio
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Attendance: 23,535
Weather: 74 degrees, mostly cloudy (Abandoned in 76th minute due to inclement weather).
Date: June 5, 2016
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: FirstEnergy Stadium; Cleveland, Ohio
Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Attendance: 23,535
Weather: 74 degrees, mostly cloudy (Abandoned in 76th minute due to inclement weather).
Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 1 2
JPN 0 0 0
USA 1 1 2
JPN 0 0 0
USA – Julie Johnston (Allie Long) 27th minute
USA – Alex Morgan (Crystal Dunn) 62
USA – Alex Morgan (Crystal Dunn) 62
Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 8-Julie Johnston, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (capt.), 7-Meghan Klingenberg; 14-Morgan Brian (20-Lindsey Horan, 57), 23-Allie Long, 12-Christen Press; 16-Crystal Dunn (11- Ali Krieger, 75), 13-Alex Morgan, 17-Tobin Heath
Subs Not Used: 3-Samantha Mewis, 6-Whitney Engen, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 15-Emily Sonnett, 21-Alyssa Naeher
Head coach: Jill Ellis
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 8-Julie Johnston, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (capt.), 7-Meghan Klingenberg; 14-Morgan Brian (20-Lindsey Horan, 57), 23-Allie Long, 12-Christen Press; 16-Crystal Dunn (11- Ali Krieger, 75), 13-Alex Morgan, 17-Tobin Heath
Subs Not Used: 3-Samantha Mewis, 6-Whitney Engen, 9-Heather O’Reilly, 15-Emily Sonnett, 21-Alyssa Naeher
Head coach: Jill Ellis
JPN: 1-Erina Yamane; 5-Yuri Kawamura (2-Saori Ariyoshi, 56),15-Hikari Takagi, 4-Saki Kumagai, 6-Rumi Utsugi (capt.); 17-Ami Sugita (7-Emi Nakajima 46), 10-Mizuho Sakaguchi, 14-Yu Nakasato, 13-Rika Masuya (19-Mayu Sasaki, 65); 11-Yuika Sugasawa (8-Sonoko Chiba, 46), 16-Mana Iwabuchi (20-Kumi Yokoyama, 64)
Subs Not Used: 3-Tomoko Muramatsu, 12-Ayaka Yamashita, 18-Sakiko Ikeda
Head coach: Asako Takakura
Subs Not Used: 3-Tomoko Muramatsu, 12-Ayaka Yamashita, 18-Sakiko Ikeda
Head coach: Asako Takakura
Stats Summary: USA / JPN
Shots: 11 / 3
Shots on Goal: 9 / 2
Saves: 2 / 4
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 5 / 11
Offside: 4 / 1
Shots: 11 / 3
Shots on Goal: 9 / 2
Saves: 2 / 4
Corner Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 5 / 11
Offside: 4 / 1
Misconduct Summary:
USA – Julie Johnston (caution) 13th minute
JPN – Yuika Sugasawa (caution) 36
USA – Julie Johnston (caution) 13th minute
JPN – Yuika Sugasawa (caution) 36