A sellout crowd of more than 27,000 at StubHub Center in Carson, California, saw the U.S. Women’s National Team overcome a slow start to defeat Mexico, 5-1, in the second of a three-game send-off series before the 2015 Women’s World Cup begins.
Sydney Leroux opened the scoring in the 28th minute, finding the back of the net off a left-footed shot from a sharp angle after touching it around Mexican goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago.
Mexico’s Ariana Calderon equalized in the 39th minute off a free kick sent in by Bianca Sierra, beating goalkeeper Hope Solo to the ball to head it in.
Second-half substitutes Lori Chalupny and Abby Wambach wasted no time making their presence known. Wambach, on for Christen Press, found Chalupny for a near-post goal in the 46th minute. In the 58th minute, Arianna Romero’s clearance hit her arm while in the box and Wambach buried the resulting penalty kick to give the U.S. a 3-1 lead.
Leroux added another in the 61st from a Morgan Brian pass. This time, Leroux’s touch took her to the right and she netted one to the lower left.
Wambach made it 5-1 in the 72nd minute off a Tobin Heath pass. Heath’s elastico opened up space for her run to the endline and her resulting cross found an onrushing Wambach, who headed it past the Mexican defense.
Here’s the Heath move and assist:
[divider]About the Photojournalist[/divider]
Manette Gonzales has a bachelor’s degree in communications and history from UC San Diego. Her interests include reading, photography, and traveling. Contact Manette at manette.gonzales@gmail.com.