US Soccer
AUCKLAND, NZ (WSAU) — Portland Thorns Striker Sophia Smith made an immediate impact in her World Cup debut as the USA shut out Vietnam 3-0 to open Group E play in Auckland on Friday night.
Smith opened the scoring in the 14th minute, taking a feed from veteran Alex Morgan and slotting home a low shot from nine yards out. Her second goal came in first-half stoppage time after Vietnam GK Trần ThịKim Thanh tried to clear a ball from her own box. Instead, it fell to Smith who redirected it into a wide-open net.
Captain Linsey Horan capped off the scoring in the 77th minute. She took a centering pass from defender Julie Ertz and redirected it from 13 yards out.
Vietnam played much of the game in its own end, failing to test USA GK Alyssa Naeher. They did get a brief boost in the first half when a video review awarded a penalty kick to the Stars and Stripes. Morgan’s shot went low-left, and ThaiKim managed to save it. The deflection went right back to Morgan who then tried to slot it low-right, but the shot went wide.
Former Wisconsin Badger Rose Lavelle saw action as a late second-half sub, her first competitive minutes for either club or country in months coming off an injury. She nearly scored late in the game, hitting the crossbar on a diagonal run.
Megan Rapinoe also came on in the second half, making her 200th appearance in a USA shirt.
The United States now leads Group E with three points. They’ll return to action Wednesday night against the Netherlands. Kick off is set for 8 PM CT in Wellington with coverage on FOX. For those of you wondering about the time difference, that equals a 1 PM kickoff on Thursday in New Zealand.
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