International Recap: Five OL Reign Players Win to Close Out International Window
United States vs. Paraguay
The No. 1 ranked United States took on the No. 50 ranked Paraguay in the second match of a two game friendly series and came away with an 8-0 win. OL Reign midfielder Rose Lavelle started the match at TQL Stadium in her hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio and played 70 minutes earning one goal and three assists.
It was Lavelle who opened the scoring in the fourth minute for the United States. Casey Kreuger floated a ball into the box and Lavelle got her head on the end of it to score in front of her hometown crowd.
The United States did not wait long before scoring again. In the sixth minute, Lavelle played a ball to Sophia Smith at the top of the box. Smith took a touch inside with her right foot before finding the back of the net with her left to score her first international goal.
In the eighth minute, the U.S. added another goal. This time, it was Alex Morgan. Lavelle earned another assist as she played a ball from just outside the 18-yard box to the back post, where Morgan was making a run. Morgan nodded the ball down into the corner of the net to put the U.S. up 3-0.
Morgan scored her second of the night in the 14th minute. While the ball was loose in the box, Paraguay struggled to clear the danger, so Morgan stepped and volleyed a half-cleared ball into the goal.
Just one minute later, the United States scored their fifth goal of the match. Catarina Macario, who plays for Olympique Lyonnais, got on the scoreboard. Lavelle grabbed another assist, as she played the ball to Macario, who was overlapping her at the top of the box. Macario finished a one touch shot across goal. The 5-0 score line held until halftime.
After the break, Morgan found the back of the net first, in the 53rd minute. Smith crossed a ball into the top of the six-yard box and Morgan one touched it into goal. Lavelle was subbed out in the 70th minute, after scoring one goal and notching three assists.
Carli Lloyd scored next, in the 78th minute to make it 7-0. After a save, the ball was bouncing around near the goal line and fell to the feet of Lloyd. Lloyd calmly passed the ball into the back of the net from close range.
The final goal for the U.S. was scored by Macario in the 82nd minute. Macario lined up to half-volley a shot from the top of the 18-yard box and rocketed the ball into the goal.
Wales vs. Estonia
The No. 34 ranked Wales women’s national team defeated the No. 105 ranked Estonia women’s national team in Estonia. Wales came away with a 1-0 win in their second World Cup qualifying match. OL Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock started and played the entire match.
Wales got off to an ideal start, scoring the opening goal in the 5th minute of the match. Fishlock played a beautiful ball through the Estonian defense to Natasha Harding. Harding confidently put the ball in the back of the net from close range to put Wales ahead.
The Welsh continued to dominate the match, taking 78% of possession, but could not manage to find the back of the net again. They took 23 shots throughout the match compared to Estonia’s one and took 16 corner kicks compared to Estonia’s zero.
Wales walked away with the 1-0 win and maintained their perfect World Cup qualifying record. They are currently in second place in Group I with a positive seven, under France who has a positive 11 goal differential.
This match was Jess Fishlock’s 125th cap. The Wales women’s national team has played a total of 199 international matches and Fishlock played in 125 of them.
Germany vs. Serbia
The No. 3 ranked Germany Women’s National team played their second World Cup qualifier at Stadion Chemnitz in Chemnitz, Germany, against No. 41 ranked Serbia. Germany is undefeated in World cup qualifying play and is at the top of Group H. OL Reign midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsán started the game and played 74 minutes before being subbed out.
Germany got off to a shaky start in the match, despite being highly favored to win the match. In just the third minute of the match, Serbia opened the scoring of the match. Nina Matejic took advantage of some sloppy passing from the German side to put Serbia ahead.
Germany finally gained their footing as the match progressed. Though they were not making as many mistakes, the team was unable to find an equalizer before halftime. Notably, Marozsán won the ball at the halfway line in the 27th minute of the match and noticed the Serbian goalkeeper off her line. She took a long-range shot, but the goalkeeper was able to get back and tip the ball over the crossbar.
Following the half, Germany began to muster some offensive threat and found their first goal in the 49th minute. Lina Magull initially took a shot on goal, but that shot was saved. The rebound fell perfectly to Lea Schüller, who put it in the back of the net.
Schüller found her second goal in the 54th minute, this time using her head to finish a ball from Jule Brand. She wasn’t done though, as she scored again in the 71st minute when she cleaned up a rebounded ball in the box. The 23-year-old forward added one more goal in the 77th minute, when she headed home a cross from Linda Dallmann to put Germany up 4-1.
The German’s fifth and final goal came in the 79th minute from Melanue Leupolz, who subbed in for Dzsenifer Marozsán in the 74th minute of the match. At the final whistle, Germany earned their second World Cup qualifying win thanks to five second half goals after a bumpy start.
Costa Rica vs. Panama
No. 36 ranked Costa Rica and No. 59 ranked Panama played for the second time during the September FIFA window. Costa Rica bested Panama 3-2 at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica in San José, Costa Rica. OL Reign midfielder Shirley Cruz started the match and played all 90 minutes and earned an assist.
Costa Rica set the tone of the match early on, as they found the opening goal just eight minutes in. Carolina Venegas finished a cross in from Katherine Alvarado with her head to put Costa Rica in the lead.
Costa Rica continued to build momentum and had back-to-back chances on the goal in the 19th and 20th minutes, from Natalia Mills and Cruz. Later in the 20th minute, they found a second goal to double their lead. Cruz earned an assist for her ball to Lixy Rodriguez. Rodriguez finished her right footed shot to the lower right corner of the goal.
The team continued to create chances on goal but couldn’t quite find the final touch needed to convert the chances into goals. Costa Rica went into halftime up 2-0.
After halftime, Costa Rica continued to control the game and maintain their lead. The team kept 66% of possession and outshot Panama 12 to 8. Costa Rica’s third goal came in the 66th minute. Gabriela Guillen crossed the ball to Raquel Rodriguez, who headed the call into the top left corner of the goal.
It seemed like Costa Rica was set to take the 3-0 win when Panama scored two quick goals at the end of the match. The first was scored by Marta Cox in the 88th minute and the second was scored by Katherine Castillo on a set piece in the second minute of stoppage time. Despite those two late goals, Costa Rica earned the win.
Mexico vs. Colombia
No. 28 ranked Mexico took on the No. 26 ranked Colombia at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico and earned a 2-0 win. OL Reign defender Jimena López did not feature in the match but was available on the bench.
Mexico started the game off on the front foot, immediately earning a shot on goal in the first minute. The teams battled for dominance until the 36th minute, when Mexico scored the first goal. Maricarmen Reyes took a strong right footed shot from the middle of the box and found the back the net. The first half ended 1-0 in favor of Mexico.
In the second half, it took 16 minutes for Mexico to find the back of the net again. This time, Carolina Jaramillo was fouled by Lorena Bedoya and won a freekick for Mexico. María Sánchez stepped up to take the freekick and used her left foot to find the bottom left corner of the net to double Mexico’s lead.
Mexico had 57% of possession and took 16 shots compared to Colombia’s eight. In the end, Mexico came away with a huge win in front of a home crowd.