USWNT finishes January Camp with rout of Chile

Different location, different outlook, but the same result nonetheless.

Playing its second friendly in four days in California against a South American side, the United States Women’s National Team again relied on a big scoring spurt to carry themselves onto victory. However, on Tuesday night against Chile in Santa Barbara, the USWNT did not wait until the second half to get its offense going, as this time, the USWNT scored three first half goals, and Emma Sears Trinity Rodman added scond half goals, and the USWNT departed the campus of UC Santa Barbara with a 5-0 win over Chile.

“Making unselfish runs, being able to move the ball side to side quickly, being able to penetrate as well as bouncing it back out, coming back out, getting crosses in, I think was really important.” USWNT forward Jameese Joseph, who scored her first career international goal said. “I think we showed we could get some early goalsthis game, which was really nice.”

 Croix Bethune and Emily Sams  found the back net in the first half, while Emma Sears and Trinity Rodman scored in the second half, and Sears was inches away from a four-goal performance. Nevertheless, the USWNT still delighted the sellout crowd of 14,797 at Harder Stadium.

“I like when it’s intimate,” Rodman said of the atmosphere at Harder Stadium. “You can hear almost every fan, even so during the game, I could hear like little comments, which I think are fun at times, and obviously when we score, it’s even louder.

The USA got going in the 18th minute. Ayo Oke played a ball from the right side to Bethune, who just managed to keep herself onside, Bethune fought off a challenge from behind from Chile’s Fernanda Ramirez, and once she gathered herself, slotted the ball past keeper Ryann Torrero into the back net to get things going for the US.

The USWNT was just getting started. Eight minutes later, Joseph opened up her national side scoring account, as Yazmeen Ryan played Joseph into the box, made a turn to evade Ramirez and fired a left-footed laser past Torrero into the back net. The US got goal number three in the 33rd minute, as Bethune played Sears into the penalty area, Sears crossed into the six-yard box and Sams came in and one-timed the ball into the back net to further widen the lead.

The USWNT did not let up in the second half, and it was Sears that got them going. After seeing two chances bounce off the post, Sears got another chance just seconds into the second half, and she was not going to be denied a third time. Sams sprung her down the right side, Sears dribbled all the way into the penalty area, then fired a right-footed shot that beat Torrero at the upper near post corner into the back net, finally tallying a goal for Sears. Rodman put the finishing touches on the match in the 69th minute, as Riley Jackson played a ball to Rodman on the right side, Rodman dribbled into the penalty area, deked Chile defender Rosario Balmaceda, then fired a shot that beat Torrero far post, and Rodam capped it off by breaking into her customary goal celebration, this time with coach Emma Hayes.