Carli Lloyd celebrates a goal against Chile on Sept. 4, 2018 in San Jose, Calif.
The U.S. women’s soccer team is now 2-0 and in first place in Group A at the CONCACAF Women’s Championship after a 5-0 win over Panama on Sunday in Cary, North Carolina.
Three-time Olympian and two-time gold medalist Carli Lloyd had a hat trick to lead the U.S. to the convincing victory that brought their record to 13-0-2 in 2018. The Americans, who beat Mexico 6-0 in their first match, haven’t lost since the 2017 Tournament of Nations.
Sam Mewis put the U.S. on the board just five minutes into the game, snapping in a header between defenders for a 1-0 lead.
Another set piece put the Americans ahead 2-0 when Lloyd headed the ball from the back post on a corner kick in the 23rd minute.
Six minutes later, Lloyd got a pass from Casey Short, danced through a trio of defenders and placed a shot to the back corner to make it 3-0.
Christen Press scored on a breakaway to make it 4-0 before the first half was over and Team USA took a commanding lead into the break.
Lloyd beat her defender for another header and the hat trick in the 48th minute to make it 5-0.
Three teams from the CONCACAF Women’s Championship will qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup while one team will earn a two-game playoff against Argentina for a chance to go to France. The top two finishers from Groups A and B after round-robin play will head to the semifinals in Texas.
Team USA next plays on Wednesday against Trinidad and Tobago.
Karen Price is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has covered Olympic sports for various publications. She is a freelance contributor to TeamUSA.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.
