Tobin Heath reacts after scoring a goal at the CONCACAF Women's Championship on Oct. 4, 2018 in Cary, N.C.
With a trio of games in which the final scores resembled baseball more than soccer, the U.S. women’s national team finished in first place in Group A in the opening round of the Concacaf Women’s Championship.
On a rainy night in Cary, North Carolina, Rose Lavelle scored two of Team USA’s four first-half goals en route to a 7-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago. The U.S. needed to either win or tie the game in order to finish in first place after a 6-0 victory over Mexico and a 5-0 win over Panama.
Alex Morgan scored in the ninth minute to give the U.S. an early lead, converting a crossing pass that just slipped in at the far post. Lavelle’s first was a strike from the top of the circle in the center in the 41st minute and her second was part of a team effort to keep the ball moving as she found an opening in the 43rd minute. Crystal Dunn added another in the 45th minute to give the U.S. a commanding lead going into the break. Lindsay Horan, Morgan and Tobin Heath finished off the scoring in the second half.
Next up is the semifinal round in Texas against the second-place team in Group B. With a win, the U.S. will clinch a finish in the top three and thus earn a spot in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The fourth-place team will play Argentina in a playoff for a chance to travel to France.
The U.S. is the defending Concacaf champion, and is seeking its eighth title overall.
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.
