In their first meeting since last summer’s dramatic London 2012 Olympic semi-final, the U.S. Women’s National Team beat the Canadian Women’s National Team 3-0 on Sunday afternoon in Toronto, Ont. The Americans were led by Portland Thorns FC striker Alex Morgan who scored two goals on the day in a celebratory day for U.S. Soccer as they marked their centennial year.
SAVE: Morgan's second goal via Heath assist
Morgan’s goals were both scored from almost the same position on the field as both involved cutbacks into the 18-yard box from the left side. Her second goal came via a long over the top ball from midfielder Tobin Heath—another Thorns FC allocated national team player who is expected to join the team later this summer.
“The two passes I ran onto were quite similar," said Morgan. "The second one was a little hard of an angle, but they were just great balls. That’s bread and butter for me. That’s what I love do to. I love to score with my left foot from that side of the box and I got played in both times.”
Canada was captained by Thorns forward Christine Sinclair who was kept off the scoresheet for the day. Fellow Canadian and Thorn player Karina LeBlanc was on the matchday eighteen as goalkeeper and Thorns defender Rachel Buehler was on the bench for the U.S. team.
Christine Sinclair - USA Today Sports Images
The USA-Canada match kicked off midway through the U.S. Men’s National Team taking on Germany in a friendly Washington D.C. In that match, the Yanks held firm in a 4-3 win behind two goals from captain Clint Dempsey in a tune-up ahead of some key World Cup qualifiers later in the month.
Jozy Altidore put the USMNT ahead early on a beautiful volley from a Graham Zusi cross. Gifted an own goal by Germany's goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, Dempsey then scored two second half goals. Germany fought back to make it close but the festive centennial atmosphere helped the U.S. carry through for the victory.
U.S. Men's head coach Jurgen Klinsmann said of Dempsey following the game, "Having a player like Clint Dempsey is a privilege, and if I look back, I think this is one of the best players in US history.”
See the full match highlights of the U.S. Men's victory here:
