The U.S. Women’s National Team did just enough to pull off a victory in the coaching debut for Vlatko Andonovski at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The U.S. disposed of rivals Sweden 3-2 with what initially appeared to be a comfortable victory.
Veteran national team hero Carli Lloyd started off the scoring in the sixth minute off a ball played from Christen Press. The good fortunes continued as two quick additional goals were tacked on from Press and Lloyd.
After the first half, the U.S. dominated play as Sweden struggled to get the ball out of their own half for lengthy periods of time in the half.
“I think we did a good job controlling the game defensively,” reflected Andonovski after the match. Referring to their defensive pressing, he went on to say, “The only thing I think we could have done better was pushing the block a little bit higher.”
Though the Swedes did not get a shot on goal until the 75th minute of the second half, it resulted in a goal. Substitute Anna Anvegård announced herself into the match scoring a brace within four minutes.
Within three minutes after the second goal from Anvegård, the U.S. had a chance to end the match with a penalty kick after a foul on Casey Short in the box. Lloyd, however, put the ball over the bar to silence the home fans.
One of the surprises of the match was star defender Julie Ertz coming off at halftime after a decent shift in the first half.
“She is 100%,” said Andonovski referring to Ertz’s fitness. “If you ask Julie, she is always 100%. True warrior, an absolute warrior.”
He clarified his selection of bringing on the 23-year-old Andi Sullivan saying, “I felt like it was a good opportunity for Andi to come on and get some minutes against a good opponent.”
The match also marked a return of Ohio native Rose Lavelle, scorer of the game-winner in the World Cup Final.
“It’s always fun to come back and be in a familiar area,” Lavelle said about being back in the Buckeye State. “My two sisters actually live in Columbus so I’ve actually been hanging out with them all week… It’s fun.”
According to Lloyd, the players have felt very positive about what Andonovski has done so far.
“I’ve heard so many good things about [Andonovski] from so many players and now I know why,” said Lloyd after the game. “It’s just an aura he has about him. He’s calm, collected and he just wants to make this team better and wants to make this team playing good soccer.”
The four-time world champions will continue their run with their new coach as they take on Costa Rica at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida this Sunday at 8:08 pm ET.
Photo Credit: Ken Tishenkel/ISNSoccer.com
