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Olivia Moultrie led the United States women’s national team’s 5-0 victory over the Dominican Republic on Tuesday during the first group stage match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup W.
Moultrie scored not only her first USWNT goal, but also a brace in the victory. Forward Lynn Williams made it 2-0 before the end of the first half, and defender Jenna Nighswonger also scored her first goal for the USWNT, via a late penalty.
Alex Morgan converted a penalty for the final goal of the night, scoring her first goal for the USWNT in almost a year. Morgan joined the team this week as a replacement player for Mia Fishel, who tore her right ACL on Monday. Morgan wore Fishel’s No. 7 jersey instead of her traditional No. 13, per CONCACAF Gold Cup rules.
For Moultrie, still 18, it was her third cap for the United States, playing as a forward in a 3-2-4-1 formation under Sophia Smith. In the eighth minute, Moultrie finished the ball once after a great touch from Smith. The touch went over the defender and into Moultrie’s path directly in front of goal.
Despite being the youngest soccer player to turn professional at age 13 in 2019, Moultrie fell far short of a USWNT record for youngest goalscorer. Surprisingly, that honor still belongs to one of the legends of the game, Kristine Lilly. Lilly had just turned 16, not even a full month since her birthday, when she scored a goal against China in 1987. (Related fun fact: Lilly also holds the record for oldest scorer on the team, in addition to easily holding the record for (plus USWNT caps.) According to the team, Moultrie is now the 33rd teenager to score for the USWNT. Even if the record wasn’t on the line, Moultrie’s brace in his first senior national team start is a huge reminder of the potential of this team’s young talent.
“I’m pretty elated right now,” Moultrie told Paramount+ after the game. “I was so happy to be on the field tonight. “Having the opportunity to start is incredible and being on the field with these players and being able to score those goals, obviously just helping contribute to the victory was the best thing I have been able to do.”
Moultrie scored her second goal of the match and Midge Purce again provided the opening ball in the 58th minute, making the score 3-0 overall. Purce, a constant threat on both sides of the pitch during his 66 minutes, opened a narrow passing channel towards the back post. The Dominican Republic compounded the problem with their continued defensive errors in the area; Moultrie was wide open in front of goal and it was a simple redirection with her left foot to rebound the ball.
Overall, the United States dominated the match, pressing high against the Dominican Republic on a waterlogged field at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The USWNT outshot their opponents 33 to 1 and maintained 69 percent possession.
There was a sense of ruthlessness in this group, a quality the team was frequently criticized for in 2023. The United States seemed hungry to get the ball and face multiple defenders, although they had the benefit of an error-prone defense that did everything possible to eliminate defensive gaps, but also frequently lost track of American players in the area.
Future coach Emma Hayes probably played in the more aggressive 3-2-4-1 formation that often put four or more forwards into the box, creating a plethora of chances throughout the 90 minutes. The game showed less of how this team’s midfield unit will operate against such a low block, but provided some answers as to who wants to solve problems: Purce and Moultrie.
Purce is a familiar figure in that regard, but he continued to show his commitment to getting defenders out of position and beating open players one-on-one. As for Moultrie, she too continues to develop into a midfielder with great ball control who stays alert in one-on-one situations in front of goal.
“We worked a lot tactically, to get into those spaces and get into the zone one on one, scoring a lot more tactical goals in the sense that we want touches, we want easy goals and easy shots on goal. zone,” Purce said after the game. “We play against a low block, which gives us the opportunity to have a lot of creativity. “We have a lot of creative players on the front line.”
Nighswonger’s first USWNT goal was another intriguing moment. She is no stranger to this position with Gotham FC, so the US coaching staff may be considering her as a short- or long-term option when it comes to sanctions.
Morgan’s penalty was equally crucial. Kilgore emphasized several times that no one has been ruled out of the Olympic roster yet, and that veterans like Morgan and Becky Sauerbrunn (who was wearing the captain’s armband Tuesday night) were known to the coaching staff. However, there is a feeling that Morgan once again has to earn his way back onto the roster. A converted penalty doesn’t count the same as a goal scored during the course of the game, but considering the recovery time Morgan has had since he was added as an injury replacement player, it’s not a bad first step in that process.
(Photo: Brad Smith/Getty Images for USSF)