United States 2-0 Costa Rica: Lauren Cheney Puts USWNT Ahead, Abby Wambach Adds Another

It didn’t take long for the USWNT to find the back of the net, as Lauren Cheney started the process for her team of recovering from a massive upset against Mexico.

Cheney’s goal was a bit of a gift, as she did not catch her strike cleanly from about 15 yards from goal. Her shot took a deflection off of a defender and rolled slowly into the back of the net thanks to a very early commitment to the ground by Costa Rica’s goalkeeper. The United States had got off to a bit of a slow start, failing to create any clear-cut chances, but their early goal, scored inside of 20 minutes, has settled them down considerably.

It was an unfortunate blow for Costa Rica, who were defending well and executing their gameplan to near perfection early on. In the first matchup between these two teams, which the United states won eight days ago, Costa Rica were able to keep a clean sheet for the first 30 minutes. In their match against Canada, which they lost, they performed admirably in keeping a clean sheet for the entire first half. An early goal will certainly cause Costa Rica to alter their initial gameplan which appeared to center around keeping the United States off the scoreboard, rather than attacking them.

In the 33rd minute, the United States added to their lead through a goal from Abby Wambach. Lori Lindsey, who has replaced Megan Rapinoe, who is suspended due to yellow card accumulation, put a great ball into the box that was easily finished by Wambach. The Ticas now have a serious uphill battle to get back into the match.