On Tuesday July 27, U.S. Women's National Soccer team (USWNT) tied Australia in their last group-stage game and finished second in Group G behind Sweden. These Summer games are the first since 1996 that the USWNT has not won their group. Now, a team led by the likes of Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan will have to advance past the Netherlands in the Quarterfinals Friday at 7:00 AM.
This USWNT is the same as the one that won the 2019 FIFA World Cup. Did you know there are two members of the team from New Jersey?
Those two players come from opposite halves of the 'Garden State' and their names are Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath. They are two of the most-capped players in USWNT history, and caps mean games played. Lloyd was first selected to the US Women's National Team in 2005 and has played in four World cups and Olympics.
Tobin Heath's first taste of international soccer was the 2008 Beijing Olympics. A native of Ridge, NJ, Heath has played a key role on two Gold-medal-winning teams and two World Cup champs, so let's dive in!
Carli Lloyd
Carli Lloyd was born in Delran, New Jersey, which is just outside Philadelphia in New Jersey. The 39-year-old has not only won two Gold Medals before, she scored the winning goals for the U.S. in the Gold-medal games in 2008 and 2012.
Lloyd has not shrunk inside the spotlight of FIFA's main event, the Women's World Cup either. At the 2015 edition, Carli Lloyd became the first female soccer player to score a hat-trick in a Final and the second soccer player in world history, joining England's Geoff Hurst who scored three against West Germany in 1966.
Carli Lloyd was awarded the Golden Ball for being the best player at the 2015 FIFA World Cup. She scored that famous goal against Japan in the final from half-field. In 2019, the US repeated as World Champions and Lloyd was less of a factor, but added two goals.
For most of her club career in America, Lloyd has played in New Jersey. The South-Jersey-native now plays for NJ / NY Gotham FC of the NWSL.
Tobin Heath
Tobin Heath was born in Morristown, New Jersey and raised in Basking Ridge. She went to Ridge High School and found success on the pitch, According to US Youth Soccer, Heath won a US Youth Soccer National Championship with her club team at 15.
Heath's career really took off in her late teens. She graduated from Ridge in 2006 and became a starter at the University of North Carolina. According to the US Youth Soccer website, Heath was part of a "spectacular freshman class" in 2006 that helped UNC win the Division I Women's Soccer Championship. If two national titles weren't enough, the Jersey girl would go on to win three straight National championships with UNC and make three appearances with the US Women's National Team at the age of 20 at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
In 2010, Heath was selected first-overall in Women's Professional Soccer College Draft by the Atlanta Beat. Before she went to play in the Women's Super League last year, Heath played seven seasons for the Portland Thorns of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).
Heath has played in 174 games for USWNT, scoring 35 goals and 41 assists. Heath and Carli Lloyd are the only two remaining players who have represented the United States at four Olympic games and won two Gold Medals.
Quarterfinals Preview: NED vs USA
The US Women came into the Tokyo Olympics as the number-one ranked team by FIFA, Then, the Americans opened up the games with a 3-0 defeat to fifth-ranked Sweden.
The loss snapped a 44-game unbeaten streak for the US, but fans should stop criticizing the team and understand that they are not perfect and Sweden and Australia are both top-ten women's national teams in the world. Sweden won the Silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympic games, after all, and wake-up calls can help bring the number-one ranked team back down to Earth.
Forward Christen Press has scored the third-most goals (63) of any player on the US Olympic roster. The 33-year-old Californian is behind only Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd, who have each scored over 100. According to FOX Sports, Press believes the USWNT will be ready for their first game of the knockout stages against a tough Netherlands side.
You’ve seen us take different tactical approaches in the group stage, and now we’re in a knockout phase," Press explained, "I expect to see a lot of high energy from our players, an eagerness to score, an eagerness to win the ball back and control the game a bit more." - Christen Press
Tomorrow, the USWNT will face the Netherlands, who won all three of their group stage games and have scored the most goals (21) of any women's team in Tokyo, or in Olympic history. The Dutch boast of having the top striker in the Olympics, and her name is Vivianne Miedema. The 26-year-old's eight goals so far, broke the Olympic record previously held by Canada's Christine Sinclair.
In just 3 games the Netherlands has broken the Olympic record for most goals in a single tournament last set by the USWNT in 2012🇳🇱📈
They face off with the USWNT in the quarterfinals this Friday👀 pic.twitter.com/xfRvhDuGDP
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 27, 2021
While Miedema is the "talisman" of the Dutch side that the Americans will be taking on on Friday morning, the Dutch are deep as a team. They boast of having a deep attacking group, including Lieke Martens who has over 100 caps for the Netherlands and won the Champions League with Barcelona, this past season. Martens and Shanice Van de Sanden scored one goal each in the Netherlands last game and will be players for the USWNT to watch ahead of tomorrow's crucial knockout game.
The Netherlands also have extra motivation to advance past the United States because that was the team who shut them out in the finals of the 2019 FIFA World Cup.
America did not score a single goal in two group matches, yet produced six against New Zealand. Six different American women tallied in that game, including midfielders Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle.
Since she scored three goals at the 2019 World Cup, America will be hoping that Lavelle can help the United States advance past a powerful Netherlands squad. Tomorrow's game is as much about winning the Olympics as it is redemption for bowing out of the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics after losing to Sweden in penalties.
The pressure is on for the USWNT, but if anyone knows how to deal with expectations it's the leaders in that locker room. Players like, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd who have been key cogs in the USWNT teams at three Olympic games already and on two World cup-winners.
Keeping the potent Dutch offense at bay will surely be a challenge for USWNT's least experienced players. However, the youngest players who have started at these games, like 23-year-old Tierna Davidson, have started at the World Cup already and should be ready for the Netherlands in what surely is the biggest game of their lives.
All of us at Jersey Sporting News wish the USWNT good luck in Friday's Quarterfinal!! GO USA!!
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