Within 13 seconds of her first international start she was setting up a teammate with a great chance. Inside three minutes she had her first goal. Catarina Macario has arrived.
The Mewis sisters, led by Samantha's three goals, did all the scoring as the U.S. women's national team opened its 2021 campaign with a 4-0 victory against Colombia on Monday in Orlando, Fla.
After a “perfect” 2020 that saw the USWNT win nine out of nine matches — but also miss eight months of action because of the pandemic — Vlatko Andonovski’s side is ready to begin 2021 with a January camp that includes a pair of friendlies against Colombia (Jan. 18 and 22) at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
With women's soccer at the Olympic Games scheduled to begin on July 21, this latest 27-player squad represents the majority of those battling for the final 18-player squad that’ll represent the U.S. in Japan.
I think we can all agree 2020 has been a really great year, right?
Sure, there was a global shutdown because of a horrible pandemic that has killed more than 1.5 million worldwide. And yes, there was a nasty U.S. presidential election in which a record number of people voted for the candidate you didn’t like. Oh and let’s not forget about climate change creating increasingly deadly and costly weather-related destruction.
But you know what? The USMNT and USWNT finished undefeated in 2020. So, overall, pretty good year.
Sam Mewis is a familiar face among the USWNT squad and has been a solid midfielder for the World Cup champions. Her sister Kristie, on the other hand, had not made an appearance for the USWNT since 2014.
However, after suffering an ACL injury and returning back to the NWSL stronger and more confident, Kristie earned herself an NWSL Challenge Cup with Houston and a roster spot on the USWNT as they faced the Netherlands. After a six-year hiatus, USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski decided two Mewis’ were better than one. He was definitely right!
What’s more important: A statement in support of human rights, or a tribute to a fallen star? According to ESPN, it’s the latter.
The USWNT returned to the pitch for the first time in 261 days by beating the Netherlands 2-0 in a friendly on Friday. The replication of the USWNT’s historic win in the 2019 Women’s World Cup final showed that even having not played in eight months, this team is still the best in the world.
Rose Lavelle and Kristie Mewis scored when the U.S. women's national team played for the first time since March in a 2-0 win against the Netherlands 2-0 at Rat Verlegh Stadium in Breda, Netherlands, on Friday.
Lavelle made it 1-0 in the 41st minute and Mewis, who replaced Lavelle in the 61st minute, extended the lead in the 70th.
We wear Black Lives Matter to affirm human decency. This is not political, it’s a statement on human rights. pic.twitter.com/QHDAx4iv7k
