Death. Taxes. These words are usually followed by a third thing used to illustrate certainty. Death. Taxes. Gigi Buffon.
Death. Taxes. The patriarchy.
This one is interesting because the latter subject is responsible in varying degrees for the other two, and because it may not be such a certainty anymore. One arena where the patriarchy has always been unquestioned in its dominance is the literal arena. Sports.
The inaugural SheBelieves Cup final that featured the USWNT and Germany's women's national team lived up to the hype. With other powerhouse national teams like France and England, the SheBelieves Cup was a great success for all. Last night, Alex Morgan scored a goal very similar to one of the Neymar's best goals in recent years. Morgan took a bouncing long ball, flicked it over a defender and calmly volleyed it into net in front of a charging German keeper. The 34th minute equalizer was a thing of beauty and the USWNT would go on to win 2 - 1.
Today, Alex Morgan stands as one of the most established players on the USWNT, but not too long ago she was just another talent trying to get into the national team. She’s come a long way since then, and we’ve been with her most of the way. Below, you’ll see our video, “18 Seconds of Alex Morgan,” as well as a small anthology of articles concerning our favorite lefty from Diamond Bar.
Not that Meghan Klingenberg would have had any trouble stealing our hearts normally, but today she especially stole our hearts with this video of the USWNT star accepting an award (sadly, not an Oscar).
Abby Wambach is the all-time leading scorer in international soccer. She has a stunning 184 goals; 23 more than her nearest female competitor, Christine Sinclair, and 75 more than her nearest male competitor, Ali Daei. No man alive today has a legitimate chance at breaking Wambach’s record. She originally claimed the record during a friendly against South Korea on June 20th, 2013. She scored four times as she did so. A feat that will remind some of Lionel Messi, who has a habit of scoring a hat trick when he breaks a record, and perhaps does so fittingly.
Alex Morgan is good at sports. In the USWNT's Olympic qualifier against Costa Rica Wednesday, Morgan scored a goal just 12 seconds into the match, the fastest goal in US Soccer history and one of the fastest goals of all time.
Before many fans could even sign into their cable accounts and stream the USWNT Olympic Qualifer against Costa Rica, Alex Morgan had already put the USWNT up 1 - 0. It took 12 seconds, two passes, an immediate long ball, flick on header, two touches,and a shot to give the USWNT the start they craved for. The USWNT continued to dominate play and added two more goals soon after, however Alex Morgan's goal will be remembered for years to come. This goal was the fastest in US Soccer history. Morgan's goal was symbolic for the USWNT.
The USWNT won the 2015 World Cup. Just a few months later, they are being sued by their own federation.
The last time a player on the USWNT scored a goal in their debut cap was all the way back in November. As predicted, another member of the youthful USWNT, Mallory Pugh, joined the First Cap, First Goal (1C1G) club this year.
In case you missed the US women’s rout of Ireland, here are the four biggest highlights:
1. Carli Lloyd took 28 minutes to score her hat-trick. She’s in a slump, but seems to be coming back.
2. Alex Morgan put an exclamation on her 100th cap with a goal and two assists.
I’m comfortable calling Tobin Heath the best dribbler on the USWNT. Ever since she dropped this ridiculous elastico before assisting Abby “The Legend” Wambach against Mexico, she’s had the title firmly in her grip…er, between her feet. Now that she’s the reigning queen of dribbling it seems that her reputation is getting her some interesting gigs. For instance, this video of Tobin Heath nutmegging everyone on the USWNT at a recent training camp.