Tag: Rose Lavelle

Jaelin Howell replaces Taylor Kornieck on USWNT roster

It’s a big chance for Howell to boost her stock

Jaelin Howell is back in the fold for the U.S. women’s national team.

Two days after missing out on the initial roster, the Racing Louisville midfielder has been called in by USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski after an ankle injury ruled Taylor Kornieck out for games against England (Friday October 7, 3:00pm ET, Fox) and Spain (Tuesday October 11, 2:30pm ET, ESPN2). Kornieck suffered the ankle injury in the final moments of San Diego Wave’s playoff-clinching 2-2 draw against the Orlando Pride last Sunday.

Howell’s last appearance with the USWNT came back in April against Uzbekistan, and though she was called up for the team’s pre-tournament camp, she did not make the final CONCACAF W Championship roster. Still, Howell has been called up more often than not since finishing her collegiate career, and is clearly still in the mix for Andonovski as the USWNT prepares for next year’s World Cup.

Midfield picture muddled

Howell’s return to the USWNT comes with the midfield arguably in more flux than the rest of the team. Sam Mewis, a presence there for years, has barely been able to play in 2022 due to a persistent knee injury. Stalwart defensive midfielder Julie Ertz hasn’t played a game in 14 months, having become a mother after the Olympics last August, and is currently without a club. Meanwhile, Andonovski has seemed impressed by Portland Thorns rookie Sam Coffey, who has been competing of late with Andi Sullivan for the starting job as the team’s No. 6.

Howell is also a defensive midfielder, but her roving, ball-winning style of play is different from Sullivan and Coffey, who tend to hold space and set a tempo. That opens the door to Howell playing further forward in a role not unlike the one Lindsey Horan plays. Deploying Howell next to an anchor midfielder would free her up to leave space and force turnovers, a situation she thrives in.

The competition in that No. 8 spot is intense. Horan looked more mobile than she has in the last 18 months during the last USWNT window, and Kristie Mewis remains a trusted option as well. Kornieck’s form cooled somewhat after the beginning of the 2022 NWSL season, but it was not surprising to see her name on the initial camp roster.

Adding to the difficulty for Howell, Andonovski has looked at deploying two true attacking midfielders at once, pairing Rose Lavelle with Ashley Sanchez multiple times in 2022. Howell’s club teammate Savannah DeMelo is also very much in the mix as a playmaker after an outstanding rookie season.

Still, for Howell, proving that she can play at the USWNT level as both a defensive midfielder and in more of a box-to-box role would boost her chances of more caps in the near future. With the World Cup less than 10 months away, these are opportunities players have to seize if they’re going to be on the USWNT’s tournament roster.

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OL Reign move USWNT veteran Tobin Heath to season-ending injury list

OL Reign will face the stretch run without Heath

OL Reign are going to have to navigate the final weeks of the NWSL season without Tobin Heath.

The longime USWNT winger was added to the season-ending injury list by the club following knee surgery on Monday.

“Although this wasn’t an easy decision, we know this was the right decision,” Reign head coach Laura Harvey said in a club statement. “We always want to be mindful of our athletes and their health, so we wanted to be sure that Tobin will have the proper time needed to fully prepare for a successful return on the pitch. Despite missing time this season, Tobin has helped our younger players tremendously with her veteran mindset and experience.”

Impact on the Reign’s playoff hopes

Heath was overcoming an injury sustained while playing for Arsenal when she joined the Reign in June of this year, and after recovering, made five appearances as a substitute.

She scored a potentially critical goal for the club, a late winner in a 1-0 victory over Angel City FC in her second appearance, but has not played for the Reign since August 14’s 4-1 rout of Gotham FC. Heath’s last start anywhere came back on March 31, when Arsenal were eliminated by Wolfsburg in the Champions League quarterfinals.

The fact that Heath hasn’t been available very often means the Reign should be able to proceed without too much disruption. That’s no knock on Heath, but rather a testament to the fact that Harvey’s side has more depth in wide attacking positions than any team in the NWSL. Players like Tziarra King and Veronica Latsko only get sporadic starts, and a similar logjam in central midfield has allowed Harvey to move Rose Lavelle out to the right wing at times.

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Super-sub Rapinoe and Lavelle combine to push USWNT past Nigeria

Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle made the difference in a 2-1 friendly win for the USWNT over Nigeria at Audi Field.

The U.S. women’s national team was pushed by a game Nigeria side on Tuesday night, but a second-half combination between Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle made the difference in a 2-1 friendly win for the USWNT.

After Nigeria had equalized in the second half, Rapinoe came on as a substitute and provided a telling cross for Lavelle to head home for the winner at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

The game was markedly different from the game between the same two teams just three days earlier, when the USWNT cruised to a 4-0 win in Kansas City.

The USWNT pressured the visitors from the get-go but didn’t get on the scoresheet until midway through the first half when Mallory Pugh’s cross was inadvertently finished from close range by Nigeria defender Blessing Demehin.

But the U.S. was stunned early in the second half when Uchenna Kanu got behind the defense and placed an inch-perfect shot into the top corner to level the match.

The goal ended an 880-minute shutout streak for the USWNT, which last conceded in a 9-1 win over Uzbekistan in April.

But the U.S. had an answer and it was Rapinoe who provided the inspiration almost immediately after coming on as a substitute. Rapinoe’s deft cross found Rose Lavelle, who arched her body backwards to head the ball just off the post and in.

Watch Lavelle’s game-winning goal

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USWNT sees off Colombia in 2-0 friendly win

A scrappy game delayed by lightning still saw the USWNT come out on top

The U.S. women’s national team took a scrappy 2-0 decision over Colombia Tuesday night in a lightning-delayed friendly at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah.

With nine changes from the USWNT’s win over the weekend and Colombia not quite sitting as deep, a higher-tempo—but more ragged—game played out at Rio Tinto Stadium. The USWNT tested Catalina Pérez from distance several times and were denied by brave, last-ditch defending in the Colombia box on a frequent basis.

However, they took the lead when an attempt to do that went awry. Tidy work from Rose Lavelle and Alex Morgan moved the ball wide to Sofia Huerta, whose cross attempt was diverted into the goal by a lunging Manuela Vanegas for a 22nd minute own goal.

Colombia’s willingness to take more chances nearly produced a stunning equalizer, but Alyssa Naeher’s brilliant save denied Leicy Santos from 20 yards early in the second half.

A 49-minute lightning delay halted play in the 75th minute, and a more composed USWNT took the field. Pressing high, they doubled their lead just two minutes later on a precise strike from Kelley O’Hara, who came in at right back for Huerta just before the stoppage.

The friendly was the USWNT’s final warm-up before the CONCACAF W Championship, which kicks off in Mexico in six days. The U.S. will face Haiti on July 4 in their Group A opener.

See the USWNT goals

https://twitter.com/USWNT/status/1542003948571095040

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USWNT sees Colombia win as ‘good preparation’ for CONCACAF W Championship

The USWNT saw their friendly win as an ideal warm-up for qualifying

The U.S. women’s national team were made to work for a 3-0 win over Colombia Saturday night, overcoming some physical play and strong goalkeeping to eventually finish with a comfortable victory.

Perceptions around the USWNT mean that any 0-0 scoreline at halftime, as was the case at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, is met with a reaction from an expectant fanbase. Within the team, though, the response was to look at the situation as a positive.

“It’s not a secret that they were very much focused to not get scored on,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski to reporters in a post-game press conference. “The main focus for us is going to be final third, different combinations, creating space and executing the opportunities that we create.”

Speaking to Fox Sports 1 following the game, Alex Morgan—making her first USWNT appearance since October 2021—said that playing Colombia’s low block was a good warm-up for the CONCACAF W Championship, where the expectation in at least the first two group stage games (against Haiti and Jamaica) is to face an opponent prepared to defend deep.

“It’s a good preparation tool for us,” said Morgan. “Them kind of having a five-back and really sitting back and kind of not allowing us to play through them, we might see that (next month), so it’s just a great game for us in preparation.”

Andonovski added that this was a good dry run for what the team will see in Monterrey in a little over a week. “That’s pretty much what we’re going to see going forward, with most of the teams that we’re gonna face in CONCACAF.”

A major story in this match was the goals that weren’t, with the USWNT seeing Catalina Pérez save penalty kicks in both halves, from Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle. Andonovski said that while he’d of course like to see those converted, he’s not too worried.

“Obviously, it’s a penalty kick, probably the best goalscoring opportunity you can have as a team,” said Andonovski. “Give credit to the goalkeeper, she did a great job, two good saves, and we’re definitely going to work on it a little bit more. We still believe that both Lindsey and Rose are very good penalty takers.” Andonovski also pointed out that at last year’s Olympics, he chose Lavelle to shoot first in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands, an attempt that successfully set the USWNT up to advance.

The USWNT coach also highlighted performances off the bench from Ashley Sanchez, Kristie Mewis, and Taylor Kornieck, who scored on her national team debut.

For Andonovski, it started with some halftime changes, including having Sanchez come in and play alongside Lavelle in a “double No. 10” arrangement. Sanchez was involved on the opening goal in combination with Lavelle, and later played the pass that resulted in Lavelle’s penalty kick after Morgan was taken down.

“I think Ashley Sanchez was one of the main reasons why we got a little more sophisticated in the second half, because she was able to eliminate players on the dribble,” explained Andonovski. “She was able to connect well with the players around her, and she also asked different questions from the defenders. (Colombia) had to adjust.”

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Rose Lavelle injured just before USWNT pre-W Championship camp

Potentially unwelcome news for the USWNT heading into qualifying

Days before joining the U.S. women’s national team for friendlies and the upcoming CONCACAF W Championship, Rose Lavelle was ruled out of OL Reign’s match Saturday with an ankle injury.

Lavelle was a very late addition to the injury report, with the official word coming from NWSL barely more than half an hour before the Reign were to kick off against Angel City FC. No further details were provided.

Lavelle has long been Vlatko Andonovski’s starting No. 10 with the USWNT, and has also been among the best players in the entire NWSL this season. She was named to the Challenge Cup Best XI and made the NWSL Team of the Month for May.

Long tagged as injury prone, Lavelle has been healthy all season as well, playing 1,045 minutes for the Reign between NWSL league play and Challenge Cup this season.

The USWNT squad announced for this window includes only one natural attacking midfielder, the Washington Spirit’s Ashley Sanchez. If Lavelle’s injury keeps her out for more time, Andonovski could also call on Lindsey Horan, Kristie Mewis, or even the uncapped Taylor Kornieck in her spot.

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Watch Rose LaVelle score the first goal of the Olympics for the US Women’s National Team

Rose Lavelle just scored the first goal of the Olympics

Aaaaaand we’re off. The US Women’s National Soccer team is already off to the races in the Olympics.

The World Cup champions kicked things off by scoring the first goal of the Tokyo Olympics against New Zealand. It was Rose Lavelle who made the strike to give USWNT a 1-0 lead in her very first Olympics just nine minutes into the game.

She got an absolute dime from Tobin Heath on the break and took care of the rest. She was wide open and stuck the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.

It was just an amazing sequence.

What a pass. What a goal. Congrats to Lavelle on her first Olympic goal. This is how you get the Olympics started.

Watch our new sneaker unboxing series, Special Delivery 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Xu4-czKgVs

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