USWNT beats Japan 3-0, displaying dominance after Tuesday’s loss
On a cool night at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. , the U. S.
women’s national team didn’t just beat Japan, it looked like itself again. And at the very center of their 3-0 score was defender Kennedy Wesley. After a scoreless first half, Wesley set up Naomi Girma in the 47th minute, who calmly finished at the back post.
Less than 10 minutes after the first goal, Wesley intercepted a pass and found Lindsey Heaps in midfield. Heaps slipped it to Rodman, who dribbled her defender and sent the ball to Rose Lavelle. Lavelle drove it to the top of the box and tucked a low finish into the bottom-left corner for a stunner that kept the momentum firmly on the U.
S. side. Seventeen minutes later, Wesley’s moment came — she got on the scoresheet in the 63rd minute after meeting a corner from Jaedyn Shaw for her first international goal.
The 25-year-old center back from California, who currently plays for the San Diego Wave, delivered exactly the kind of all-action performance Emma Hayes demands from her squad: a breakout display that helped drive the U. S. past a technically sharper, more cohesive Japan team.