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Trinity Rodman, fresh off signing a contract with the Washington Spirit, scored and the United States had five second-half goals in a 6-0 rout of Paraguay on Saturday.
Ally Sentnor added a pair of goals and Reilyn Turner scored in her debut match for the United States. Emma Sears also scored.
Turner, who plays professionally for the Portland Thorns, scored in first-half stoppage time on an assist from Thorns teammate Olivia Moultrie.
Sentnor added a goal in the opening minutes of the second half to put the United States up 2-0.
After an own goal in the 53rd minute, Rodman scored her 12th international goal in her 48th appearance with the team. Rodman, named captain for the match, celebrated with a brief dance for the U.S. bench.
Sentnor added her second in the 57th minute, capping a span that saw the United States add three goals in four minutes. Sears made it 6-0 with a goal in the 72nd.
“I think in the first half there were definitely nerves. We were rushing a lot,” Rodman said. “I think there was almost too much space, that we were overthinking things.”
[MORE: What’s Next: USA Star Trinity Rodman’s New Deal Is A Massive Boost for NWSL]
It was the primary of two matches for the U.S. staff to conclude its January coaching camp. The USA additionally performs Chile in Santa Barbara on Tuesday evening.
European-based U.S. gamers weren’t included within the camp as a result of they’re within the midst of their seasons. Gotham gamers have been additionally left off the roster as they put together for the ultimate stage of the primary Ladies’s Champions Cup in London subsequent week.
The gamers within the beginning lineup Saturday averaged simply 10 appearances with the nationwide staff. Coach Emma Hayes was working with a gaggle of Nationwide Ladies’s Soccer League gamers coming off an offseason.
“We had three debutantes, gamers which have solely perhaps performed a second or third cap. There was a variety of inexperience for us, and a variety of nerves that include that,” Hayes mentioned. “However I assumed the staff handles themselves rather well, contemplating.”
The staff honored retired ahead Christen Press earlier than the match. Press gained Ladies’s World Cup titles with the US in 2015 and 2019 and a bronze medal on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Over a decade with the nationwide staff, she appeared in 155 matches, scoring 64 objectives and 43 assists.
Press, who formally retired from skilled soccer in October, was among the many nationwide staff gamers who fought for equal pay and in addition advocated for higher pay and taking part in circumstances within the NWSL.
Rodman agreed on Thursday to a three-year contract to stay with the Washington Spirit, ending months of hypothesis about her future within the NWSL. At subject was the NWSL’s wage cap and whether or not it has hampered the league from attracting and sustaining prime gamers.
[MORE: USA Star Trinity Rodman Announces She’s Re-Signing With Spirit, Staying In NWSL]
The 23-year-old Rodman grew to become a free agent on the finish of final season after 5 years with the Spirit. One of many largest stars within the NWSL, maintaining her within the league was thought-about necessary as different U.S. nationwide staff stars, together with Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson, opted to play in Europe.
The monetary particulars of Rodman’s contract weren’t disclosed, however the Spirit referred to as it “some of the important offers in NWSL historical past.”
Hayes referred to as it a “monumental achievement for the NWSL.”
“I believe it’s actually incredible for the NWSL that they’ve been capable of hold Trinity Rodman,” Hayes mentioned in a prematch information convention. “I believe realizing that she’s going to be settled and comfortable in Washington goes to be a win for the U.S. nationwide staff, as a result of, as I’ve all the time mentioned, happiness and what they need is of the best order to me.”
Reporting by The Related Press.
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