Croix Bethune needed less than 90 seconds to announce her arrival to the U.S. national team.
The 23-year-old Washington Spirit midfielder, an alternate on Coach Emma Hayes’s roster for the Paris Olympics, made her senior international debut in the 81st minute of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Mexico, the first of two send-off games.
In the 82nd minute, Bethune got a short pass from Lynn Williams and positioned herself for a strike from 22 yards. Her shot sailed just wide of the left post, but it earned a roar from the sold-out Red Bull Arena crowd in Harrison, N.