The priority for the U.S. women’s national soccer team in the SheBelieves Cup, Coach Vlatko Andonovski said repeatedly the past week, was to test a new wave of players and gain a better understanding of his talent pool before bigger things this summer.
He also said he wouldn’t mind winning the seventh annual tournament because, after all, that is what this program has done better than anyone over three-plus decades of elite play.
Both objectives fell into place Wednesday night as 22-year-old Catarina Macario scored two breathtaking goals in the first half and 23-year-old Mallory Pugh added two after intermission during a 5-0 victory over Iceland in Frisco, Tex.