The U.S. Women’s National Team defeated Spain 1-0 in the first international meeting between the two teams thanks to a second-half goal created by a strong individual effort from halftime substitute Christen Press.
The first 45 minutes began with both teams wrestling to impose their style on the match, but after a hard-charging opening 10 minutes from Spain, the U.S. began flexing its muscles, nearly taking the lead in the 14th minute. A corner kick from the right wing was misjudged by Spain goalkeeper Sandra Paños and reached Megan Rapinoe on the back left post. Her bicycle-kick attempt was pushed away by a recovering Paños as Julie Ertz crashed in looking to get her head on the ball, which slipped just past Rose Lavelle, who couldn’t react in time to stab home the loose ball at the right post.