RUNNING IN RIO USWNT opens Olympics with 2-0 win

The US women’s national team rarely left second or third gear as they kicked off their 2016 Olympic tournament with a 2-0 defeat of New Zealand at Estadio Minerao in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, paced by an early goal from Carli Lloyd and a clincher from Alex Morgan just after halftime.

The first Olympics in Brazil are underway – aptly with a game of soccer in the sport’s spiritual home.

Lloyd opened scoring with a header in the game’s ninth minute while Morgan scored her goal less than a minute into the second half at the Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte.

And as the U.S. Olympic team noted on Twitter, today’s game was played on the anniversary of the Americans’ victory over China in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Team USA next plays vs. France on August 6, in what is expected to be the toughest match of the group for the Americans. Pugh was injured and tended to in the first half, while the US played shorthanded.

Tony Readings believes his team have come a long way since their 4-0 loss to the United States in April previous year. She was called back to the national team for training and evaluation in late June and showed enough to head coach Jill Ellis to earn a spot. In the group, they’ll take on the likes of New Zealand, France, and Colombia, in that order.

The Olympics are nothing new to the Fayetteville native, O’Hara, who played every minute of the 2012 Olympics. Mal Pugh also got her first Olympic start, playing wide right for most of the half.

The most unsafe moment was in the 29′ when a New Zealand throw-in bounced and allowed a little lob that fell into Solo’s arms.

Lloyd opened the scoring after Heath beat a couple of defenders just outside the area before making a cross to the far post, where the US captain outjumped a defender to head the ball into the other corner and score her seventh Olympic goal. It can only be good that Morgan has scored so soon in the tournament, as the USA would love to see her continue to build up her confidence and have a strong Olympics after struggling with an injury during last year’s World Cup.

In the absence of Abby Wambach (retirement), Sydney Leroux and Amy Rodriguez (pregnancies), Alex Morgan bears increased responsibility for firing the U.S.to success in Brazil. Gone are nine players from the World Cup roster, while Allie Long, Lindsey Horan, Crystal Dunn and 18 year old Mallory Pugh are additions to the team. She didn’t make the 18-player USA squad.

The United States women weren’t made to work very hard in their first match of the Olympics soccer tournament. We are super excited to get started. We have seen that time and time again at big events and we know that we have the ability to beat any team on our day.

Few are as good as Lloyd, who has clearly gotten the most out of the time she’s put in. Carli Lloyd seems like the obvious choice after finishing runner-up the last two Olympics, but she just returned from injury and may not be at full strength.