USWNT’s Carli Lloyd scores hat trick in win over Haiti

U.S. lineup: Solo (Harris 46th); O’Hara (Krieger 46th), Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Klingenberg; Dunn, Brian (Holiday 46th), Heath (Rampone 63rd), Lloyd, Press (O’Reilly 63rd); Morgan (Wambach 63rd).

“I was pretty excited to get the call that they wanted me in camp and at first I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m going to join the Victory Tour, ‘ she told Laura Vecsey of Fox Sports”.

Borkowski said Haiti was supposed to play a scrimmage against Australia in the Detroit area, and after that was canceled, the team agreed to come to the US anyway and play the Americans.

Lloyd opened the scoring Thursday, heading home a cross from Dunn in the sixth minute. Dunn got assists on the first two USWNT goals and right as the game was about to end, she flicked a header to score her first USWNT goal as the game was ending. And after Press struggled a bit to find her timing during the World Cup, perhaps having a speedster assist artist like Dunn on the wing will up her scoring pace, too. The pass was placed well for Carli Lloyd, who redirected it with a header, beating the Haitian keeper to take a 1-0 lead.

She then amplified her skills and tenacity when, in the 33rd minute, Dunn sent a low cross to Christen Press, who buried the shot in the net past Haiti goalkeeper Edny Limage to give the USA a 2-0 lead. She will not be playing due to “minor muscle soreness”. But as the first player to participate in the ongoing tour who was not on the roster during the World Cup itself, Dunn’s contributions were the most revelatory.

For 300 seconds, she looked like someone who not only might be nervous in her return but was also playing alongside these teammates for the first time in months.

The teams will travel south for another match-up as the Victory Tour continues in Birmingham, Alabama on September 20. She wiped tears from her eyes as the whistle blew for full-time. I’ve accepted that I didn’t make the team. This marked Lloyd’s 72nd career worldwide goal. Indeed, Ellis took some pains in Detroit to point out her decision to play Dunn higher up the field dated to January, including time on the field there in friendlies in England. “In France we trained her in a higher wide position”. Her strength and speed allowed her to motor into the clear to set up a few of her own shots.

It seems the soccer world is at last on the same page. “We have very little depth in the back, and that’s why we looked at her there”.

Lloyd and the United States likely won’t treat that game like just another friendly, either. The 23 year old may have missed out on the Women’s World Cup but she is making a serious case to be on the squad for the Olympics next year.

The United States women have met Haiti four times previously, winning them all by at least five goals.

There was an Alex Morgan backheel thrown in there, a raucously-cheered Abby Wambach substitution and a general party atmosphere around a team that really hasn’t stopped celebrating since they took home the World Cup trophy this summer.