Croix Bethune, Jameese Joseph and Emily Sams all scored their first goals as a young U.S. women’s national team breezed to a 5-0 victory over Chile in a friendly in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Tuesday.
The U.S. completed a rousing two-match set mainly featuring players looking to add depth to an already strong squad.
Coach Emma Hayes debuted three players in the 6-0 win against Paraguay on Saturday. Ayo Oke and Riley Jackson made their first appearances on Tuesday in a starting lineup that averaged 5.2 international matches, the fewest in one of the team’s games since 2001.
Hayes has now given 32 players their debuts in her 32 matches.
Oke assisted on the opening goal by Bethune in the 18th minute. Joseph made it 2-0 in 26th, and Sams upped the lead to 3-0 in the 33rd.
Emma Sears scored 28 seconds into the second half, and mainstay Trinity Rodman made it 5-0 in the 68th minute from a setup by Jackson. Rodman has 13 goals in 49 international matches.
Sears had an active opening 45 minutes. She pinged shots off the left post in the 12th and 20th minutes and forced a diving save by Ryann Torrero in the 30th before finally getting on the scoresheet with an assist on Sams’ goal.
Bethune got the match rolling by taking a through ball by Oke and maintaining her balance after being nudged by a defender to score in her seventh match.
Joseph had a crafty spin-and-shoot score from the top of the box in her second match, and Sams, playing for the U.S. for a ninth time, redirected a service by Sears.
Sams returned the favor on Sears’ sixth goal in 14 matches. Sears took a ball out of the back and used a 15-yard first touch to create separation before ripping a shot.
Rodman made a cutback move on the right side of the box to score inside the far post.
Chile did not attempt a shot on Claudia Dickey as the U.S. recorded its fifth straight shutout.
The U.S. had 21 shots, 12 on target.
–Field Level Media
