U.S. Women’s National Team Plays Costa Rica to Scoreless Draw in 2024 Send-Off Match Presented by Coca-Cola
USWNT Records Fourth Shutout in Four Games Under Head Coach Emma Hayes; Americans Set to Travel to France to Open Olympics on July 25 Against Zambia
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 16, 2024) - The U.S. Women’s National Team will depart for the 2024 Summer Olympics with four shutouts in four matches under head coach Emma Hayes but could not find the net despite dominating the match in a 0-0 draw with a defensive-minded Costa Rica.
In the 2024 Send-off Match presented by Coca-Cola, a crowd of 18,972 at Audi Field in Washington D.C. watched the Americans put their Concacaf rivals under intense pressure in extreme heat for 90-plus minutes. But a lack of finishing quality inside the box, some stout Costa Rican defending and a heroic 12-save performance by Las Ticas goalkeeper Noelia Bermúdez forced the hosts to settle for the draw.
For Costa Rica, who are ranked 44th in the world and failed to qualify for the Olympics after playing in last year’s Women’s World Cup, the result ends a 17-game losing streak against the USWNT. The American advantage is now 17W-0L-1D in the all-time series.
Hayes made two changes to the lineup that started Saturday’s 1-0 win over Mexico in New Jersey on July 13. Versatile veteran Crystal Dunn replaced the resting Jenna Nighswonger at left back and midfielder Korbin Albert was a late addition to the lineup, replacing Rose Lavelle, who was removed from the starting XI due to some leg tightness in warm-ups as Hayes took no chances with the start of the Olympics just days away.
Tuesday’s game in the nation’s capital started off similar to Saturday’s contest in the Garden State as the Americans established early command in possession and territory but failed to make it count on the scoreboard. The Costa Ricans sat very deep and clogged the middle of the field, often playing with 10 player inside its own defensive third, leaving the USA frequently looking to play through forwards Trinity Rodman on the right flank or Sophia Smith when she drifted left.
Hunting for her fifth goal in five games, Smith had the hosts’ first good chance of the night. She fired a shot from the left channel in the sixth minute that Bermúdez parried off her own post. Bermúdez, a former goalkeeper of the year in Spain’s Liga F, was called upon often in the opening half and responded to the challenge each time. She quickly closed down Mallory Swanson from close range in the 15th minute and then dove to her right to save a well-hit bid from Smith in the 40th.
The U.S. held over 78 percent possession, enjoyed a 10-2 margin in first-half shots (6-0 on target) and earned six corner kicks compared to none for Las Ticas, but the match remained scoreless at intermission.
Given those advantages, Hayes adjusted her formation in the second half and pushed Dunn forward into midfield. The American pressure continued as Smith forced an outstanding save from Bermúdez in the 49th minute and Swanson and captain Lindsey Horan both came close soon thereafter. Horan, on the occasion of her 150th cap, even tried a bicycle kick around the hour mark as the dominant USA tried desperately to find the attacking answer.
The U.S. shots, corner kicks and close calls continued, but Bermúdez and her defenders remained resolute. Hayes made four changes past the hour mark before Rodman and Swanson came agonizingly close to breaking the deadlock. Ultimately, however, the relief that seemed inevitable never came. The Americans remained dangerous during stoppage time. Horan had a good look on a six-yard header but sent it high and then Rodman, the Washington Spirit star, blazed a long-range shot over the crossbar just before the final whistle.
U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher posted her fifth clean sheet of 2024 as the U.S. kept its fourth consecutive clean sheet.
The USA took 26 shots to Costa Rica’s two and put 12 on frame. It earned 16 corner kicks. But it was held without a goal for just the second time in 2024, following the 2-0 defeat to Mexico in the Concacaf W Gold Cup group stage on Feb. 26.
Next up for the U.S. is a flight to France and the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad. The USWNT’s first tournament under Hayes, its eighth Olympic adventure overall, and the quest for a fifth gold medal will kick off July 25 against Zambia in Nice. The Americans will remain on France’s Mediterranean coast for their second and third matches of the group stage, against Germany (July 28) and Australia (July 31) in Marseille.
The USWNT moves to 8W-1L-3D on the year and is now unbeaten in nine consecutive games following the defeat to Mexico at the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup.
Korbin Albert was a late addition to the starting lineup, replacing midfielder Rose Lavelle, who was withheld from the match out of an abundance of caution after experiencing leg tightness during warmups. Albert earned her 13th cap and made her seventh career start, all of which have come in 2024.
Lindsey Horan captained the USA as she made her 150th international appearance, becoming the 25th player in USWNT history to earn 150 or more caps.
Casey Krueger came on as a second-half substitute to earn her 50th cap. At 33 years, 327 days old, Krueger is the oldest player to ever reach the 50-cap milestone for the USWNT.
Trinity Rodman made her 30th consecutive appearance for the USA, the longest streak by any player since 2020, as she earned her 40th cap. At 22 years, 57 days of age, Rodman is the 12th youngest player in USWNT history to reach 40 caps and the youngest to do so since 20-year-old Mallory Swanson in 2018.
Sophia Smith made her 50th international appearance, becoming the first player born in the 2000s to reach 50 caps for U.S. Women’s National Team.
Tierna Davidson earned her 60th cap for the USWNT. At 25 years, 300 days of age, Davidson is the youngest pure defender to reach 60 caps for the USWNT since Stephanie Cox in 2011 (23 years, 362 days).
Alyssa Naeher’s fifth shutout of 2024 was the 64th of her career. It also marked Naeher’s first time this year recording back-to-back shutouts.
The U.S. defense has now kept a clean sheet in each of its first four matches under head coach Emma Hayes, the second-longest streak to open the tenure of any full-time USWNT head coach, trailing only a streak of nine consecutive shutouts to open the Greg Ryan era.
Washington Spirit midfielder and NWSL Rookie of the Year favorite Croix Bethune, an Olympic alternate, came on at the end of the match in her club’s home stadium to earn her second career cap.
- U.S. WOMENS NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT -
Match: United States Women’s National Team vs. Costa Rica Date: July 16, 2024 Competition: International Friendly Venue: Audi Field; Washington, D.C. Attendance: 18,972 Kickoff: 7:37 p.m. ET Weather: 95 degrees, sunny
Michelob Ultra Superior Woman of the Match: Trinity Rodman
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