Emma Sears scored a hat trick as the United States closed out the October window with a one-sided 6-0 win over New Zealand on Wednesday in Kansas City, Missouri.
U.S. coach Emma Hayes once again rotated her starting XI as she did in a pair of friendlies against Portugal prior to the game with New Zealand.
All three of Sears’ goals came from close range, one in the first half and two in the second, as the U.S. dominated FIFA’s 33rd-ranked team in the world and scored the most goals it ever has in a game under Hayes. Michelle Cooper had a pair of assists.
Catarina Macario and Rose Lavelle scored with pinpoint first-time shots to round out the scoring in the first half as the U.S. took a 3-0 lead into halftime. Lavelle’s goal — the best of the bunch for the U.S. on Wednesday — came when she pounced on a loose ball and netted from a curling, long-range volley from 20 yards out.
“Rose Lavelle is one of the best players I’ve ever coached,” Hayes said of her captain on the night after the game. “Everything about her, her graceful play between the lines, the way she connects from back to front. I think she’s not just accomplished and polished but she’s got all the qualities to break down the best teams.
“I mean that goal, the way she scored that with the ball popping up, not many players score that goal.”
The U.S. continued to keep the pressure on New Zealand in the second half with Sears adding her second and Macario netting shortly after for her brace with a powerful shot from the right side of the area.
Sears finished off her stellar night with another close-range finish, smashing a loose ball into the roof of the New Zealand net for the first hat trick by a U.S. woman since Sophia Wilson in April of 2022 against Uzbekistan.
Defender Kennedy Wesley started in her debut, becoming the 25th player to earn her first cap under Hayes. The backline of Wednesday’s starting lineup had just 11 combined appearances for the national team.
The match was played at CPKC stadium, the first purpose-built women’s soccer stadium in the world, which is home to the NWSL’s Kansas City Current. Cooper plays for the Current.
Before the game the New Zealand squad honored former captain Ali Riley, who has retired from professional soccer. Riley played 163 matches for the team.
The United States has played without many of the stars that won the gold medal at the Olympics. Trinity Rodman has a right MCL injury, while Wilson and Mallory Swanson are on maternity leave.
The Americans went into the match with a 19-1-1 record against New Zealand. The two teams last met ahead of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, with the U.S. winning both in Auckland.
Despite its success on Wednesday, the U.S. lost one of its three games during the October slate of friendly matches, falling 2-1 to Portugal on Oct. 23. Hayes’ side bounced back to beat Portugal in the teams’ second meeting three days later with a 3-1 victory.
The USWNT plays its final matches of the year against Italy on Nov. 28 in Orlando, Florida, and on Dec. 1 in Fort Lauderdale.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this recap.
