USA levels score against Matildas in Tournament of Nations showdown

The USA have salvaged their Tournament of Nations soccer showdown against the Matildas by scoring in the last minute.

Australia's Chloe Logarzo, center, celebrates her goal with teammates Lisa De Vanna, left, and Sam Kerr, right, during the Matildas women's international soccer match against the United States today. Picture: AP

The USA have salvaged their Tournament of Nations soccer showdown against the Matildas by scoring in the last minute.

In the first half, a slice of Lisa De Vanna brilliance gave the Matildas a 1-0 advantage over the United States in Connecticut this morning.

De Vanna set up their 22nd-minute counter-attack goal with a stunning 60-metre run before sliding a perfect ball through for Chloe Logarzo to score. It puts Australia on track to repeat last year’s win over the Americans, who are the world’s No.1-ranked nation in women’s soccer.

Both teams won their first game of the four-nation round-robin tournament in the US.

World No.8 Australia scored their first and only victory from 28 matches against the US on their way to winning the same competition on American soil last year. Since then, the world No.1-ranked Americans have strung together a 17-match unbeaten run, winning 15 and drawing two, while outscoring their opponents 53-15.

WOW!

Just sublime from @lisadevanna11 and @CLogarzo. 0-1
@FOXFOOTBALL 505
My Football Live app#GoMatildas #ToN2018 pic.twitter.com/fszrvggbCM

— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) 29 July 2018

The Australians have also put together an impressive record in that time, winning 11 of 15 matches with three draws and just two losses. “Any time you get to play the No.1 in the world it’s obviously a huge occasion and we beat them last time, so it’s a big game for them and it’s a big game for us,” Matildas star Sam Kerr told AAP.

“Probably whoever wins this game will go on to hopefully win the tournament. “We’re really excited, we play with a lot of these (US) girls in our club teams, so there’s a bit of rivalry there too.” Chicago Red Stars striker Kerr is one of 10 members of the Matildas squad playing in the American National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).

“We’ve come from the W-League to World Cup qualifiers then straight into the NWSL season,” said Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, who plays for Seattle Reign.

AAP