USWNT vs. New Zealand result: U.S. women pour on the goals, move into second place at Olympics

Simon Borg

USWNT vs. New Zealand result: U.S. women pour on the goals, move into second place at Olympics image

The U.S. women's national soccer team took care of business, rebounding from a deflating 3-0 loss to Sweden with a rotund 6-1 victory over New Zealand which lifted it into second place in Group G with one game left to play.

The USWNT are now tied with Australia on points (three points), but it wins the tiebreaker on goal difference (+2 vs. Australia's -1). A win or draw against Australia will be enough to secure second place behind Sweden, which is flying. The Swedes followed up their 3-0 win over the USA with a 4-2 triumph over Australia.

But finishing second in Group G was never ideal. Here's why: The quarterfinal matchup would see them meet the other favorite for the gold medal, No. 4-ranked Netherlands. It would be a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, which the USA won 2-0.

MORE: Updated Olympic women's group standings

USWNT vs. New Zealand final score

  1H 2H Final
USA 2 4 6
New Zealand 0 1 1

Goal:
USA - Rose Lavelle (Tobin Heath) - 9th min
USA - Lindsey Horan (Julie Ertz) - 45th min
USA - Own goal (Abby Erceg) - 63rd min
NZE - Betsy Hassett (Paige Satchell) - 72nd min
USA - Christen Press (Julie Ertz) - 80th min
USA - Alex Morgan (Christen Press) - 87th min
USA - Own goal (CJ Bott) - 92nd min

(All times Eastern)

Final: USA 6, New Zealand 1

92nd min.: And it's No. 6! Christen Press sends the ball towards the net and New Zealand's CJ Bott accidentally touches it into her own goal.

87th min.: It's a 5th for the USA! Press to Morgan and another clinical finish by the USA. The goal difference has been taken care of. And now the USA has also scored more goals than Australia.

84th min.: Two subs for the USA - Casey Krueger is on for Crystal Dunn at left back and Catarina Macario replaces Lindsey Horan. Great game by Horan. Looks like Ertz and Heath are going the full 90 minutes.

80th min.: Goal! Just as New Zealand brings on another forward (Gabbie Rennie), the USWNT scores a fourth goal. Christen Press with an expert control and finish on a feed from Julie Ertz. Great play all around from cross to shot.

76th min.: USWNT is now back down to third place in the group after conceding that goal. There needs to be more urgency to get more goals. Alex Morgan has since come on for Carli Lloyd and keeps the armband.

72nd min.: New Zealand scores! Satchell beats U.S. defender Abby Dahlkemper down the right (tough error by Dahlkemper) and feeds Betsy Hassett who finds the top corner. Well-taken goal.

68th min.: SUBS - Christen Press on for Megan Rapinoe and Sam Mewis on for Rose Lavelle. Carli Lloyd wears the captain's armband.

65th min.: New Zealand with a sub: Paige Satchell, who gave New Zealand a lift against Australia, comes on for Olivia Chance and will play wide left. Meanwhile, the First Lady is at the stadium:

63rd min.: Goal USA! Carli Lloyd heads to the far post and in an attempt to clear, Abby Erceg heads the ball into her own net. USA up 3-0 and now move into second place in Group G on goal difference.

60th min.: Great through ball by Ertz into Carli Lloyd in the box, but her shot hits side netting. Still 2-0 USA.

56th min.: Outside of a scare with Julie Ertz staying down on a collision, not much has happened here to start the second half. There's another injury stoppage here. Might be time for some subs.

46th min.: Second half is underway. No changes for either team.

Halftime Score: USWNT 2, New Zealand 0

Halftime: The USWNT got an early goal and pushed for more, but the Americans were thwarted by the offside flag on four occasions before scoring just before the halftime whistle. Solid performance overall and decent result which they'll look to build on. They need more goals: They're currently tied with Australia on goal difference at -1, but Australia has scored four goals compared to the USA's two. The Americans are in third place right now in Group G.

45th min.: Just when it looked like New Zealand was gaining in confidence, the USA scores a second. A Megan Rapinoe corner kick was headed into the six-yard box by Julie Ertz and Lindsey Horan nodded it home from close range.

43rd min.: New Zealand again close to scoring! Cross from the right and Wilkinson heads just wide. She got away from U.S. defender Abby Dahlkemper and looked to have the 'keeper beat on her effort. The Ferns are still in this.

34th min.: Wait. A fourth disallowed goal! This time it's Lindsey Horan heading home a beautiful delivery into the box, but she was ruled offside.

31st min.: Make that three disallowed goals. This time it's Rapinoe scoring from the middle of the box, but Carli Lloyd was offside on her run in behind just before delivering the pass.

27th min.: A second U.S. goal is called back. Tobin Heath sends a Crystal Dunn cross into the back of the net, but Dunn was offside on her run down the left.

23rd min.: After a Rapinoe corner, Carli Lloyd wins a header in the box, but there's no one there to finish it off and New Zealand escape.

19th min.: Fantastic passing from the USA between Sonnett, Heath, Horan and Lavelle with the latter getting the shot off. But it hits side netting.

17th min.: New Zealand's Wilkinson again dangerous with a header that's nodded just wide.

15th min.: Carli Lloyd beats the 'keeper with a deft touch, but it's scratched for an offside position.

9th min.: There it is. Rose Lavelle opens the scoring. She makes a run from midfield in behind and Tobin Heath feeds her the ball. Lavelle is unmarked and easily beats the 'keeper.

8th min.: Rapinoe responds by ripping a shot high of the crossbar for the USA.

7th min.: Wow! New Zealand's Wilkinson with the first shot on goal of the match. And U.S. 'keeper Alyssa Naeher has to dive to stop it and pick up the loose ball.

3rd min.: The USWNT with a flurry of activity in the box, but the 20-year-old New Zealand 'keeper snags it.

1st min.: We're underway in Saitama.

7 a.m.: Helps it's a 7:30 a.m. start on the East coast. Feel for the fans out west:

6:12 a.m.: Here's the team that's going to need to get it done for the USWNT:

USWNT vs. New Zealand starting lineups

With matches just three days apart, USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski is giving a break to regular starters Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O'Hara, Sam Mewis and Christen Press for the match against New Zealand. 

His New Zealand counterpart, Tom Sermanni, makes two changes from the starting lineup that lost 2-1 to Australia in its opener: Goalkeeper Anna Leat replaces Erin Nayler, who was arguably at fault on both Australia goals, while Daisy Cleverley comes in at midfield. 

MORE: U.S. women Olympic team roster

USA

Starters (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Alyssa Naeher — 2-Crystal Dunn, 12-Tierna Davidson, 17-Abby Dahlkemper, 14-Emily Sonnett — 9-Lindsey Horan, 8-Julie Ertz, 16-Rose Lavelle — 15-Megan Rapinoe, 10-Carli Lloyd, 7-Tobin Heath

Substitutes: 22-Jane Campbell-GK, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 20-Casey Krueger, 3-Samantha Mewis, 19-Catarina Macario, 11-Christen Press, 13-Alex Morgan

Sitting out: 18-Adrianna Franch-GK, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Kristie Mewis, 21-Lynn Williams

New Zealand

Starters (4-5-1, left to right): 18-Anna Leat-GK — 7-Ali Riley, 8-Abby Erceg, 5-Meikayla Moore, 4-C.J. Bott — 11-Olivia Chance, 2-Ria Percival, 14-Katie Bowen, 15-Daisy Cleverley, 12-Betsy Hassett — 17-Hannah Wilkinson

Substitutes: 1-Erin Nayler-GK, 3-Anna Green, 6-Claudia Bunge, 10-Annalie Longo, 16-Emma Rolston, 13-Paige Satchell, 9-Gabbie Rennie

Sitting out: 22-Victoria Esson-GK, 19-Elizabeth Anton, 20-Marisa Van der Meer, 21-Michaela Robertson

How to watch USWNT vs. New Zealand Olympic soccer

  • Date: Saturday, July 24
  • Time: 7:30 a.m. ET
  • TV Channels: NBCSN
  • Spanish-language TV: Telemundo
  • Streaming: fuboTV , NBCOlympics.com, TelemundoDeportes.com, NBC Sports app and Telemundo Deportes app (with user authentication)

The USA’s second Group G match will air at 7:30 a.m. ET on NBCSN in Engish and on Telemundo in Spanish. Both channels are available to stream on fuboTV (free 7-day trial) .

MORE: Complete Olympic women's soccer schedule

As with all Olympic soccer matches, they can be streamed in the USA on NBCOlympics.com, TelemundoDeportes.com, NBC Sports app and the Telemundo Deportes app — all with user authentication.

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.