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USA vs. Colombia: Final Score 4-0 as Mewis Sisters Lead Yanks to Victory

Published

6 years ago

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Sam Mewis scored her first career international hat trick and her sister added a goal as the United States Women’s National Team opened its 2021 schedule with a 4-0 win over a young Colombian side at Exploria Stadium. Carli Lloyd went the full 90 in her first match since last year’s SheBelieves Cup and chipped in a pair of assists.

While it wasn’t the sharpest performance ever for the USWNT, the Yanks’ relentless high pressure and physicality wore down the visitors, who got a good performance from their goalkeeper to maintain a respectable score line.

The match capped 313 days without a game on home soil for the USWNT — the longest such drought in history. The U.S. improved to 6-0-1 in the all-time series against Colombia and 3-0-0 at Exploria Stadium. U.S. Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski improved to 12-0-0 to start his tenure with the USWNT.

“They deserve a lot of credit,” Andonovski said of the Colombians after the match. “Their ability to solve problems under pressure in individual battles was amazing. I wouldn’t say this surprised us because with everything that we scouted, we expected it. But I would say they did very good. Their ability to break pressure with individual creativity, and with individual skills, was very good. And they created some problems in the middle of the field that will be a good learning opportunity for us before the next game.”

Neither of the Orlando Pride’s two players on the USWNT — goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender Ali Krieger — dressed for Andonovski’s side. The United States went with nearly a full first-team lineup, with Alyssa Naeher in goal behind a back line of Crystal Dunn, new captain Becky Sauerbrunn, Abby Dahlkemper, and Kelley O’Hara. The midfield in the 4-3-3 formation consisted of Lindsey Horan, Julie Ertz, and Sam Mewis. Megan Rapinoe returned to the forward line on the left, alongside Carli Lloyd and Lynn Williams.

The USWNT needed only four minutes to get on the board and it did so with a great passing sequence that led to an easy finish for Mewis. Dahlkemper started the sequence in her defensive half with a diagonal ball to Horan, who quickly turned and played a perfect through ball for Rapinoe on the left. Rapinoe crossed to Mewis at the top center of the area and she slotted home to make it 1-0.

The next good opportunity came in the 10th minute when Horan was left unmarked on a set piece but she sent her header right at Colombian goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda. Dunn fizzed a shot just over the bar in the 14th minute as the U.S. press kept the Colombians hemmed in their own end. Two huge saves by Sepulveda shortly thereafter kept it a 1-0 game. First she made a diving stop to deny Williams in the 14th minute and then she stopped a Lloyd header from in close in the 15th.

After a few more half chances, the U.S. finally doubled the lead in the 33rd minute. Mewis got her second of the night after Lloyd headed a Horan cross back across the box. The headed cross found its way to Mewis, who nodded home from point-blank range to make it 2-0.

That was it for the first-half scoring. Sepulveda was in good position to get to some of the USWNT’s poor finishing attempts but she also made some solid stops to keep her team in the match for the first 45 minutes.

The much-anticipated USWNT debut of Catarina Macario took place at halftime, as the Stanford star subbed on for Rapinoe.

The U.S. wasted no time getting another scoring chance as Horan was fouled in the area just 11 seconds after the restart. That set up Mewis’ hat trick goal from the spot in the 47th minute. The midfielder sent Sepulveda the wrong way and tucked her shot inside the left post, extending the USWNT lead to 3-0.

“By some stroke of luck I happened to be on the penalty kick list tonight and we just happened to get one when it was my turn,” Sam said. “So, I really do look back on the goals and I know that they were all team goals. The first one was a great buildup and was a perfect pass from Pinoe. The second one was basically already in, Carli passed it right to me with her head. And then the third one is actually something we work on all the time. That kickoff play that gets flicked on and then Lindsey set herself up and drew the foul so I mean I can’t take all the credit at all I think they really truly were all such good team goals and I’m just proud that I could be a part of that.”

“I thought it was a great performance (by Sam Mewis) and one thing about Sam is she did what she did, obviously played very good and scored goals, but I don’t think that’s her best,” Andonovski said. “I really believe that Sam has still a lot to grow, which is exciting.”

The U.S. lost some of its sharpness in the second period, particularly after making a few substitutions. But the Yanks rarely were troubled. Colombia got no shot attempts off although the visitors did produce a couple of second-half corners.

It seemed to be just a matter of the final score as the U.S. continued to turn Colombia over and attack both down the wings and in the middle, but some sloppy passes and poor touches prevented the USWNT from truly punishing the visitors on this night.

The final goal came, appropriately enough, from another Mewis. Kristie subbed on in the 64th minute along with Rose Lavelle, while her sister departed with Horan, who had sent a couple shots just wide after drawing the early second-half penalty.

Kristie Mewis sent her first shot off target in the 68th minute. Two minutes later, Macario sent a shot toward goal that took a slight deflection and went just wide of goal, drawing an audible chorus of “oohs” from the limited crowd. Ertz smashed a header wide on Macario’s delivery of the ensuing corner kick. Lloyd headed one just over the bar and onto the roof of the net in the 83rd minute as the U.S. continued to get looks at goal.

The final goal came in the 86th minute. Macario sent Lloyd got down the left flank and the forward sidestepped a defender before sending in a cross to the near post. Kristie Mewis volleyed it home to make it 4-0, completing the all-Mewis scoring barrage.

“I’m just so proud of Kristie. It’s just so cool to see her succeed here and have her here,” Sam said. “I feel so lucky that we both get to be here and it’s just been so much fun.”

That was it for the scoring and minutes later the USWNT had its first win of 2021. The Yanks out-shot Colombia 22-0 (11-0 on target), and led in possession (64%-36%), passing accuracy (80%-62%), and corners (5-2).

While the United States at full power should have easily beaten this young Colombia side, first games can be a bit rusty and there was plenty of evidence of that. Horan and Lavelle in particular will improve in form and the shots at the goalkeeper will be more clinical as the team spends more time on the pitch.

The same two teams will meet again on Friday at 7 p.m. at Exploria Stadium. The match will be broadcast on ESPN2.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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