USA women hit huge win milestone with another rout against Carla Ward's Republic of Ireland

The Irish Sun

12 hours ago

USA women's team earned their 600th international win on Sunday night after another dominant performance against the Republic of Ireland.
The five-time World Cup winners replicated their 4–0 victory over Ireland from Thursday night in Denver.
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Carla Ward's Ireland suffered a second defeat to the USA after another 4-0 defeat
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Alyssa Thompson and Emma Sears celebrate during the 4-0 win over Ireland in Ohio
This milestone only fuels their relentless drive to dismantle every opponent they face.
From the off, the USA were merciless, and Carla Ward's young Irish squad struggled to find any rhythm under sustained pressure.
The visitors were on the back foot right from the start as Emma Hayes's team sizzled in the heat with slick one-touch football.
It was 1–0 after 11 minutes as a smooth one‑two move tore through Ireland's compact defence.
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Emma Sears sprinted down the right flank and delivered a perfectly weighted cross to the far post. Lynn Biyendolo met it first time with a composed side‑foot volley that screamed into the top corner.
The scheduled water stoppage at 25 minutes offered Ireland a much -needed breather as they absorbed relentless pressure.
Pinned deep, they managed only sporadic counters - too few to spare their overstretched defence.
Despite the lopsided play, Abbie Larkin chipped in with flashes of quality, and Chloe Mustaki punched above her weight at left-back, defending with grit and tenacity.
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But it was all USA on the scoreboard, and they added to that tally just before the break.
Just as Ireland seemed poised to head into the interval trailing by only one, fate struck again.
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Emma Sears appeared to double the lead, only for Brosnan to produce a brilliant close-range save.
But the rebound fell kindly for Izzy Rodriguez, who powered it home to double the US lead at half-time - a cruel echo of Wednesday's Denver fixture.
The second half kicked off at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, with Ireland making three changes.
Lucy Quinn, Hayley Nolan - who last played in the United States in April 2023 - and Megan Connolly all joined the action.
Minutes later, a slick pass by 19-year-old Olivia Moultrie opened up space behind the defence. Izzy Rodriguez sent in a dangerous cross, but a loose volley gave Ireland a reprieve. It was still one-way traffic.
By the 50th minute, Lynn Biyendolo ghosted in behind the defence, nearly catching Brosnan off her line - but the keeper recovered quickly and parried her firm effort to safety.
Minutes later, another probing move saw Hayley Nolan caught out at the back, allowing Tara McKeown to surge into the box.
Her cutback to Croix Bethune was decisively blocked by a scrambling Irish defender.
At 54 minutes, Emma Sears unleashed a dipping strike that flew just over Brosnan's crossbar - a near miss that briefly rekindled Ireland's hopes.
A third goal soon followed as Sam Coffey initiated a slick move by threading a ball into the middle for Yazmeen Ryan.
The pass looked overhit, but Emma Sears kept it alive, finding Olivia Moultrie. Moultrie teed up Ryan, who slid home the U.S.'s third goal, putting the result beyond doubt.
A further water break at 70 minutes offered Ireland some respite in the scorching Ohio heat.
But Ireland still couldn't get hold of the ball, as the US side pinned them in their own half. Alyssa Thompson entered the game at 80 minutes.
Courtney Brosnan made another strong save just moments later, after Emily Sams cracked a close-range shot following Ireland's failure to deal with a free-kick.
A perfectly weighted lofted pass caught Ireland's flat defence off guard, and Alyssa Thompson took charge - first with a sharp touch, then rifling a powerful low finish into the net to make it 4–0.
The final minutes fizzled out in the scorching heat of Cincinnati after another gruelling learning curve for Ireland.
Ward's side now turns their attention toward the Nations League play-off with Belgium this autumn.
USA 4–0 IRELAND
Lynn Biyendolo – 11′
Izzy Rodriguez – 42′
Yazmeen Ryan – 66′
Alyssa Thompson – 86′
USA: Mandy McGlynn; Emily Sams, Jordyn Bugg, Tara McKeown; Lynn Biyendolo (Capt), Croix Bethune, Sam Meza, Izzy Rodriguez; Olivia Moultrie, Emma Sears, Yazmeen Ryan
Republic of Ireland:
Courtney Brosnan (Capt); Jessie Stapleton, Anna Patten, Caitlin Hayes, Chloe Mustaki; Emily Murphy, Tyler Toland, Marissa Sheva, Abbie Larkin, Kyra Carusa, Saoirse Noonan