US Women's National Team beats Japan at Children's Mercy Park

*Forward Alex Morgan was swarmed by teammates after scoring her third goal of the match.*

The U.S. Women’s National Team opened its 2018 Tournament of Nations schedule with a dominant 4-2 victory over historical rival Japan on a warm Thursday evening at Children’s Mercy Park. Forward Alex Morgan scored a hat trick to lead the Americans in front of a sellout crowd of 18,467.

The first few minutes of play saw both teams testing each other, with chances pushing forward on both ends. In the 18th minute, the USA struck first with a textbook combination play. Forward Christen Press began the sequence with an excellent run from the right wing, sprinting centrally before slipping a slick through ball to midfielder Megan Rapinoe on the left side. Rapinoe got a step on her defender and sent a left-footed cross into the center of the box where Morgan timed her run perfectly, pushing the ball into the left side of the net with a defender on her back.

Japan responded quickly just two minutes later. The visitors attacked straight up the middle, with midfielder Yui Hasegawa finding space to pass between the two U.S. center backs to forward Mina Tanaka. Defender Emily Sonnett came sprinting back from her right back position and arrived in time to tackle, but was unfortunate as Tanaka’s shot clipped off her leg and looped over U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to tie the match at 1-1.

The USA regained the lead in the 26th minute when Crystal Dunn crossed the ball from the right side into the penalty box. Sonnett brought it down before lifting a pass over several Japan defenders to Morgan, who was positioned in the middle of the box. Morgan redirected the ball with her head into the lower left corner for her second goal of the match, giving the USA a 2-1 lead at halftime.

The Americans extended their advantage in the 56th minute after second-half substitute Tobin Heath pulled off a spectacular sequence of dribbles down the right side. Heath beat two Japan defenders and eventually burst free down the end line toward goal before crossing into the middle. Japan failed to clear and the ball bounced directly to Morgan, who brought it down with her left knee and then smashed her shot into the roof of the net with her left foot from six yards out to complete her hat trick.

*The stars-and-stripes took over for Sporting blue at Children’s Mercy Park.*

Rapinoe added a fourth goal for the USA in the 66th minute. She darted into the heart of the Japan defense and played to midfielder Rose Lavelle, who immediately returned the pass. The ball hit off the foot of a Japan player and bounced right into the path of Rapinoe, who had continued her run. With an open look at goal, Rapinoe blasted her shot into the left corner, giving goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita no chance and pushing the USA lead to 4-1.

Japan’s Moeno Sakaguchi pulled one back for the visitors in the 76th minute, pushing through a tackle on the left side, cutting inside and launching a perfect shot that flew over Naeher and settled into the goal at the right post for the final 4-2 score.

Young fans throughout the stadium wearing Morgan’s jersey number celebrated enthusiastically after each of her three goals. Flags waved around the packed venue after each USA score, with many fans decked out in red, white and blue.

Morgan now has 89 international goals and sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. She has scored 16 goals over her last 16 games with the national team and leads the team with nine goals in 2018. Rapinoe had a dominant performance with a goal and an assist, giving her four goals and seven assists on the year.

The victory extended the USA’s unbeaten streak to 17 matches with a record of 15-0-2. The Americans have outscored their opponents 53-15 through that stretch.

In the first game of the day, Australia defeated Brazil 3-1. Both of Australia’s first-half goals came off corner kicks, and forward Sam Kerr effectively put the game away early in the second half with a brilliant finish on a counter-attack down the right side.

The USA and Australia both won their opening matches and sit atop the Tournament of Nations standings with 3 points each. The U.S. leads on goal differential after scoring four goals compared to Australia’s three.

The tournament now leaves KCK and heads to the east coast, where the US will face Australia and Brazil will take on Japan on July 29 in East Hartford, Conn.