The United States Women’s National Team stormed into the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup 2024 after a convincing 3-0 last-eight victory over World Cup quarter-finalists Colombia on Monday, March 4, at the BMO Stadium in California. Lindsey Horan opened the scoring with a nerveless penalty in the 12th minute. Jenna Nighswonger doubled the lead in the 22nd minute with an exquisite first-time finish off her left foot, before Jaedyn Shaw hammered the final nail in the coffin in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
The team bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Mexico in the final game of the group stage, which saw their 80-game unbeaten run at home against a CONCACAF opponent. They last lost a match on home soil on November 11, 2000, to Canada, after which they registered 78 wins and two draws.
In the home stadium of Angel City FC, which is located just south of downtown Los Angeles, a boisterous crowd cheered on the US team’s efforts to resume their winning ways. In the 10th minute, Jorelyn Carabali brought down a sprinting Alex Morgan, earning the USWNT an early penalty.
Alex Morgan held the ball in her hand, preparing herself to take the spot kick. However, the Colombian players surrounded her and initiated some cheap tricks to throw Morgan off balance and distort her focus. Colombia custodian Natalia Giraldo walked up to Morgan and had a few things to say, too.
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The 34-year-old forward, in an attempt to throw Colombia off guard, handed the ball to captain Lindsey Horan. As she stood over the penalty spot, mustering all the nerves to slot her team ahead, Colombia right-back Carolina Arias entered the penalty area near the six-yard box, which further delayed the proceedings. The referee did not have total control of the game and allowed the players to be indisciplined.
Despite all the mind games by the Colombians, Lindsey Horan remained unfazed and proved that she had ice in her veins as she sent Natalia Giraldo the wrong way and buried the ball in the bottom right corner to break the deadlock.
This long-standing global football power’s fortunes have been steadily declining in recent years, as evidenced by their loss to Mexico and their elimination from the World Cup in the Round of 16 last year. They also won a bronze medal at the Olympics.
Nevertheless, this triumph demonstrated that these players still had the skill and athleticism to easily win even a difficult game, especially when their young stars were allowed to shine.
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