Printable Page
12/01 21:48 CST Macario and Shaw score in 2-0 USWNT win over Italy to end 2025
Macario and Shaw score in 2-0 USWNT win over Italy to end 2025
FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) --- Catarina Macario scored in her third straight
international match and the United States defeated Italy 2-0 on Monday night in
the final game for the national team this year.
The United States has scored in 16 straight matches, including all 15 this
year. The national team wrapped up 2025 12-3-0.
Macario scored the opening goal in the 20th minute with a strike from the
corner of the box and up over Italy goalkeeper Francesca Durante's head and
into the side netting of the far post.
Jaedyn Shaw added a second goal before halftime, taking a pass from Alyssa
Thompson before squaring up and calmly finishing out of Durante's reach to make
it 2-0.
Claudia Dickey earned her fifth clean sheet in her sixth appearance in goal for
the United States.
Macario had a pair of goals a 3-0 victory over Italy on Friday night in
Orlando, Florida. Olivia Moultrie, who scored the other goal on Friday, was
available off the bench Monday.
"I really enjoyed the performances of these two games," U.S. coach Emma Hayes
said, noting the contributions across the roster. "I think they're my favorite
performances of the year."
Macario, who plays for Chelsea, led the team this year with eight goals,
including seven goals in her last seven starts. She nearly got a second goal at
Ft. Lauderdale's Chase Stadium but it was disallowed because of a foul, denying
her a third brace in her last three international games.
Hayes celebrated Macario's goal on the sidelines, explaining how the forward
had clearly regained her form after a series of unfortunate injuries over the
past several years.
"That's what I was celebrating was, she's got a little swagger back and that
matters to her, not to me, because I always think she puts in great
performances. But I saw tonight that there really is another level to her to
go," Hayes said. "And I think I know she feels when she's in this environment
she feels valued and seen and supported."
Macario and Emily Fox were among the players named earlier Monday as nominees
for the women's U.S. Soccer Player of the Year award, joining Rose Lavelle,
Alyssa Thompson and Sam Coffey.
Hayes made five changes to the starting lineup from Friday's victory in the
first game against Italy, going with veterans Naomi Girma, Lindsey Heaps, Fox
and Macario. Three teenagers started for the United States, including
19-year-olds Claire Hutton and Jordyn Bugg and 18-year-old Lily Yohannes.
The U.S. national team will next gather from Jan. 17-27 for the team's annual
camp in Carson, California, with a match planned against Paraguay and another
against an undetermined opponent.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
|
