Lily Yohannes, 16, opens USWNT account in friendly win over South Korea
Sixteen-year-old Lily Yohannes scored on her debut for the national team and the United States defeated South Korea 3-0 in an exhibition match on Tuesday evening.
Crystal Dunn and Sophia Smith also scored for the USA, playing their second match under coach Emma Hayes.
Hayes was appointed coach last November but remained in Europe to finish the season with Chelsea. She replaced Vlatko Andonovski, who resigned after the US was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup last summer.
The U.S. also won its first friendly against South Korea 4-0 on Saturday in Commerce City, Colorado. Mallory Swanson and Tierna Davidson each had a pair of goals.
Hayes will now turn her attention to selecting an 18-player roster for the U.S. Olympic team. The US opens the Olympic Games on July 25 against Zambia in Nice.
Hayes has made significant changes to the starting line-up for Tuesday’s match, played in persistent rain at St Paul’s Allianz Field. On Saturday, only captain Lindsey Horan and Jenna Nighswonger also started.
Alex Morgan, who did not play the first leg against South Korea due to a minor injury, was among the starters.
Dunn, making her first start as a forward since 2017, scored in the 13th minute from a cross from Nighswonger. Dunn, who has mainly played as a left back in recent years, has not scored since October 2018. She has 25 career goals.
Casey Murphy kept the lead when she pushed away a free kick in the 30th minute.
Smith scored her fourth goal of the year in the 67th minute from a tight angle after a pass from Swanson.
Yohannes, who plays for Dutch club Ajax, scored her goal just 10 minutes after coming into the match as a substitute, scoring from in front through traffic after a cross from Trinity Rodman in the 82nd. Yohannes became the third youngest player to score for the national team.
Midfielder Rose Lavelle played in her 100th game for the United States.
The national team has two more matches before heading to France. They will play Mexico at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on July 13 before playing a farewell match against Costa Rica in Washington DC.