Wambach scores late, U.S. women beat Korea, 4-1
Abby Wambach took another step toward U.S. soccer history when she scored her 156th career international goal to help the U.S. women's national team defeat Korea 4-1 victory Saturday evening before more than 13,000 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
Wambach scored on a penalty kick in second-half stoppage time to move within two goals of the all-time mark of 158 set by Mia Hamm.
Saturday's match also marked the return of American goalie Hope Solo, who saw her first action since February as she recovers from wrist surgery.
The Americans took control of the match early, scoring twice in the first seven minutes to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Kristie Mewis and Lauren Chaney provided the early cushion for the U.S. squad.
The Koreans look confused early and the Americans exploited the left side of the Korean defense with Mewis reaping the rewards just three minutes into the contest, according to FOX Sports.
The game went from bad to worse for the Koreans when Cheney took a Tobin Heath pass, dribbled from the left side toward the middle of the penalty area and then beat the Korean goalie Kim Jungmi to the near post to give the Americans a 2-0 lead.
The Koreans scored at the 26-minute from the top of the penalty area on a goal by Cho Sohyun to make the score 2-1 at halftime.
Solo started the second half in place of Nicole Barnhart and made a diving stop as the Koreans pressed the action. The stop was crucial as moments later in the 57th minute Carli Lloyd fired a shot from 30 yards that caught Kim out of position to give the Americans a 3-1 lead.
The U.S. squad came into Saturday's match with a 7-0-2 record this year. The draws came against Germany and Sweden. With the victory, the Americans now have a 33-game unbeaten streak since their last loss, which came against Japan on March 5, 2012, at the Algarve Cup in Portugal.
The two squads will meet in another friendly on Thursday at Harrison, N.J.
