🇺🇸 Morgan stars as USWNT open CONCACAF Championship with win over Haiti | OneFootball

The United States Women’s National Team opened their CONCACAF W Championship with a 3-0 victory over Haiti on Monday.

Scorers: Morgan 16′, 23′, Purce 84′

The reigning Women’s World Cup holders controlled the majority of the match at Estadio Universitario but were not necessarily in cruise control throughout 90 minutes.

Alex Morgan was the star of the show against Haiti as the 33-year-old peppered the opponents with chances in an eventful first half.

She connected with a Mallory Pugh cross and deflected the ball in at the near post before making things 2-0 with a looping header seven minutes later.

And the United States would have her finishing skills to thank as their opponents then knocked on the door immediately after creating a nervy atmosphere in Mexico.

Haiti saw a header glance wide, goalkeeper Casey Murphy denied another opportunity and a lapse in judgment from Emily Fox led to a penalty but Roselord Borgella hit the wrong side of the post.

VAR then took center stage after Borgella was shown a red card for a challenge on Kelley O’Hara only to see it reduced to yellow.

During the second half, the USWNT struggled to break through the low block which slowed the match down significantly, and all five of their substitutions were made to ramp up the energy.

Late on Megan Rapinoe and Margaret Purce thought they had combined off the bench for a third only to see the goal ruled offside before Purce made the most of a second chance to wrap up a 3-0 win.

The result means the USWNT moves one step closer to qualifying for both the 2023 Women’s World Cup and 2024 Olympics and sit top of Group A after day one.