It's the hot topic everybody is talking about right now. Did they over celebrate? Were they rude? Was it unsportsmanlike? Overkill? The list goes on and on for the things people are saying about the USWNT win over Thailand this past week with the shutout score of 13-0.
I have so many issues with people trying to take away the glory of what those women on the field were able to accomplish in 90+ minutes. They now lead in goals scored in the tournament, they are the defending champions, Thailand knew who they were going up against and knew what to expect when playing a powerhouse team, and every single woman deserved to celebrate the goal that they made because what makes the fourth, fifth or even thirteenth goal any different from that first one?
Let me just break them all down for you.
1. Alex Morgan
Scored in the twelfth minute of the game, she opened the gates for what would soon be a record game for her and the team.
2. Rose Lavelle
In the twentieth minute Rose scored the second goal for the team but her first World Cup goal.
3. Lindsey Horan
Rounding out the first half, Lindsey scored her first World Cup goal in the thirty-second minute.
4. Sam Mewis
Opening up the second half, Sam got her first World Cup Goal in the fiftieth minute of the game.
5. Alex Morgan
In the fifty-third minute Alex scored her second goal of the game.
6. Sam Mewis
Just one minute after Morgan, Sam was able to drive it home again for her second goal of the day.
7. Rose Lavelle
Just two minutes after Sam, Rose was able to get her second goal of the day in and the USWNT scoring three goals in about three minutes.
8. Alex Morgan
In the seventy-fourth minute Alex got her hat trick, three goals in one game. I don't care who you are that is an amazing accomplishment for any person to achieve in less than 90 minutes.
9. Megan Rapino
While not her first World Cup or international goal, it was her first of the tournament in the seventy-ninth minute.
10. Alex Morgan
In the eighty-first minute, not even ten minutes after her hat trick she scores another, history being made.
11. Mallory Pugh
In the eighty-fourth minute, Mallory was able to get one in the net making it her first World Cup goal.
12. Alex Morgan
In the eighty-seventh minute Alex Morgan was able to score her fifth goal of the game making her one of two players from any nation to score that many in one game.
13. Carli Lloyd
In the second minute of stoppage time, senior player Carli got her first goal in the tournament and sealed the record win over any team.
So my question to you is, why should they have stopped celebrating? Many of the girls who scored goals in this game it was their first and second in the World Cup, the largest soccer stage, and where our team shines the brightest. Alex Morgan broke records on her one. The team broke the record for the biggest win. They scored more goals in one game than the USMNT has scored in the last four World Cups.
These women are being put down because they did something nobody else could. They deserve every single celebration they had. In so many other PROFESSIONAL sports we praise the end-zone dances and over celebrations, we praise Michael Phelps for his records and all of his gold medals, each as celebrated as the first, and in college football teams play worse teams on their homecoming so it can be a steamroll game. How are any of these different?
Yes, it is a world stage. Yes, all eyes are on the USWNT to either win it all or watch them lose it all. This isn't some rec league tournament, those professional players knew the odds were stacked against them and they knew from the beginning if they didn't put the first goal in the net or even the second that there would be no stopping the forces that are the women of the USNT.
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