Photo Copyright Luisa Gonzalez for Reuters via USA TODAY Sports
The U.S. women’s national team’s third and final game of the group stage came Wednesday against Australia, which they won 2-1 at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille.
Coach Emma Hayes made only one change to the lineup, with Emily Sonnett coming in for the injured Tierna Davidson. The rest of the team had deservedly kept their places, though they were mindful that Sam Coffey and Trinity Rodman were one yellow card away from suspension. Their Australian opponents were coming off a high-octane 6-5 win over Zambia earlier in the week. Their rich vein of scoring form was an obvious concern for Hayes, and so was their defense.
This was the toughest of the USWNT’s three group games, with the Australians posing a different obstacle in their performance. Nevertheless, strikes from Rodman and Korbin Albert in either half propelled the Americans to victory. The game itself could be summed up with an old cliché: It was a tale of two halves.
The first half was very…
