July 17, 2010
DRESDEN, Germany -- - Sophomore Christine Nairn (Arnold, Md.) and incoming freshman Maya Hayes (Livingston, N.J.) helped to lead a potent U.S. attack in a 5-0 win over Switzerland at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup on Saturday afternoon. Nairn served as the captain of the American side, while Hayes added her second assist of the tournament in as many games.
The U.S. (1-0-1, 4 points) got on the board early with a Kristie Mewis goal in the fourth minute. Hayes, earning her first start for the Stars and Stripes at the U-20 World Cup, connected with Sydney Leroux in the 23rd minute to double the score. The Hayes-Leroux connection is the second as the duo made use of a 2-on-1 break against Ghana in a 1-1 tie on Wednesday. Hayes took a throw in from Amber Brooks and made a perfect pass to the rushing Leroux who slotted it away.
The United States took a commanding 3-0 lead into half time with a Zakiya Bywaters goal in the 25th minute. Leroux made a hat trick of her afternoon with goals in the 52nd and 76th minute to complete the win. The loss by the Swiss eliminated them from the tournament after a previous 4-0 loss to South Korea, the next U.S. opponent.
"I think this game we had something to prove and wanted to make a statement," said Nairn after the game through USsoccer.com. "We needed the three points and Kristie, Sydney and Zakiya had some great goals."
Nairn and Brooks played central midfield for the Americans, clogging up the middle and keeping a tight defensive lid on the Swiss attack all day long.
"I think we defended really well," Nairn said. "We concentrated on keeping the game in front of us and finding the width when we did get the ball and I think we really executed what (our coaches) told us to do."
The U.S. take on South Korea (2-0-0), who leads Group D with six points after a 4-2 win over Ghana on Saturday. The U.S.-South Korea game will take place Wednesday and will be shown live on ESPN2 at Noon ET. The U.S. advance to the knockout stage with a win or a tie. The U.S. could also advance with a loss if Ghana cannot overcome a -2 goal differential as the U.S. boast a +5 goal differential.
"It's always a goal of ours to win and the way we won definitely gave us some confidence," Nairn added. "It's a goal to come first out of our [group], so we are going to try to come out and win the game against South Korea. Our next goal is to win the bracket. Korea is a great team, but we are hoping to get three points out of it. It's one game at a time and we'll go from there."
--NITTANY LIONS--