U.S. women’s soccer team ends losing streak with 2-1 comeback win over Germany

HARRISON, N.J. — The U.S. women’s soccer team’s losing streak is finally over, and the heat under manager Vlatko Andonovski’s seat can come down somewhat for the rest of the year.

The performance wasn’t always pretty, but the Americans showed some of the grit and gumption they’ve been accused of lacking lately in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Germany on Sunday at Red Bull Arena.

After Jule Brand scored for Germany in the first half, Sophia Smith tied the score in the 54th minute in dazzling fashion, a smash after a give-and-go with Andi Sullivan and a slalom through five German defenders. Two minutes later, Mallory Pugh jumped on a rare switch-off by Germany’s back line for a high-pressing steal and breakaway finish.

The U.S. bench erupted as much as the big crowd of 26,317 did, and as much in relief as joy. Not everything was fixed, as multiple German forays in the ensuing minutes showed. But having a lead sure helped the mood, and a few good saves by Alyssa Naeher helped keep the U.S. ahead for the rest of the night.

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“It [stinks] to lose three games in a row, especially when this team has never done that, so we didn’t want to continue on that path,” Smith said. “So we all just kind of knew … there wasn’t a lot said, we just knew we weren’t going to lose this game.”

But some of this team’s deeper issues haven’t been solved yet.

The midfield trio of Rose Lavelle, Sullivan, and Lindsey Horan hasn’t imposed itself enough with the ball, but more importantly without it.

So it got attention when Andonovski said after the game that he ordered Horan to stay deeper in midfield to help Sullivan defensively. A lot of outsiders have been clamoring for that for a while. The move paid off in the buildup to Pugh’s winning goal.

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“We lowered Lindsey just a little bit more to allow Andi to be more aggressive, to step in and win some of those balls,” Andonovski said. “At that point, we started taking the game over and felt very comfortable with it.”

Asked if he’d stick with that setup in future games, Andonovski demurred: “Obviously we are going to do our analysis and see why that worked, or what was the response of the opponent. And then we’ll see what the scouting reports are going to be from the next opponents, and decide what we’re going to do going forward.”

There are problems at outside back, too, a job that has bedeviled U.S. teams for years. On the right, Sofia Huerta looked overmatched again. On the left, Emily Fox — the best true left back to come through the U.S. system in years — had a bad giveaway that led to Brand’s goal.

Nor does it help that Fox is injury-prone, and has been in concussion protocols multiple times in the last 12 months.

For now, though, the tactical discussion is enough.

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It isn’t Andonovski’s fault that Kelley O’Hara is injured, or that Casey Krueger and Julie Ertz are on maternity leave. When they return, they might be able to help a 4-3-3 setup in which neither the system nor the other players in it are giving Huerta and Fox enough help.

“If we’re in a mid-block [defense] then transition into the high press, who’s going to initiate that press? How do we go and all go together?” Sauerbrunn said. “Those are things that we’re starting to learn, and that’s a relationship, that’s a chemistry, that’s seeing and knowing who’s on the field, who’s initiating. And then everyone has to move at the same speed, and we’re getting better at it.”

And she added pointedly: “A lot of that is just heart and intelligence and then just being willing to put effort in.”

The fan base wants the team to show off the kind of swaggering, creative soccer it has treated the world to for decades. But the ability to play that way was built on a foundation of superior defense. When the defensive quality isn’t there, it’s more difficult to build good attacks — especially against teams with their own attacking talent who can keep the ball.

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Germany has a whole lot of it, starting with Brand, Huth, Alexandra Popp, and Lena Oberdorf — the last of whom sadly had to leave the game in the first half with what looked like a shoulder injury. The Germans were runners-up at this year’s European Championship, and they’ll be up there with the U.S. and other powers to make a deep run at next year’s World Cup.

“Where we are in this moment, it’s not good enough and we all know that,” Sauerbrunn said. “You can’t replicate what we just did out there in trainings. … So to get this win, it’s really important for us to know what it feels like, but also to know what defeat feels like against these teams.”