Lloyd Collects 2nd Straight Hat Trick As US Defeats Haiti Again
ALABAMA (AP) — Carli Lloyd had her second straight three-goal game to lead the United States to an 8-0 victory over Haiti on Sunday in a friendly.
Lloyd scored all three goals in the first half for her fifth hat trick and second in three days, then sat out the second half. She also did it Thursday night in the first game against Haiti, which substituted for the Australian team mired in a labor dispute. She has 16 goals this year, one more than her previous high set in 2012 and matched in 2014.
Lloyd has 14 goals in her last eight matches as the Americans continue their Women's World Cup victory tour that so far has been a series of routs.
The Americans pushed their home unbeaten streak to 100 matches, going to 88-0-12. They haven't lost at home since falling to Denmark on Nov. 6, 2004, during a post-Olympic celebratory tour.
Tougher competition awaits with a pair of October matches against Brazil in Seattle and Orlando, Florida.
Lloyd scored her third goal on a header in the 39th minute. She had just missed another first-half goal but her shot off a corner kick bounced off the cross guard.
The U.S. has outscored Haiti 42-0 in six meetings.
Crystal Dunn's goal in the 17th minute was her second in the two games with Haiti, also marking her first two with the U.S. team. Dunn, who led the NWSL with 15 goals for the Washington Spirit, was among the final players cut from the World Cup team.
Julie Johnston scored in the first minute to start the barrage. Amy Rodriguez, Alex Morgan and Heather O'Reilly added second-half goals.
It was the Americans' first match in Birmingham since 2008, a 5-4 victory over Australia when the U.S. scored two own goals and nearly blew a 4-1 lead. The crowd of 35,753 at Legion Field was the largest to see a standalone game in the Southeast.
The Americans have won nine straight overall since a 0-0 tie against Sweden in the group stage of the World Cup and are unbeaten in 20 matches (17-0-3) since an exhibition loss at France in February.
With a starting lineup that included two 16-year-olds and three 17-year-olds, the Haitians seldom managed to push the ball across midfield.
Becky Sauerbrunn made her first start for the U.S. as a central midfielder. Her previous 68 starts came as a central defender.
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