Rose Lavelle whipped out a marvelous back-heel assist to help give Alex Morgan her first goal of 2023
Meredith Cash
- US Women's National Team star Rose Lavelle is virtually unstoppable with the ball at her feet.
- The midfielder showcased her brilliance with a jaw-dropping assist vs New Zealand on Wednesday.
Rose Lavelle is considered one of the most creative playmakers the US Women's National Team has ever seen.
And Wednesday afternoon in New Zealand, she showed the world exactly why.
The 27-year-old midfielder dished a stunning back-heel assist to Alex Morgan, bamboozling a pair of Ferns defenders and dazzling viewers back home in the process. With Lavelle's ball leading into a wide-open expanse of the 18-yard box, Morgan easily found the back of the net and doubled the Stars and Stripes' lead.
Lavelle's on-ball prowess was among the most striking highlights of the USWNT's 4-0 victory in Wellington. But when she was asked about her ability to "create havoc" with the ball at her feet, the Ohio native was quick to deflect attention away from herself and offer credit to her teammates instead.
"I have really good players around me that help me look good," Lavelle said after the game. "I have a lot of good people to get the ball to me and then a lot of good people for me to feed to. It's a fun group to play with."
While that may be true, Lavelle's answer brushes over just how crucial her dribbling and distributing talents are to unlocking the four-time World Cup champions' offense. So let's take a look at how her brilliant assist unfolded in Wednesday's game — and how Lavelle was key to the play that led to goal No. 2:
The build-up originated with USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who intercepted New Zealand's clearance just within her side's attacking half and dished the ball off to Lindsey Horan.
Horan turned towards the center field, and as a Ferns player came in from behind her for the tackle, she threaded a pass between two defenders to find Rose Lavelle.
Lavelle trapped the ball with her right foot, indicating to oncoming defenders that she'd move toward the sideline.
And as a pair of Ferns closed in, she rolled over the ball with her left foot to create some space and force a second defender (#1) onto her back foot.
With the defenders' momentum headed backward, Lavelle could've made the simple pass to a wide-open Mallory Swanson waiting on the flank.
Instead, she opted for a much riskier no-look pass off of her heel into the space in front of Morgan, who was stationed just a few feet outside the 18-yard box.
She struck it perfectly, leaving her two defenders in the dust and leading Morgan perfectly toward the goal.
Morgan took one touch in the box...
... then used her left foot to slip the ball past New Zealand's goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
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