Christen Press gives U.S. women victory in Norway

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:43 am

SANDEFJORD, Norway -- Christen Press scored to help the U.S. women's national team beat Norway 1-0 on Sunday.

Press broke through in the 60th minute with her 42nd international goal. She ran onto a long pass from Becky Sauerbrunn and finished with her first touch in the Norway box.

Mallory Pugh, a 19-year-old who earlier this year decided to go pro rather than play college soccer at UCLA, injured her ankle in warm-ups, according to U.S. Soccer. She was replaced in the starting lineup by Meghan Klingenberg.

Midfielder Rose Lavelle appeared to injure her hamstring late in the game and gingerly walked off the field. She was replaced by Carli Lloyd, who did not start against Norway after playing in a 1-0 victory over Sweden on Thursday, the first stop on the two-game European tour.

Several players did not make the trip because of injury, including Morgan Brian (knee), Tobin Heath (back) Alex Morgan (hamstring) and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris (quad).

Norway, ranked No. 11 in the world, has had the most success historically against the Americans with 19 wins. The previous meeting occurred in the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal, when Lloyd scored twice in the second half for a 2-1 U.S. victory.

The U.S. women, the reigning Women's World Cup champions, have won four straight after a two-game losing streak. Those two losses, in the SheBelieves Cup tournament, were the first consecutive losses in the United States for the team in 17 years.

The second-ranked Americans will next play on home soil in the Tournament of Nations, opening the four-team multi-city event with Brazil on July 27 in Seattle.