USWNT in Olympics driver’s seat with win over Germany

In an Olympics that double as a litmus test for the program at-large, the USWNT has played its first two games with a verve that suggests its awful 2023 World Cup is in the past.

The United States was far from perfect against Germany in its second group stage match on Sunday afternoon.

But it put forth more than enough for a 4-1 victory in a game that was billed as its toughest of the group, putting the USWNT in position to top Group B with a win or draw against Australia on Wednesday.

This was not the sort of romp that the program’s prior generation regularly enjoyed, even against the world’s best teams — there were periods of sloppy play and moments of luck that underscored a victory that looked more comfortable on the scoreboard than it was in reality.

Still, the United States took the chances the game gave them and blew past any worries on the back of a pair of Sophia Smith goals.

Right-winger Trinity Rodman unlocked Germany’s defense for the game’s opening goal, charging down the channel and pulling in defenders to free Smith for what became an easy finish 10 minutes into the match.

The United States hit a bout of adversity 12 minutes later when German right back Giulia Gwinn struck from well outside the box with a perfect hit into the left corner to equalize — the American misery compounded by a yellow card incurred by Sam Coffey on the play.

Indeed, this was not just the first moment under new head coach Emma Hayes in which a result looked in doubt.

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It was the first time the U.S. had conceded at all under Hayes, six games into her tenure.

No matter, it took all of four minutes for the combination of Smith and Mallory Swanson to pull the lead back, as Swanson buried a rebound off Smith’s strike, which German keeper Ann-Katrin Berger had unhelpfully parried right into her path.

Right before halftime, Smith would extend the lead to 3-1 on another piece of good luck — a shot from outside the box that clipped a defender, clanged off the post, then looped into the net.

The Rorschach test of this match played out further as the U.S. played defense for much of the last 45 minutes, but never broke — instead making the lead 4-1 when Lynn Williams scored on a late counterattack sprung by Rodman.

Against better opposition, on a night where some decisive bounces didn’t go in their favor, a performance like Sunday’s might have been cause for worry.

A summer ago in Australia and New Zealand, the squad’s collective mentality didn’t appear enough to pull through games like this one.

But where there was an overwhelming air of concern even after wins in that World Cup, Sunday came with nothing of the sort.

Instead, it was a little more like business as usual.