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Alex Morgan Still Without a Goal; USA Ties World Cup Game

A 1-1 draw with Netherlands ends Americans' 13-game winning streak in WWC. Horan scores tying goal after confrontation
Jake Curtis|
Alex Morgan Still Without a Goal; USA Ties World Cup Game
Alex Morgan Still Without a Goal; USA Ties World Cup Game

Former Cal star Alex Morgan is being counted on to score goals for the U.S. Women's National Team, and she failed to score a goal for the second straight game in the Americans' 1-1 draw with The Netherlands on Wednesday in Wellington, New Zealand.

To be fair, co-captain Morgan was a positive force for the U.S. against the Dutch, dragging defenders with her and creating scoring opportunities with her creativity. But after the Americans' so-so performances in the first two games, it is apparent they need Morgan to score goals to claim a title. 

Morgan even put one into the back of the net in the 67th minute Wednesday, but she was clearly offsides on the play, negating the score. 

The tie leaves both the U.S. and The Netherlands with one win and one tie after two games in Group E play.  Although the draw ended the Americans' 13-game winning streak in World Cup games, the U.S. can guarantee a berth in the knockout round by beating Portugal in its final game of group round play on Tuesday.

We assume Morgan will remain in the starting IX for the Americans, but head coach Vlatko Andonovski may want to make some changes somewhere in the lineup.

The bottom line is that the this young American team must improve if it hopes to win a third straight Women's World Cup title.

It was the other U.S. co-captain, Lindsey Horan, who scored the tying goal for the U.S. in the second half after The Netherland had scored a first-half goal. 

And Horan's goal came just seconds after she had had an angry confrontation with Danielle van de Donk of The Netherlands, who is friend of Horan's.  

Horan was angered by a physical tackle by van de Donk that went uncalled. After leaving the field briefly, Horan returned and got in the face of van de Donk.  The two exchanged shoves, and when the referee tried to defuse the animosity by bringing the two players together, Horan would have nothing to do with it.

Then, seconds later, a Rose Lavelle corner kick to the near post was headed into the goal by Horan in the 63rd minute.

The Americans were less impressive in the first half, which was controlled by The Netherlands, the No. 9-ranked team in the world.

The only first-half goal was scored by Jill Roord, whose right-footed shot from the top of the box found the back of the net in the 17th minute.

The U.S. was the better side in the second half and the game ended with the Americans holding an 18-5 advantage in shots and an 11-1 edge in corner kicks.

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Cover photo of Alex Morgan by Jenna Watson, USA TODAY Sports

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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