Mallory Swanson scored a pair of goals just moments apart in the first half and the US opened the Olympics in France with a 3-0 victory over Zambia on Thursday night, giving new coach Emma Hayes a win in her first major tournament with the team. Trinity Rodman also scored for the US, which is looking to add a record fifth gold medal to its Olympic collection. "If you had asked me at the beginning of the game, 'Would you be happy with a 3-nil win?' I probably would have said no," Hayes said, per the AP. "However, after the performance and the chances created and finding the back of the net we did, I don't want to be too hard on the girls."
Hayes took over the US team in late May after finishing out the season with Chelsea in the Women's Super League. She shook up the roster, leaving star forward Alex Morgan, a veteran of three Olympics, at home. The Americans are seeking to distance themselves from the disappointment of last summer's Women's World Cup, when they crashed out in the round of 16. Zambia's chances were hurt in the 33rd minute Thursday when Pauline Zulu was sent off with a red card, and the team was limited to 10 players the rest of the way. Zulu sobbed as she left the field.
Making her Olympic debut, Rodman scored in the 17th minute. US captain Lindsey Horan passed to Rodman, who deftly shot around onrushing Zambian goalkeeper Ngambo Musole. Swanson scored twice within 70 seconds in the 24th and 25th minutes to give the Americans a 3-0 lead in the Group B match in Nice. Swanson called it just a start. "I think there's little things within that game, within the play, that we need to fine-tune, that we can just keep on growing with," Swanson said. "So I think there's definitely those little things, and we'll address them and fix them and keep moving forward." The US will next face Germany on Sunday in Marseille.
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