ST. LOUIS — The U.S. women’s soccer team edged the Republic of Ireland, 1-0, on Tuesday in a game that served as the last contest before the World Cup roster is named and a tribute to hometown star Becky Sauerbrunn.
A St. Louis native and longtime U.S. captain, Sauerbrunn was honored before kickoff for passing 200 career national team games. And within three minutes of kickoff, came inches from scoring her first goal in any of what’s now 216 all-time appearances.
Long hesitant to attack even on set pieces, this time Sauerbrunn was the recipient of a designed play. Sophia Smith’s corner kick went straight to her, and she crashed a header off the crossbar straight down to the goal line. Alas, it landed inches to the wrong side. The crowd stopped just short of exploding, and Sauerbrunn retreated to her usual position with a big grin on her face.
