AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The World Cup is the perfect stage for an introduction. Like Brandi Chastain in 1999, Carli Lloyd in 2015 or Megan Rapinoe in 2019, a soccer player here has the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to catapult her career with the right performance.
Rose Lavelle knows that. Four years ago, then a 24-year-old central midfielder for the United States women's national team but mostly unknown to the average fan, Lavelle had a breakout moment to seal victory in the World Cup final.
The U.S. held a narrow 1-0 lead over the Netherlands — the same team it ironically faces in the second match of the 2023 group stage Wednesday in Wellington, New Zealand (coverage begins at 7 p.m.
ET, with kickoff at 9 p.m. on FOX and the FOX Sports app) — when Lavelle found herself alone on the ball near midfield with space in the 69th minute.