Emma Sears scored a hat trick as the United States closed out the October window with a one-sided 6-0 win over New Zealand on Wednesday in Kansas City, Missouri.
U.S. coach Emma Hayes once again rotated her starting XI as she did in a pair of friendlies against Portugal prior to the game with New Zealand.
All three of Sears’ goals came from close range, one in the first half and two in the second, as the U.S. dominated FIFA’s 33rd-ranked team in the world.
Catarina Macario and Rose Lavelle scored with pinpoint first-time shots to round out the scoring in the first half as the U.S. took a 3-0 lead into halftime. Lavelle’s goal — the best of the bunch for the U.S. on Wednesday — came when she pounced on a loose ball and netted from a curling, long-range volley from 20 yards out.
The U.S. continued to keep the pressure on New Zealand in the second half with Sears adding her second and Macario netting shortly after for her brace with a powerful shot from the right side of the area.
Sears finished off her stellar night with another close-range finish, smashing a loose ball into the roof of the New Zealand net for the first hat trick by a U.S. woman since Sophia Wilson in April of 2022 against Uzbekistan.
Despite its success on Wednesday, the U.S. lost one of its three games during the October slate of friendly matches, falling 2-1 to Portugal on Oct. 23. Hayes’ side bounced back to beat Portugal in the teams’ second meeting three days later with a 3-1 victory.
The U.S. closes out its 2025 match calendar with friendlies against Italy on Nov. 28 and then again on Dec. 1.
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