Mallory Swanson scored a pair of goals just moments apart in the first half and the United States opened their Olympics campaign with a 3-0 victory Thursday night over Zambia, giving new coach Emma Hayes a win in her first major tournament with the team.
Trinity Rodman also scored for the US, who are hoping to add a record fifth gold medal to their Olympic collection.
Overmatched from the start, Zambia were reduced to 10 players in the 33rd minute when Pauline Zulu was sent off with a red card. Hayes’s team dominated the early portions of the game, keeping 70% of the ball and posting 13 shots with a 3.4 xG in the opening 25 minutes.
Zambia, overflowing with attacking talented, struggled to create any opportunities before they found themselves in a three-goal hole. Star forwards Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji failed to register a shot in the first-half, and could muster only three efforts on goal across 90 minutes.
