CHICAGO (Sept. 20, 2013) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will face New Zealand in a pair of friendly matches on Oct. 27 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco at 3:30 p.m. PT and Oct. 30 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio at 7:30 p.m. ET. Fans can follow both games on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and on Twitter via @ussoccer_wnt.
The matches will bring the USA and New Zealand together for the first time since the quarterfinal of the 2012 Olympics, a 2-0 U.S. victory in Newcastle, England, on goals from Abby Wambach and Sydney Leroux.
The match at Candlestick Park will mark the first game for the U.S. Women in San Francisco during the team’s 28-year history and first game in the Bay Area since 2007 when the USA defeated Japan 4-1 on July 28 at Spartan Stadium in San Jose. The only match the U.S. Women have played in the Bay Area outside of San Jose came on July 4, 1999, a 2-0 semifinal victory against Brazil in the FIFA Women’s World Cup at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto.
The USA last played at Columbus Crew Stadium in 2011, also against Japan, a 2-0 victory in May of that year. The U.S. Women are 4-1-0 all-time at the venue, which has been a fortress for the U.S. MNT during World Cup qualifying. One of the wins for the U.S. Women at Crew Stadium was a 3-0 victory against North Korea during group play at the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
“New Zealand is a much-improved side over the past few years,” said U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni, who saw quite a bit of the Kiwis during his two stints as head coach of Australia. “Qualifying for World Cups and Olympics have helped them significantly and now they are a very composed and competitive team that plays with a great deal of confidence.”
“On the heels of a fantastic U.S. Men’s National Team ‘Dos a Cero’ victory over Mexico, we are thrilled to welcome the U.S. Women’s National Team back to Crew Stadium,” said Crew President & General Manager Mark McCullers. “Much like the U.S. Men’s National Team, the women are accustomed to a strong home-field advantage at our venue. Along with the greater Columbus community, our organization is privileged to deliver a venue with significant historical ties to the sport of soccer and the success of our National Teams. We look forward to providing another patriotic atmosphere for the U.S. Women against New Zealand.”
Ticket information for the game in San Francisco will be announced next week. Fans can sign-up for early notice regarding tickets by joining U.S. Soccer on Facebook or Twitter.
Tickets for the game in Columbus go on sale to the public Friday, Sept. 27, at 10 a.m. ET through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Central Ohio (including many Kroger stores), as well as the Crew Stadium ticket office (open Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.). Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com or call 312-528-1290. Ultimate Fan Tickets (special VIP packages that include a premium ticket, a custom-made official U.S. National Team jersey with name and number, VIP access to the field before and after the game, and other unique benefits) are also available exclusively through ussoccer.com.
As a sponsor of U.S. Soccer, Visa is pleased to offer all Visa cardholders access to an advance ticket sale for the Columbus match before the sale to the general public. This advance sale starts Thursday, Sept. 26, at 10 a.m. ET and runs until Friday, Sept. 27, at 8 a.m. ET at ussoccer.com. Visa will be the only payment method accepted through the Visa presale and is the preferred card of U.S. Soccer. Terms and conditions apply.
Next up for the U.S. Women’s National Team is a match against Australia in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday, Oct. 20. The USA’s first game in San Antonio since 1996 will be broadcast on NBC at 12:30 p.m. CT.
Tickets for the game in San Antonio go on sale to the public tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 20) at 10 a.m. CT through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout San Antonio (including many HEB and Walmart locations), as well as the Alamodome ticket office (open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).
Additional Notes:
- The U.S. team, which is ranked No. 1 in the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings, is 10-0-2 in 2013 and has scored 43 goals while allowing eight.
- New Zealand is ranked 19th in the world and is a shoe-in to qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup when it hosts the Oceania qualifying competition from Sept. 10-20, 2014.
- The USA actually lost its first-ever match against New Zealand by a 1-0 score on Dec. 15, 1987, and have since won nine consecutive games, the closest being a 2-1 victory in Frisco, Texas, on Feb. 11, 2012, in which the USA had to come from behind in freezing temperatures on two very late goals from Alex Morgan.
