Football Ferns defender Meikayla Moore made her fiftieth appearance for her country on February 20, but it was another milestone she realised on this auspicious occasion for which the Liverpool defender will forever be remembered throughout the footballing world. The USA's 5-0 triumph over the Football Ferns, in their SheBelieves Cup encounter at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, was watched by 16,587 fans, and they witnessed a quite remarkable hat-trick of own goals by the central defender, all scored inside the first 36 minutes of the match - an unprecedented feat on the world stage. The first of them materialised in the fifth minute of play, and followed a brief spell in which the Football Ferns enjoyed plenty of time in the USA's half of the pitch. But a quickly taken free-kick by Andi Sullivan invited Ashley Sanchez to release Sophia Smith down the left, from where she delivered a cross to the near post which Moore inadvertently sliced between Erin Nayler and the upright as she attempted to clear the danger. New Zealand was still reeling from this blow when Moore's second "oggie" materialised sixty seconds later. Alana Cook fed Sofia Huerta, who stormed down the right at pace before delivering a delicious curling cross into the danger zone, Margaret Purce its intended target. She flicked the ball on with her head, and Moore, who was covering the space immediately behind the striker, could do nothing as the sphere ricocheted off her head and flew past the stranded figure of Nayler - 2-0. In terms of the contest, that was effectively game over, given Team USA was on a 63-match unbeaten run on home soil going into this match, and hadn't conceded a goal on home turf for nearly two years. The visitors had their own ideas regarding that statistic, however, and straight from the kick-off forced a corner. Olivia Chance's delivery was headed clear, however, and away stormed the States, Purce leading the charge, with two players up in support and Ali Riley the only NZ defender in a position to disrupt their progress. Incredibly, she succeeded in her task, jockeying Purce expertly before forcing her to cross, by which time the fast-retreating Katie Bowen was on hand to clear the sphere for a corner, which resulted in Nayler grabbing Smith's cross which had Purce as its intended target. The USA were eager to exploit Catherine Bott's defensive frailties - her desire to press forward at every opportunity leaves a gaping hole in behind her when things go awry, and in Smith, the Americans possessed a weapon well capable of capitalising upon that opportunity, something she did repeatedly throughout the 45 minutes she graced the game. Such as in the seventeenth minute, forcing a corner which Catarina Macario delivered into the danger zone. Nayler failed to claim the sphere, which went straight through her hands and narrowly past the far post - a real let-off for the out-of-form 'keeper. Two minutes later, the offside flag denied Kristie Mewis a goal after Smith had ridden a tackle from the already booked Bott in the area. Had she gone to ground, Chilean referee Maria Carbajal would almost certainly have been pointing to the penalty spot, and contemplating whether or not the challenge merited an early bath for the offender. Fortune favoured the fullback, however - at least for now. Bott was AWOL again in the 24th minute as Mewis sent Smith scampering into the wide open spaces of a venue where the USA has never been beaten. The winger's cross to the near post wasn't gathered under pressure by Nayler, who was relieved to see Purce pummel the post with a close-range drive, rather than ripple the net with it. Two minutes later, Macario, Sullivan and Mewis sent you-know-who scooting down the left once more. This time, Smith cut inside before unleashing a drive which Nayler could only parry into the stride of Huerta. Riley blocked the fullback's shot to safety. A rare forward foray by the Football Ferns followed, with Hannah Wilkinson winning possession inside her own half and feeding Bowen - hers was a performance of which she can be proud. She broke into the USA's half before slipping a slide-rule ball through to reward Paige Satchell's angled run in behind the defence. Cook was alert to the danger, however, and snuffed out the prospect of Satchell finding herself one-on-one with USA goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who hasn't graced the national side since the Olympics. Cook's intervention came at the expense of a corner, however. Ria Percival - another whose performance review contained more pluses than minuses - combined with Chance on the left, the winger's delivery arcing just beyond the incoming figure of Claudia Bunge - what a fine game she had! - on the far post. In the 32nd minute, Satchell swooped on a stray pass from Cook and delivered a cross which found Chance on the far side of the penalty area. Her first-time fifteen yard drive arrowed inches past Naeher's right-hand post - a real let-off for the home team. Whenever this particular bear gets poked, however, they invariably retaliate with interest. Nine minutes before half-time, Cook picked out Purce on the right, and she took on and outpaced Riley before pulling the ball back into the goalmouth, right into the path of the retreating figure of Moore … This proud Kiwi cut a crestfallen, forlorn and shattered figure in the immediate aftermath of registering a hat-trick hitherto unseen on the world stage. Coach Jitka Klimkova opted to spare the defensive stalwart further angst, withdrawing her from the fray soon afterwards, but not before a Becky Sauerbrunn header, from a Mewis corner, drew a save from Nayler.

Moore's replacement, Rebekah Stott, wasted little time in making her presence known, chancing her arm from distance before the interval which gave Naeher scant cause for concern, seconds after the goalkeeper had grabbed an angled cross from Bowen as the Football Ferns tried to conclude a half from hell on the front foot - they had also lost Betsy Hassett to a broken rib halfway through the first spell. They looked to start the second half in the desired fashion, too, Riley rampaging down the left before delivering an angled cross which was headed out by halftime substitute Tierna Davidson to Bott, who battered a fifteen yarder straight at Naeher. Immediately the USA retorted, Purce outpacing Riley once again before pulling the ball back into the goalmouth, where Stott was on hand to relieve the danger. Mewis then looked to play in the striker, but Bunge's timely tackle put paid to that prospect. Still the Americans pressed, via another halftime substitute, Lynn Williams, whose tantalising cross caught Purce on her heels. Had she been on her toes and attacked the sphere, it's unlikely the ball would have gone out of play. In the 51st minute, the USA increased their lead with the goal of the game. Cook released Huerta down the right, from where she delivered an absolute buffet ball of a cross to which halftime substitute Ashley Hatch duly helped herself, nipping in between defenders to head home the game's fourth goal, but the first scored by a player in America's eye-catching red-and-blue shirt. It speaks volumes for the depth and quality of players produced by the US soccer system that the absence of the likes of Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and the now retired Carli Lloyd, while lamented, didn't noticeably impact upon the USA's performance. Indeed, such is Smith's talent that Rapinoe will have a job on her hands to regain her place in the starting line-up going forward. Ashley Sanchez is another rising star in the starting eleven who impressed throughout proceedings, as did fullback Huerta … oh, to have such ready-made replacements to call upon … Conceding a fourth goal so early in the second spell severely dented the Football Ferns' fragile confidence, and the reigning world champions wasted little time in trying to inflict further pain on the scoreboard. Sanchez and Huerta combined splendidly on the right in the 54th minute, the latter's cross being headed out by Bunge - she won just about everything in the air - to Sullivan, whose slide-rule pass invited Hatch to attempt to double her tally for the match. Nayler saved her acute-angled effort. Two minutes later, Mewis' driving run culminated in a pass for Sanchez, whose eventual cross was cleared by Bowen after Bott had appeared to use her hand to help frustrate the attacker, although the lack of appeals for a penalty suggested that all was legal and above board. Just after the hour mark, Sanchez turned Percival in midfield and stormed into the gap behind her before thundering a shot narrowly past Nayler's left-hand post, a strike which prompted an attack-oriented response from Stott, who intercepted a pass in the US defensive third before just over-hitting her own one in a bid to create an opening for Wilkinson. Ten minutes later, and after a Mewis free-kick had found Trinity Rodman lurking beyond the far post - her low cross ricocheted to safety off Daisy Cleverley, Stott intervened again, catching Rodman in possession on halfway before powering forward and feeding fellow substitute Jacqui Hand on the right. Her cross for Emma Rolston was headed clear by Cook. Rodman's day was soon done, an early accidental ankle clip by Percival as their paths crossed exacerbated by a collision with Rolston which left the offspring of the charismatic basketballer nursing a knee injury. With the USA having already used their full complement of substitutes, they concluded the game with ten players on the park. That gave the Football Ferns further incentive to go for a goal and add a dash of respectability to the scoreline, their best raid coming five minutes from time. Bowen led the way, pinging the ball forward for Rolston to guide into the stride of Hand. Her cross from the right targeted Gabrielle Rennie, but Davidson wasn't having a bar of conceding on her watch. Back came the USA, and as the game entered stoppage time, they went nap. Fullback Emily Fox played the ball forward to Jaelin Howell, whose flick invited fellow substitute Mallory Pugh to surge clear past Bunge and bury a beauty beyond Nayler. 5-0 very nearly became 6-0 soon afterwards. Pugh powered past four opponents before releasing Williams to the by-line, from where she cut inside, evading a challenge in the process, then drove a cross into the near post area. The ball cannoned off Bunge and onto the post - very nearly another own goal - before Bowen hooked the rebound over her own crossbar to conclude a fine victory for the USA, and a day best forgotten by the Football Ferns, Meikayla Moore in particular. She would do well to heed the lyrics of the anthem of the club for whom she plays, Liverpool. "When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark … You'll Never Walk Alone". USA:          Naeher; Huerta, Cook, Sauerbrunn (Davidson, 46), Fox; Sanchez (Pugh, 67), Sullivan (Howell, 58), Mewis; Purce (Rodman, 55), Macario (Hatch, 46), Smith (Williams, 46) Football Ferns:     Nayler; Bott (booked, 12), Moore (Stott, 40), Bunge (booked, 70), Riley (Anton, 73); Hassett (Cleverley, 22), Percival, Bowen; Satchell (Hand, 73), Wilkinson (Rolston, 63), Chance (Rennie, 46) Referee:     Maria Carvajal (Chile)