US women open Olympic qualifying with 5-0 romp

FRISCO, Texas -- The U.S. women's opening set piece finally paid off.

Alex Morgan scored off it 12 seconds in and added another goal in the 62nd minute and the U.S. opened CONCACAF qualifying for the Rio Olympics with a 5-0 victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday night.

Morgan's goal was the fastest in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying history, and the team said it is believed to be the fastest in U.S. history. It came on a designed play that the team uses off most opening kickoffs.

"We always see it coming," Morgan said. "It always starts off right, then something goes wrong. This time, nothing went wrong."

The match was the Americans' first competitive game since winning the World Cup. They have won three straight Olympic titles and four of the five in women's soccer.

The U.S. roster features only 13 of the 20 players who were on the World Cup team. Christie Rampone and Megan Rapinoe are injured, and Amy Rodriguez and Sydney Leroux are pregnant and will miss the Olympics.

Carli Lloyd and Crystal Dunn also scored first-half goals, and substitute Christen Press scored in the 83rd minute.

"For me, it's almost a perfect start," U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. "We were able to check off a lot of boxes."

In Wednesday's other Group A opener at Toyota Stadium, Maribel Dominguez scored a hat trick as Mexico routed Puerto Rico 6-0.

U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo was never seriously challenged. She made two saves during the first half on long free kicks.

The United States has never lost a qualifying match and is 13-0 against Costa Rica.

The U.S. team will face Mexico on Saturday and close group play against Puerto Rico on Monday night.

The two top teams in Group A will join the two survivors from Group B, which is being played in Houston. The two semifinal winners in Houston on Feb. 19 will qualify for Rio.

Mexico's Dominguez, known internationally as "Marigol," opened the scoring in the opening match in the 18th minute and added her other goals in the second half. The 37-year-old Dominguez is Mexico's leader in career qualifying goals with 14.

Sports on 02/12/2016

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