USWNT beats South Korea as Lily Yohannes, 16, nets first goal

1:01

Hayes 'delighted' with USWNT youngster Lily Yohannes

Emma Hayes praises Lily Yohannes after the 16-year-old scored on her USWNT debut against South Korea.

Updated: Jun 4, 2024, 10:42 pm

Sixteen-year-old Lily Yohannes scored in her national team debut and the United States defeated South Korea 3-0 in an exhibition on Tuesday night.

Crystal Dunn and Sophia Smith also scored for the U.S., playing its second game under coach Emma Hayes.

- Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)

Hayes was named coach last November, but remained in Europe to finish the season with Chelsea. She replaced Vlatko Andonovski, who stepped down after the U.S. was knocked out of the Women's World Cup last summer in the round of 16.

The U.S. also won the first friendly match over South Korea 4-0 on Saturday in Commerce City, Colorado. Mallory Swanson and Tierna Davidson each had a pair of goals.

Hayes will now turn her attention to selecting an 18-player roster for the U.S. Olympic team. The U.S. opens the Olympics on July 25 against Zambia in Nice.

Hayes made sweeping changes to the starting lineup for Tuesday's match played in steady rain at St. Paul's Allianz Field. Only captain Lindsey Horan and Jenna Nighswonger also started on Saturday.

Lily Yohannes, center, celebrates after scoring a goal for the USWNT against South Korea.
Lily Yohannes, center, celebrates after scoring a goal for the USWNT against South Korea.
Getty Images

Alex Morgan, who did not play in the first match against South Korea because of a minor injury, was among the starters.

Dunn, making her first start at forward since 2017, scored in the 13th minute off a cross from Nighswonger. Dunn, who has played primarily at left-back in recent years, had not scored since October 2018. She has 25 career goals.

Casey Murphy preserved the lead when she dove to push away a free kick in the 30th minute.

Smith scored her fourth goal of the year in the 67th minute at a tight angle off a backheel pass from Swanson.

Yohannes, who plays for Dutch club Ajax, got her goal just 10 minutes after coming into the game as a substitute, scoring from out front through traffic on a cross from Trinity Rodman in the 82nd, to become the third-youngest player to score for the national team.

Midfielder Rose Lavelle played in her 100th match for the United States.

The national team has two more matches before leaving for France. They'll play Mexico on July 13 at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey before a sendoff match against Costa Rica in Washington D.C.