USWNT and their Mothers Celebrate a 3-0 Win Over Ireland

USMNT with their mothers

The U.S. Women’s National team triumphed over the Republic of Ireland with a 3-0 win on Mother's Day. To make the victory even sweeter, the team was surprised by a visit from their mothers during the team dinner the night before, and had the privilege of walking out to the field together. This was the first game of the three-game Send-off Series heading to the 2015 FIFA World Cup.

Fox Sports Sends Mothers Out for a Mother's Day Surprise
In celebration of Mother’s Day, Fox Sports flew all of the players' mothers out for a surprise dinner. At the game each member of the team, including head coach Jill Ellis, entered the field hand-in-hand with their mothers, and all stood together for the National Anthem. The mothers then took to the stands among the 18,000 fans at Avaya Stadium in San Jose to watch the USWNT beat Ireland. For some of these players who are constantly traveling for their club teams, this was the first time in years that they were able to spend Mother's Day with their moms.

Wambach Changes the Forwards Recent Reputation
The USWNT forwards have struggled to find the back of the net in recent games. To turn the tide, Abby Wambach scored two of the three goals, one right after another,  a huge improvement for the front line. Christen Press assisted the first, and Carli Lloyd assisted the second with a ball to the far post that Wambach headed into the right corner. Defender Julie Johnston scored the third goal of the game, and the third goal of her international career.

Rapinoe 100th cap

Many Reasons to Celebrate for Rapinoe
As well as celebrating Mother’s Day, Megan Rapinoe celebrated her 100th cap with the national team. She started the game as the team captain, and was recognized beforehand for her accomplishment. Normally players receive a Rolex watch in celebration of their achievements, however, Rapinoe requested that the money be given to charity instead.

Coming Soon: The USWNT will play against Mexico at the StubHub Center in Carson, California for the second game of the Send-off Series. Set a reminder to catch the game on May 17 at 6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1 or Univision Deportes. Hopefully, they follow in the steps of the USMNT who recently beat Mexico. 

Photos courtesy of U.S. Soccer.