Soccer star Rose Lavelle made her hometown proud Tuesday night — and this time, it wasn't even from around the world.
Lavelle and the U.S. Women's National Team dominated Paraguay 8-0 at Cincinnati's TQL Stadium on Sept. 21 during an international friendly. It was the first time TQL Stadium has hosted a U.S. Soccer match.
Lavelle, who had played in the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer, scored one goal and had three assists during the rout against Paraguay. Her goal came in just the fourth minute of the match, with one of her assists arriving two minutes later with a pass to Sophia Smith.
After another two minutes, Lavelle earned another assist on a pass to Alex Morgan before stealing the ball again for her third with a pass to Catarina Macario.
For her efforts, Lavelle was selected as the Budweiser Woman of the Match.
USWNT stars Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd joined Lavelle on the roster against Paraguay. Alyssa Naeher, Julie Ertz, Samantha Mewis and Megan Rapinoe did not play in Cincinnati due to injuries.
U.S. Soccer reports that 22,515 fans attended the match at TQL Stadium.
Tuesday's match was only Lavelle's second team match in Cincinnati, with her first being at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati campus.
The USWNT won a bronze medal in this summer's 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo (though the Tokyo Olympics happened in 2021, they still were considered to be the 2020 Olympic Games due to the coronavirus pandemic delay). Having been favored for gold, the players suffered an unexpected shutout from Sweden at the start. But in the following game, Lavelle scored Team USA's first goal, kicking off an absolute annihilation of New Zealand. The USWNT reported that the team's six goals that day made for their highest margin of victory at the Olympics ever.
Lavelle, who graduated from Mount Notre Dame High School in 2013, was named the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Player of the Year during her senior year. After a career at the University of Wisconsin, Lavelle became the No. 1 draft pick in the 2017 National Women’s Soccer League, playing for the Boston Breakers. Lavelle was named MVP during the 2021 SheBelieves Cup’s winning match earlier this year.
She also was vital to the USWNT’s exuberant World Cup victory in 2019. Lavelle started all six games and scored three goals, including one in the finals against the Netherlands.
At just a few months old, TQL Stadium already is earning its international soccer stripes. On Nov. 12, the U.S. Men's National Team will play Mexico in a 2022 World Cup qualifying match at TQL Stadium.
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