Next up is the one game in this tournament that matters most, a London-or-bust semifinal against Costa Rica on Friday. The winner gets one of the two available berths for the Olympics; the loser stays home.
The U.S. team will be heavily favored. Costa Rica is ranked No. 41 in the world and has never beaten the United States,, having been outscored by 34-0 in seven meetings. Had the Americans lost to Mexico, they would have faced a much tougher semifinal against host Canada.
Instead, it will be Mexico vs. Canada in the other semifinal that will produce the tournament's second Olympic berth.
Tuesday's win also eased the sting from a 2-1 defeat by Mexico in Cancun in a World Cup qualifier 14 months ago, the only time in 28 tries the Mexicans have beaten the Americans. That loss forced the U.S. team into a backdoor playoff just to qualify for the World Cup - and served as a wakeup call that the top-ranked team in the world can't take important games for granted any more.
That message has stuck with the Americans during this CONCACAF tournament. They routed their first two opponents - the Dominican Republic and Guatemala - by scores of 14-0 and 13-0, the most lopsided results in U.S. team history.
Keeping with that theme, coach Pia Sundhage wanted a strong start against the Mexicans, and she got one. The Americans controlled the run of play early, and it paid off when Lloyd headed in the rebound after Rachel Buehler clanged a shot off the post following a corner kick.
It wasn't long before the lead was doubled. Amy Rodriguez's cross was deflected by a defender and then by goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago straight to O'Reilly for an easy goal.
