BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil _ A first-half goal from Carli Lloyd and a second-half shot from Alex Morgan lifted the defending champion U.S. women's soccer team to a 2-0 win over a physical New Zealand team on Wednesday in its opening game of the Rio Olympics.
Lloyd's goal, her seventh in Olympic competition, came on a header in the ninth minute off a picture-perfect cross from Tobin Heath. Morgan then doubled the lead in the opening seconds of the second half when she latched onto a Morgan Brian pass in the box and slipped a low left-footed shot just inside the near post.
The U.S., which won the World Cup last summer, is chasing its fourth consecutive Olympic title, which would make it the first team to win world and Olympic titles in back-to-back summers.
The U.S., ranked No. 1 in the world, next plays Saturday when it meets third-ranked France.
