USA vs. Germany Women's Soccer: Score, Twitter Reaction for SheBelieves Cup 2016

The United States Women's National Team needed a win Wednesday to capture a title at the inaugural SheBelieves Cup, and it delivered just that as the reigning world champions secured a 2-1 triumph over Germany at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, behind a pair of late first-half strikes.     

Had things ended in a tie, Germany would have captured the SheBelieves title by virtue of its advantage in goals scored since both sides were tied in goal differential entering the evening.      

The United States is now 8-0-5 against Germany dating back to 2003, according to the national team's official website.   

Germany pressed forward early as it tried to apply pressure on the United States defense, but the Red, White and Blue were able to counterattack with relative ease. 

Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd both had solid shots on net over the game's first 10 minutes as the U.S. pushed past the German defense, but neither attempt resulted in tallies on the scoreboard, as Yahoo Sports' Graham Watson noted: 

Christen Press also found some success playing up the right side of the field as she repeatedly worked into the penalty area and carved out space to operate, but her patient strategy didn't exactly pay off throughout the first 20 minutes, per Watson: 

But just as the U.S. started to gain momentum in the attacking third, Germany struck back with a blistering shot from outside the box courtesy of forward Anja Mittag, who curled one on the ground around the outstretched arm of American goalkeeper Hope Solo. 

However, Germany's lead didn't last long. Morgan collected a deep pass from Meghan Klingenberg, calmly flicked it over her defender and slammed home a volley to knot things at 1-1 in the 37th minute following a tremendous show of skill. 

Morgan's goal evidently facilitated a boost in confidence, as the U.S. struck back just four minutes later to take a 2-1 lead after Samantha Mewis' shot took a deflection and slipped past German 'keeper Almuth Schult, who was caught off balance. 

Germany had to amp up its attacking pressure even more as it entered the second half facing a deficit, and the U.S. had no problem making runs that produced goalscoring opportunities. 

And while conversions weren't produced as a result of repeated runs into the box, the fact that the Americans were able to dictate pace and control possession allowed them to stave off a talented German side down the stretch. 

While it was impressive enough that the U.S. captured a SheBelieves title with top-notch countries such as Germany, England and France all vying for top honors, a win over the second-ranked squad in the world is yet another confidence-booster for a USWNT squad looking to make history. 

With the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro fast approaching, the U.S. is in position to become the first country in history to win a World Cup title and Olympic gold medal in back-to-back years, per ESPN.com's Graham Hays. 

Such an accomplishment would have sounded a tad optimistic five years ago after the U.S. fell short at the 2011 World Cup, but the sky seems to be the limit for this iteration of the Red, White and Blue.  

Postgame Reaction

"I think the intensity tonight was fantastic," U.S. coach Jill Ellis said, per the Sun Sentinel's Gary Curreri. "This tournament was essential for us to continue to grow and I saw a lot of players tonight, which was fantastic."

Ellis also praised Morgan, who nabbed SheBelieves Cup Golden Boot (top scorer) and Golden Ball (MVP) honors. 

"We started to see it in January," Ellis said, pe Curreri. "She's fit and healthy. She has a great mentality. A goal scorer wants to score goals and I thought she was dynamic and played a very complete game."