USA vs. Japan Women's Soccer: Score, Reaction from Sunday's 2016 Friendly

The United States women's national team put on an impressive display at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sunday, defeating Japan 2-0 in a game called in the 76th minute due to lightning, per U.S. Soccer WNT.

Julie Johnston's goal in the 27th minute and Alex Morgan's tally in the 62nd were the difference for the United States, who conceded 54 percent of possession to Japan but created far more opportunities. The United States outshot Japan 12-3 (7-1 on goal) and held a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks, according to ESPN FC.

Johnston's goal to open the scoring was something of a salvage job. After Japan failed to clear a poor USWNT set piece, Allie Long was played through into space on the left side of the box. She sent a low cross to the opposite post, where Johnston was poaching and was easily able to slot home for the goal.

Japan had some justified gripes with the goal, as Johnston appeared to be a hair offside on the play. Nonetheless, the United States would take a 1-0 lead into the half.

There was little questioning the country's second goal, however. 

The United States hit Japan quickly again, with Crystal Dunn racing down the right flank. She spotted Morgan making a probing run between two Japanese defenders, and perfectly curled a low cross that beat the first defender. Morgan took it from there, deflecting the pass over the sprawling goalkeeper for the game's second goal.

U.S. Soccer WNT shared the fantastic setup and finish:

That continued Morgan's hot streak, as Julie Stewart-Binks of Fox Sports 1 noted:

It was also her seventh goal against Japan, the most goals she has versus any country, according to Paul Carr of ESPN.

The pair of Dunn and Morgan is also quite a handful for opposing defenses, as Caitlin Murray of the Guardian noted:

Play was then halted in the 76th minute for a lightning delay as thunderstorms broke out, before the game was ultimately canceled. 

Up next for the United States will be a matchup against South Africa in an international friendly on July 9 as the team continues its buildup to the 2016 Rio Games. The United States will open its gold-medal defense on August 9 against Colombia.

Japan, meanwhile, shockingly failed to qualify for the Olympics after a devastating qualifying campaign, keeping it out of the most prestigious tournament in women's soccer outside of the World Cup. It's a disappointing result for one of the best international teams in the world, though if Sunday's matchup was any indication, even Japan would struggle to keep the United States from repeating as Olympic champions.

Post-Match Reaction

Two members of the national team tweeted out their disappointment about being unable to play the full 90 minutes in Cleveland:

Coach Jill Ellis was still pleased with what she saw from her team in the 76 minutes of action, per the Plain Dealer's Elton Alexander: "From the last game to this game, big positives. We broke down a lot of film, had some good meetings and I saw a definite response. Our defensive lines were tighter. Our organization was better."

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