Carli Lloyd's Hat Trick Powers USWNT to CONCACAF Win vs. Panama

The United States women's national team earned its second win of the 2018 CONCACAF Women's Championship, defeating Panama 5-0 on Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.

Sam Mewis scored the opener for the USWNT in the sixth minute, which opened the floodgates for the USWNT. Carli Lloyd registered a hat trick in her 261st appearance for the national team.

Squad Rotation Pays off for USWNT

Head coach Jill Ellis made nine changes to the lineup that defeated Mexico 6-0 last Thursday. That win allowed Ellis to experiment in the group stage, and she capitalized on that.

Lloyd was the most notable name added to the starting XI and responded by single-handedly tearing Panama apart. According to OptaJack, Lloyd's eight hat tricks tie her with Mia Hamm for the most all time, illustrating her impact on the national team over the years. 

Qualifying for the 2019 Women's World Cup is the United States' primary objective in this tournament. Figuring out the optimal lineup for the 2019 World Cup is the team's secondary objective. Ellis can't achieve the latter goal without giving everybody in her squad an opportunity.

Lloyd in particular did what she could to punch her ticket to France next summer.

Lloyd will be 36 at the Women's World Cup, so reputation alone won't be enough for her to warrant a place in the final roster. A hat trick against Panama won't seal the deal either. 

But it looks like she'll give Ellis a difficult decision when the time comes to announce her World Cup team.

Overmatched Panama Unable to Provide Significant Test for USWNT

Panama sits 66th in the FIFA world ranking and is the seventh-best team in the CONCACAF region.

Even at full strength, Panama can't match the talent and experience at the United States' disposal. The gulf becomes even larger when Panama uses a lineup comprised largely from its youth teams, including 17-year-old goalkeeper Yenith Bailey.

Ultimately, though, fans aren't going to learn much about the United States from Sunday night.

Look at how easily Lloyd sliced through the Panamanian defense for her second goal in the 29th minute.

Bailey might have come out the biggest individual winner, having earned rave reviews for her work in the one-sided result.

The USWNT deserves some credit for putting Panama to the sword. Otherwise dominant teams can sometimes play down to their competition, and that wasn't the case Sunday.

The United States didn't sleepwalk though the match and never stopped throwing players forward, even when it held a five-goal cushion late in the second half. Mallory Pugh scored a sixth goal in the 73rd minute, which was eventually ruled out.

What's Next?

The USWNT wraps up the group stage of the tournament Wednesday against Trinidad and Tobago. Panama will look to secure a semifinal berth with a win over Mexico.