Carli Lloyd, USA Use 2nd-Half Surge to Beat Haiti in 2020 Olympic Qualifier

Christen Press found the back of the net in the second minute, and the United States never looked back on its way to a 4-0 win over Haiti in Tuesday's CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying matchup.

Lynn Williams, Lindsey Horan and Carli Lloyd each scored in the second half as Team USA got off to a commanding start in group play. Costa Rica is currently first in Group A on goal differential after getting a 6-1 win over Panama.

That second-half surge came after what was a mostly underwhelming 43 minutes after Press' opening goal. The U.S. was in far from its top form, seemingly taking its foot off the gas after what looked like a blowout in the making in the opening minutes.

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Relive the @USWNT’s  4-0 victory against @fhfhaiti
 in #CWOQ Group A | #WeBelong pic.twitter.com/lAOhgax0v4

— Concacaf (@Concacaf) January 29, 2020"

"In the first half, we were a little bit disappointed, but I think that's on us," Julie Ertz said after the match. "That's not forcing it and being able to keep the ball, so we can learn from this and that's the best part."

It wasn't until the 67th minute that the United States finally started opening up the scoring, when Williams headed in a Megan Rapinoe corner kick to make it 2-0. Horan headed in another goal off a Haitian defender six minutes later before Lloyd capped it off in stoppage time.

The United States hadn't played since a Nov. 10 friendly victory over Costa Rica. That 6-0 drubbing will give the U.S. confidence heading into its matchup against the Costa Ricans, who looked like a team peaking in their win over Panama.

Given Panama's form against Costa Rica, the United States should be able to skate to a second straight easy win Friday. A win would clinch the U.S. a berth in the knockout stage.