U.S. U-17 Women's Soccer Team Secures Record-Breaking World Cup Victory

The U.S. U-17 women's national soccer team achieved a historic 17-0 victory over Samoa in the U-17 Women's World Cup, marking the largest win ever recorded at any FIFA World Cup.

Long Island native Loradana Paletta, a 15-year-old member of the New York City FC academy, contributed significantly to the dominant performance by scoring two goals and providing three assists. Paletta found the back of the net in the 25th and 37th minutes before being substituted in the 73rd minute. Her first goal extended the U.S. lead to 5-0 after a deflection off the Samoan goalkeeper, Susahna Peacock. Paletta’s second goal came from a well-placed shot in the penalty area.

The U.S. team saw goals from 10 different players in the match. Teammate Maddie DiMaria set a new record by scoring six goals, the most by a U.S. women's player in any single match and the most by any player in a single U-17 Women's World Cup game. DiMaria opened the scoring in the second minute.

U.S. coach Ciara Crinion expressed satisfaction with the team's performance, noting the importance of a strong start in the opening match of the tournament. "We knew the first game can be a tough game with the emotions and everything that goes with it," Crinion told FIFA's website. "So we wanted to have a good performance and we felt like we got that and continued to be able to put the ball in the back of the net."

Paletta had previously been featured by The Post last summer, expressing her aspirations to play in the U-17 World Cup and eventually for the senior national team. She was called up for the U-17 Women's World Cup qualifiers in March.

The U.S. team is currently in the Group Stage of the tournament, which is being held in Morocco. Their next match is scheduled against Kenya on Thursday.