There are bad days at the office, there are horrible days, and then there’s what happened to New Zealand soccer player Meikayla Moore against the United States women’s soccer team at SheBelieves Cup Sunday.
The 25-year-old defender scored the worst hat trick you’ve ever seen in a game, scoring three own goals for the USWNT in the first half. The errors steadily got worse as the game progressed.
The first goal came four minutes later, when USWNT striker Sophia Smith fired a cross past the New Zealand goal. Moore threw his foot, seemingly trying to return the ball, but eventually redirected the ball into the goal.
The second goal came when USA right-back Sofia Huerta attempted to head in for striker Margaret Purce. The pass went on for a long time, but Moore was unfortunately stepping away with Purce and ended up taking the ball over his own head, sending it into the net again.
The final goal was by far the most brutal. Purce threw a weak pass into a New Zealand area packed with defenders, but one of those defenders was unfortunately Moore, who inexplicably redirected the ball directly into the goal.
That’s when Moore doubled down on regret. No teammate appeared to console her in the moments that followed.
Four minutes later, New Zealand replaced Moore with Rebekah Stott, thankfully ending their day.
The USWNT would end up winning 5-0. Ashley Hatch became their first player to enter the team sheet in the 51st minute, while Mallory Pugh added another goal in downtime.
Moore has played for the New Zealand senior team since 2013 and currently plays for Liverpool in his club career.
The loss drops New Zealand to last place at 0-2 in the exhibition tournament, with one game more to play against the Czech Republic. The USWNT, which drew with the Czechs in their opener, can seal a third consecutive SheBelieves Cup with a victory against Iceland on Wednesday.
