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U.S. women kick off Olympic qualifying with 5-0 win over Costa Rica

U.S. women kick off Olympic qualifying with 5-0 win over Costa Rica

It took all of the 13 seconds to dispel any concerns and about 15 minutes to obliterate the remainder of the doubts.

[ Slideshow: USWNT's 5-0 win over Costa Rica in pictures ]

Yes, the United States women's national team had gotten ensnared in a rapidly decaying collective bargaining agreement standoff with U.S. Soccer on the eve of Olympic qualifying, which will likely result in an acrimonious court case, but it took Alex Morgan just a few breaths to convert any frustration into goals. And after a quarter of an hour, the Americans were up by three on Costa Rica in their qualifying opener in Texas, and the deed was done on their way to a 5-0 win on Wednesday.

Over the next two weeks, the American world champions will do battle with their regional rivals for two spots in Rio de Janeiro this summer. But if Costa Rica was supposed to be a respectable opponent, it offered almost no resistance.

Within just a few touches of kicking off, the USA's Lindsay Horan hit a long ball to hero captain Carli Lloyd, who knocked it down for Morgan. She coolly finished at the near post – a play drawn up ahead of time, she would later say.

An eternal eight minutes later, Crystal Dunn was chopped down outside the Ticas' box on a dribble but tumbled into it and earned a penalty. Lloyd converted.

And after 15, Dunn, whose omission from the World Cup team still feels like a mistake, barged through a scramble for the ball in front of goal and eventually bundled it into the net.

It took the Americans a while to run up the score as they pressed Costa Rica high and effectively, rarely letting them out of their own half, but they seemed to lack the urgency to turn all that dominance into goals. But then, in the 62nd minute, Lloyd dinked a short cross to Morgan, who deftly slipped around her marker and dropped her header beyond the goalkeeper.

Finally, substitute Christen Press brought a chest-high ball down in the box with an otherworldly touch, spun and scored, hardly seeming cognizant of the sheer skill involved in that feat.

Four years ago, the Americans rumbled through this tournament with a perfect 5-0-0 record and a 38-0 scoring tally. They began that tournament with a 14-0 win over the Dominican Republic. Things weren't quite so lopsided this time around, but it isn't looking like this edition will be yielding a whole lot of tension either.

"We brought the fight and scored some great goals," Lloyd said after the game. "We've got to put this one to bed and move on and get ready for Mexico."

The U.S. faces its southern neighbors on Saturday.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.

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