Lynn Williams, US women's soccer
Lynn Williams #12 of the United States of America celebrates her goal with Morgan Brian #6 and Christen Press #23 in front of Babett Peter #5 , Sara Dbritz #13 and Dzsenifer Marozsan #10 of Germany in the second half during the SheBelieves Cup at Talen Energy Stadium on March 1, 2017 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Getty Images

Fresh from a 1-0 win over the Olympic champion Germany, the United States women’s soccer team will continue its She Believes Cup campaign with a clash with England in New Jersey on Saturday.

In its first match of 2017 in Chester, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, Jill Ellis’ squad took time to get going but produced an improved second-half performance to get the better of the world’s No. 2-ranked team courtesy of a goal from Lynn Williams. Having made her national team debut last October, the forward has been one of the leading figures in the new-look team Ellis has sought to construct since the disappointment of bowing out in the quarterfinals of last year’s Olympics.

“First and foremost, she deserved a look based on her productivity,” Ellis said after Williams’ second goal for the U.S. “Then when I brought her in, her willingness to learn, her coachability, for sure her athleticism, her nose for goal – pretty quickly I thought she's someone ... we have to see her and invest in her over these next few months to see what she's capable of.”

There was also success at the other end of the field. A back three that Ellis has introduced in recent games came through with a shutout against its toughest opposition to date. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher also added a positive line on her resume as she looks to stake a claim to be the long-term replacement for Hope Solo.

“I think this was obviously our biggest test playing in that three-back and there was a lot of energy on the field,” Naeher said after the match. “I thought we had a lot of good communication and a lot of good moving parts and I’m very happy about how it worked out against a top team.”

For two U.S. players, many of Saturday’s opponents will become plenty familiar over the coming months. Last month, captain Carli Lloyd joined Crystal Dunn in signing to play for a club in England.

The England team, which reached the semifinals of the 2015 World Cup, will be desperate to get a victory after being sunk by two late goals in a 2-1 defeat to France Wednesday.

On the last two occasions, the U.S. squared off with England, the Americans emerged 1-0 winners.

USA vs England
Match Time:
5 p.m. EST
TV Channel: Fox
Live Stream: Fox Sports Go, Fox Soccer 2Go