AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Sophia Smith pretended to zip her lips closed as she celebrated her second goal against Vietnam during the United States’ opening match at the Women’s World Cup. It was a tribute to former Stanford teammate Katie Meyer, who died by suicide last year.

Smith and teammate Naomi Girma decided on the tribute for Meyer, the goalkeeper star of Stanford’s 2019 NCAA championship. She stopped two penalty shots in the title game. An ebullient California girl known for her animated celebrations, Meyer made the gesture after her first penalty save as a way to silence anyone who doubted Stanford.

Girma was one of Meyer’s best friends. She penned a tribute to Meyer published by The Players’ Tribune at the start of the World Cup.

“Na (Naomi) and I talked about it before the game, and we were like ‘What can we do for Katie?’ ” Smith said. “And it was pretty iconic: what she did in the College Cup. We just wanted to honor her in every way. So that was for Katie.”

Girma said the gesture was Meyer’s “go-to,” and she and her teammates have made a point to publicly discuss mental health since Meyer’s death.

“We see this as an opportunity to shed light on a lot of things that are important to us,” Girma said. “I think that’s been something that’s been at the core of this team for so long, and for us to come in now and carry on that legacy is something that’s really important to us.”

Meyer’s family has said the 21-year-old was distressed about a disciplinary email she received from the school before her death. They filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the university last November.

The U.S. team won the its first match at the World Cup, 3-0. Smith finished with a pair of goals.

Up next for the Americans is a game against The Netherlands – the team the U.S. defeated in the 2019 World Cup Final – in Wellington on Thursday.

TUESDAY’S GAMES

PHILIPPINES 1, NEW ZEALAND 0: With its first goal at its first Women’s World Cup the unfavored Philippines achieved its first win, shocking co-host New Zealand in a Group A match made contentious when a potential equalizer was disallowed, in Wellington, New Zealand.

New Zealand achieved its first World Cup win when it upset Norway in the tournament’s opening match five days ago. And so for the first time in six World Cups, the Football Ferns entered a match as favorite, almost certain with another win to become the first team to reach the round of 16.

But Sarina Bolden scored the Philippines’ historic match-winner from its first shot on goal in the 24th minute, flipping the script and silencing a packed stadium of 33,000 mostly newly-minted Kiwi soccer fans.

New Zealand threw everything at Philippines in the second half but to no avail. The moment of contention came in the 68th when Jacqui Hand, who hit the post four minutes earlier, headed home what seemed to be the equalizing goal from Hannah Wilkinson’s cross.

The New Zealanders were in full celebration until the referee ruled that Wilkinson had been offside. The decision was close: Wilkinson’s arm and part of her shoulder were offside, but that was enough.

COLOMBIA 2, SOUTH KOREA 0: Cancer survivor Linda Caicedo scored on her debut at the Women’s World Cup as Colombia beat South Korea in Sydney.

The Real Madrid forward, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 15, fired in her country’s second goal of the match at Sydney Football Stadium before racing toward Colombia’s fans in celebration.

The 18-year-old Caicedo, who is an inspirational figure on and off the field, further enhanced her reputation as one of soccer’s rising stars with her goal and performance as Colombia made a winning start to the tournament.

SWITZERLAND 0, NORWAY 0: Goalkeeper Gaelle Thalmann shielded Switzerland to a 0-0 draw against Norway in Hamilton, New Zealand, as the Norwegians played without star striker Ada Hegerberg because of injury.

Hegerberg was initially listed to start, but the team announced during the match that the Ballon d’Or winner was unable to play after experiencing “a feeling in the groin” toward the end of her pre-match warmups.

The Norwegians could have used her to break open a scoreless game. In her place, Sophie Roman Haug started the match as a striker. But Roman Haug’s Women’s World Cup debut proved to be a fruitless one. She was substituted in the 73rd minute for Karina Saevik.