Rose Lavelle whipped out a marvelous back-heel assist to help give Alex Morgan her first goal of 2023

• US Women's National Team star Rose Lavelle is virtually unstoppable with the ball at her feet.
• The midfielder showcased her brilliance with a jaw-dropping assist vs New Zealand on Wednesday.
• Lavelle whipped out a no-look back-heel pass to help give Alex Morgan an easy first goal of 2023. 

Rose Lavelle is considered one of the most creative playmakers the US Women's National Team has ever seen.

And Wednesday afternoon in New Zealand, she showed the world exactly why.

The 27-year-old midfielder dished a stunning back-heel assist to Alex Morgan, bamboozling a pair of Ferns defenders and dazzling viewers back home in the process. With Lavelle's ball leading into a wide-open expanse of the 18-yard box, Morgan easily found the back of the net and doubled the Stars and Stripes' lead.

Lavelle's on-ball prowess was among the most striking highlights of the USWNT's 4-0 victory in Wellington. But when she was asked about her ability to "create havoc" with the ball at her feet, the Ohio native was quick to deflect attention away from herself and offer credit to her teammates instead.

"I have really good players around me that help me look good," Lavelle said after the game. "I have a lot of good people to get the ball to me and then a lot of good people for me to feed to. It's a fun group to play with."

—U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) January 18, 2023

While that may be true, Lavelle's answer brushes over just how crucial her dribbling and distributing talents are to unlocking the four-time World Cup champions' offense. So let's take a look at how her brilliant assist unfolded in Wednesday's game — and how Lavelle was key to the play that led to goal No. 2: