FRISCO, Texas -- The United States women's national team took the pitch with their jerseys turned inside out in protest prior to Wednesday's SheBelieves Cup match against Japan.

The gesture comes a day after the U.S. Soccer Federation filed a motion in the USWNT members' wage-discrimination lawsuit making repeated assertions that the men's and women's national team do not perform equal work and thus, the women's players do not qualify for equal pay under the law.

Minutes after kickoff of the team's 3-1 win over Japan, the players' jerseys hid the U.S. Soccer crest while showing the four stars that represent the four World Cup championships.

Unity. 4 stars only. Who's with us? pic.twitter.com/AYv2YlcSl7

— USWNT Players (@USWNTPlayers) March 12, 2020

Among the claims made by U.S. Soccer in Monday's motion, were that the women's players did not perform jobs requiring "equal skill, effort and responsibility under similar working conditions," in part because of the physical attributes and ability required to play at the senior men's level, that the men's worldwide competition pool is deeper and that the men's team received more viewership.

Molly Levison, a spokesperson for the women's players, on Monday called the claims "ridiculous," and said they sounded as if they had "been made by a caveman."

In a response to U.S. soccer's motion, the plaintiffs said "That biological distinction is not a justification for discrimination. It is the prohibited discrimination itself."

During Wednesday's match, USSF president Carlos Cordeiro said: "On behalf of U.S. Soccer, I sincerely apologize for the offense and pain caused by language in this week's court filing, which did not reflect the values of our Federation or our tremendous admiration of our Women's National Team.

"Our WNT players are incredibly talented and work tirelessly, as they have demonstrated time and again from their Olympic Gold medals to their World Cup titles. Even as we continue to defend the Federation in court, we are making immediate changes.

"I have asked the firm of Latham & Watkins to join and guide our legal strategy going forward. I have made it clear to our legal team that even as we debate facts and figures in the course of this case, we must do so with the utmost respect not only for our Women's National Team players but for all female athletes around the world. As we do, we will continue to work to resolve this suit in the best interest of everyone involved."

The USWNT won the SheBelieves Cup with a victory over Japan, their third title in the history of the event, which has been played annually since 2015 and features four of the top national teams in the world.