The U.S. women's national team cruised to victory in Emma Hayes' first match as the head coach, beating South Korea 4-0 in front of a sold-out crowd at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Colorado. Mallory Swanson and Tierna Davidson each scored a brace, marking a memorable stamp on Hayes' debut as a slow start gave way for a productive match.
Swanson combined with fellow Colorado native Sophia Smith for the game's opening goal in the 34th minute, while Davidson, a defender, scored her second international goal off a set piece just four minutes later. Davidson's goal count went up just three minutes into the second half off another set piece, becoming the first USWNT defender to score twice in a match since Julie Ertz did so in a 3-0 friendly win over Colombia in April 2016.
Swanson completed her brace in the 74th minute, cooly finishing off a chance after substitute Rose Lavelle slipped her the ball close to the penalty area. Hayes has a chance to follow up her strong start with another big performance on Tuesday, when the team face South Korea again. It will be the final match before the new head coach names the 18-player roster that will compete at next month's Olympic Games in Paris.
The refresh pays off
Hayes ran with a lineup that was undoubtedly different from the team that lined up at the Women's World Cup last year but felt familiar after the squad rebuild led by assistant coach Twila Kilgore. That was especially true in attack, where Swanson was flanked by Smith and Trinity Rodman, and the group delivered in trademark fashion.
Swanson's brace marked her first USWNT goals since February 2023, spending much of the next year out with a patella injury. It served as a reminder that the team's attack is perfectly set up to operate around her -- she scored seven goals in 2022 and 2023 before the injury, which clearly limited the USWNT's attacking output in Australia and New Zealand a year ago. Her combination with Smith inspires optimism, considering the versatile attacker is really carving out a place for herself as a wide forward.
"I couldn't ask for anything more," Hayes said in her post-match press conference about Swanson. "She's a player I always admired so to get the opportunity to coach her, see firsthand the quality she possesses, but she's a connector. She's really magnetic, as a human being, too, in the way she operates in the team. She can multitask, she can do what she's doing on the pitch."
Hayes was also full of compliments about Smith, who she also identified as an important part of the team.
"Soph, she stretched the pitch out really well, thought she linked well with Mal," she added. "There's another level, in my opinion, yet … She really wants to do well for this team but with the right amount of coaching and time, I think we can add a lot to her."
Hayes' focus on progress was reflected in her entire assessment of the team's performance, particularly in attack. The new head coach identified areas of improvement despite the lopsided scoreline, reflecting her pre-match comments that the team's foundation was set but that there were details that needed to be filled in. Hayes focused heavily on tactics during her first week in charge, identifying that a detail-oriented approach takes time but that the USWNT are on the right track.
"I've trained them quite hard this week and I think with the altitude, the heat and the training, I thought there was a little lethargy but I thought the team stuck at it," she told broadcasters post-match. "I thought we were controlled in what we did in the first half, we stuck to the structures, we stuck to the coaching. Felt at times, maybe we could've played in behind in the right moments but going from underplaying to overplaying is usually the first step … Everybody did what I asked of them."
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Macario's strong return
The big surprise when the team news came out was that Catarina Macario would make her first start for the USWNT in 781 days, completing a long road back from an ACL tear that kept her out for the better part of two years. The midfielder played 61 minutes, demonstrating strong signs of match fitness and offered an attacking spark that was crucial to the team's success, including an accuracy on set pieces that resulted in both of Davidson's goals.
"I know how she operates in the pockets," Hayes said about Macario, with whom she worked with at Chelsea last season. "She can draw players in, she can escape pressure. She's quite a press-resistant player, links really well. [She] struggled with the altitude in the first half, she said that to me at halftime. Cat is still having to build but this is important … Good 60 minutes under her belt, so really enjoyed the front four in the first half."
Macario's big impact on set pieces reflected one of Hayes' immediate priorities, a category she believes the team should be excelling in.
"30% of all tournament goals are scored from [set pieces], so it's an opportunity," she said. "We don't have time to waste. Second of all, we have set pieces that can hit the right areas consistently, so if you hit the right areas, you do the right thing in those areas, then you increase your chances of scoring. It's an expectation. I've seen, historically, this program be good at it so I want to return to that. We have to excel and for me, that demand won't decline. It is a part of our training, no matter the opponent and the team did a really, really good job with it this week."