USWNT beats Brazil 2-0 in first April friendly as Rodman, Heaps score
USWNT beats Brazil 2-0 in first April friendly as Rodman, Heaps score originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The U.S. women's national team is back in the win column.
After last playing in late February and losing the SheBelieves Cup trophy to Japan, Emma Hayes' side beat Brazil 2-0 on Saturday in Los Angeles to regain form.
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Hayes switched it up with the starting lineup, giving goalie Phallon Tullis-Joyce her first international cap. Alyssa Thompson and Sam Coffey formed the double pivot midfield with Lindsey Heaps in the attacking midfield role.
Trinity Rodman played on the right wing with Ally Sentnor on the left, as Catarina Macario took her spot up top. Rodman made her first international appearance since 2024, and started off with a bang.
In just the fifth minute, Thompson made a threatening run from deep before sliding the ball into Rodman's run. The 22-year-old Rodman brilliantly poked it up to open the scoring.
Despite the early goal, it was Brazil that retained possession for much of the first half. However, the side struggled to generate anything meaningful from it.
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That eventually proved costly at just past the hour mark, when the U.S. earned a penalty. Heaps, the captain, stepped up to the spot and had too much power for Lorena to stop.
The U.S. finished the game with more possession, but also could've netted more goals. They had four big chances, per Sofascore, but Lorena came up with 10 saves. The U.S. also had 12 of 15 shots on target compared to only six of 15 for Brazil.
Tullis-Joyce, 28 and Manchester United's starter, ended up recording a clean sheet in her first senior cap. She came up with six saves, five inside the box, alongside having two clearances, one high claim and 11 of 19 accurate long balls, per Sofascore.
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Crystal Dunn also stood out at left-back having won all seven of her ground duels to go with four clearances, four tackles, two interceptions and one block. She was not dribbled past in the 90 minutes.
Hayes brought on Michelle Cooper, Lily Yohannes, Yazmeen Ryan, Avery Petterson, Jaedyn Shaw and Ashley Hatch off the bench. Cooper and Yohannes came in around the hour mark.
The two nations will run it back to end April on Tuesday. Kickoff from PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., is set for 10:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. PT.
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New York Times
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Emma Hayes' ‘astronomical' year as USWNT head coach – but this is only the first step
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — On June 1, 2024, as the U.S. women's national team prepared to take the field against South Korea in Colorado, head coach Emma Hayes stared down a stadium tunnel swirling with sound. Staff were banging on the walls to hype up the players, and fans roared with similar anticipation. The heat and humidity, combined with the mile-high altitude, were brutal — especially for an Englishwoman who hadn't known how to properly hydrate for those conditions. Advertisement It was Hayes' first game since accepting the position in November 2023, and she was nervous. She'd spent 12 years managing Chelsea and had no idea how an American crowd would respond to someone 'from the outside,' as she described it. Still healing from the disappointment of their earliest World Cup exit in USWNT history, her new side were also less than two months out from the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Hayes felt 'desperate to do well for the team.' 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Swanson is pregnant and Davidson is out with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury; this match instead featured goals from defender Avery Patterson, midfielders Sam Coffey and Rose Lavelle, and forward Alyssa Thompson. Coffey and Lavelle, who just returned to USWNT camp after an ankle injury kept her away since December, are two of just four players on Hayes' first roster as head coach who also played against Ireland. It's a testament to Hayes' dedication to experimenting and implementing a new standard for who receives an invitation to camp. Advertisement Though Coffey earned her first USWNT call up in September 2022 under former head coach Vlatko Andonovski, she did not make the 2023 World Cup roster. Since Hayes stepped in, she has been a consistent fixture for the national team at No. 6. Thursday's match against Ireland was her 36th cap and she scored her third goal for the United States. 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Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Republic of Ireland well beaten by USA in friendly
A depleted Republic of Ireland proved no match for the United States as they succumbed to the hosts in Friday's friendly in the high altitude of Denver. Shorn of a host of regulars including rested captain Katie McCabe, and the injured Megan Campbell and Denise O'Sullivan, it was always going to be a tough task against the world's number one team and so it proved. Advertisement Avery Patterson, Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle and Alyssa Thompson were all on target for Emma Hayes' hosts. Despite the USA resting all of their European-based stars aside from Chelsea's Naomi Girma, they were quick to assert themselves. They threatened from the off with Thompson denied by Courtney Brosnan from point-blank range, before the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper - captaining the team on her 50th cap - turned a low Claire Hutton effort around the post. However, the opener was coming and in the 18th minute, Lavelle picked up possession from a short corner and swung a teasing ball into the box for Patterson to nod home. Advertisement Despite some stout Irish defending, the USA doubled their lead when Coffey cut through the defence and produced a composed finish. There was no reprieve in the second period as the USA continued to press for goals and they were rewarded just seven minutes in when Lavelle finished off a crisp move. Number four came in the 63rd minute as Thompson managed to get past Jessie Stapleton and head for goal before curling home a fine shot to wrap up a comfortable win. While the woodwork denied Olivia Moultrie late on, the USA laid down a marker before they play again in Cincinnati on Sunday (20:00 BST).
