HARRISON, N.J. — In her brief time officially in charge of the U.S. women’s national soccer team, Coach Emma Hayes has shown her eagerness to hand the keys to the next generation. To craft her roster for the Paris Olympics, she prioritized potential and player development over veterans and named the Americans’ youngest Olympic squad in 16 years.
Saturday’s match against Mexico, the first of two send-off games, was the first real test of Hayes’s strategy before her team heads to France. The result — a 1-0 win before a sellout crowd of 26,376 at Red Bull Arena — ensured a passing grade but showed the Americans still have plenty to learn.
Sophia Smith connected with fellow forwards Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson to score the winner in the 64th minute, breaking the scoreless deadlock on a humid afternoon. Smith’s goal, the lone converted chance on 17 shots, gave the U.S. team its third victory in as many games under Hayes.
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“I feel like you can already see the direction it’s going and the way that we want to play, that fluidity,” goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher said. “And now it’s just the fine-tuning of getting a little bit more on the same page.”
Seventeen of 22 available players saw the field, including Washington Spirit rookie midfielder Croix Bethune, who made her national team debut in the 81st minute.
The United States dominated possession and limited Mexico to just one shot on goal, a sharp contrast to the teams’ previous meeting at the Gold Cup on Feb. 26. In that 2-0 defeat, the Americans were outplayed and had one shot on target.
When the teams met again Saturday, Hayes chose a lineup that featured nine players with World Cup or Olympic experience. Swanson, Rodman and Smith started together on the front line for just the second time in the past two years. Midfielder Rose Lavelle made her second start of 2024. (Catarina Macario, a probable starter at attacking midfield, will miss the Olympics with a knee injury.)
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The United States had three shots on target in the first four minutes, but the weather made for slow play from both sides over the rest of the half. Mexico’s press forced shaky U.S. ball movement from the back and multiple turnovers in the midfield, and the chances the Americans did find did not produce goals.
“I think we rushed our play a little,” Hayes said. “Intention is good, so I can’t fault or criticize the players for that, but it’s teaching them the right moments, when to progress, when not to progress, and then in and around the penalty box, how to access the right spaces in the right moments at the right time.”
The Americans pushed to open the second half, taking three shots in the opening five minutes.
As Hayes prepared to make her first substitutions, the U.S. forward trio broke the stalemate. Lavelle sent a through ball down the right flank to Rodman, who took a few dribbles and sent it to Swanson at the top of the box. Swanson dropped a pass as Smith cut left, and the 23-year-old forward found the opposite side of the net for her 20th international goal.
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 13, 2024International Goal No. 2️⃣0️⃣
Sophia Smith is the 11th player in #USWNT history to reach 20 goals before turning 24 years old!#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/XdV2ljCy5v
Smith, the reigning NWSL Golden Boot winner, had the Americans’ first two goals at the 2023 World Cup but did not score for the rest of the tournament. She has rebounded this year, leading all players with five shots on target Saturday and sharing the U.S. team lead with five goals in 2024.
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“I know Trin can score goals. I know Mal can score goals. I know I can score goals. That stuff, it’ll come. We just need to be patient with ourselves,” Smith said. “Maybe it was one touch too many, one pass too many, overthinking it a little bit. ... Sometimes it takes a few games to get into that flow, but we don’t lose confidence in each other.”
Rodman and Smith had chances to double the Americans’ advantage, but the score held as Hayes made the rest of her rotations. Bethune wasted no time in her debut: In the 82nd minute, she recorded her first shot, a left-footed attempt that went wide.
— Attacking Third (@AttackingThird) July 13, 2024WELCOME TO THE PITCH CROIX BETHUNE 👏
The @WashSpirit player makes her #USWNT debut at 23 years old 🇺🇸
“There’s no denying when the game opens up, we thrive. My goal is to thrive in all moments, so we still have a lot of learning to do with that as a team, as a collective,” Hayes said. “But if we use [the Gold Cup] as a reference point, I think it’s fair to say this game was much more measured, much more controlled, limited them to very little. So step in the right direction.”
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The Americans will face Costa Rica on Tuesday at Audi Field in Washington for their final tuneup before departing for France. They begin Olympic play in Group B on July 25 against Zambia in Nice.
Notes: Naeher was honored for reaching 100 appearances for the United States. ...
The 1999 World Cup squad was honored before kickoff to mark the 25th anniversary of its title. All 20 members of the team were in attendance, including Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Briana Scurry.
