HARRISON, N.J. — Though it was only three months ago, the U.S. women’s national team’s final game against Mexico felt like a match from another era.
And in many ways, that was true.
The U.S. women’s national team suffered a heartbreaking 2-0 loss to Mexico in February’s Gold Cup, their second loss against Mexico and their first on U.S. soil. The loss was a low point for the storied team and in some ways an even bigger disappointment than their last summer’s round of 16 exit in Australia and New Zealand, their earliest World Cup or Olympic elimination.
Coach Emma Hayes said Friday that the loss to Mexico five months ago was a welcome defeat for her. She had been hired as the U.S. women’s national team coach at the time but had not yet taken over, and the loss gave her and the team a chance to reset.
“We were able to step in and get it right,” Hayes said Friday. “You never lose, you only learn. I think there’s been a lot of that since then.”
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That was evident on Saturday as the U.S. women’s national team beat Mexico 1-0.
Yes, the team was still struggling to score goals, and Sophia Smith’s goal in the 64th minute was a spectacular climax: Trinity Rodman crossed from the right to Mallory Swanson, who slid the ball to Smith, who dribbled it past a Mexico defender and into the far post, but the trio could have easily scored four or five more goals.
But the U.S. women’s team, which seemed to play with cement in their boots and doubt in their hearts, are now playing with the authority that was once their trademark.
“I think (Coach Hayes) has taken us to another level tactically,” coach Crystal Dunn said.
This was the first game for the U.S. women’s national team since Coach Hayes dropped Alex Morgan and trusted the next generation of talent to select an 18-player roster for the Paris Games. It’s by no means a finished product. Winning a medal, let alone a gold medal, at the Paris Olympics will be a big challenge in itself.
But there are signs of progress and a belief that things will get even better over time under Hayes, who did not take over permanently until Chelsea’s season finished at the end of May.
“There’s no question that we’ll be strong when the games open. My goal is to be strong every single time,” Hayes said. “As a team, as a collective, we still have a lot to learn, but if we use March as our benchmark, I think we’d say this game was a lot more measured, a lot more controlled.”
“So keep moving in the right direction.”
No team can convert every chance they get, but at last summer’s World Cup, and before that at the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. Women’s National Team seemed just as undisciplined as their opponents, scoring just four goals in the World Cup and just three in the entire game, coming in the opening match against Vietnam.
Just getting the ball to the back line was a struggle, with passes often being intercepted in the center of the field, and when they rounded the penalty area, the Americans seemed to overthink every step, and by the time they had a shot, the opportunity was gone.
That trend continued on Saturday against Mexico, when Rodman passed to Smith in the 22nd minute when Smith should have taken a shot himself, and then Smith beat the goalkeeper in the 52nd minute but still didn’t score.
But it’s coming, and Rodman, Smith and Swanson have the dynamism, individually and as a forward line, that could be fearsome if they can harness it.
“I think we just have it naturally, but we’ve definitely been honing it,” Smith said after the game. “I think we understand each other really well. I think that’s what separates us from other frontlines. I feel like I know what Mal is going to do when he gets the ball, I feel like I know what Trinh is going to do. We can all build off of that.”
“It’s easy to play with guys whose tendencies you know,” Smith added. “We understand each other really well and we continue to do that.”
The match against Mexico was a good indicator of how much the US Women’s National Team has improved in the first two months under Hayes’ tenure, and it’s a good sign that their last game against Mexico feels like a distant memory.
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