Soccer legend Mia Hamm talks USWNT, MLS, NWSL and more
Soccer legend Mia Hamm is ready to talk all things U.S. Soccer. She also talks about her late brother’s bone marrow transplant and the importance of learning about bone marrow diseases.
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There are a few bright spots in this disappointing year for the U.S. Women’s National Team, and none are brighter than Jaedyn Shaw.
The 19-year-old made her first start and scored the winning goal in her hometown on Tuesday night, giving the USWNT a 2-1 win over China in their final game of the year. This was only Shaw’s fourth game with the USWNT, but she has already scored two goals and is showing signs of being an important part of the storied program for many years to come.
“We talk a lot about just doing the next right thing,” interim coach Twila Kilgore said. “She’s someone who should have her sights set on the Olympics, but the next step is just to show up at the next camp and do her best. And in order to do that, she has to be well prepared at home.” .
“But first she’ll rest.”
This has been the most challenging year in a long time for the four-time world champion. Maybe ever. After losing to Sweden on penalties in the Round of 16 of the World Cup, they were eliminated from a major international tournament for the first time ever, showing little of the swagger and ferocity that characterizes that program.
Even after Tuesday night’s win, they looked lifeless at the start of the game. With seven lineup changes since Saturday’s game, they struggled to find a rhythm and were unable to hold onto the ball against China’s crowded midfield. Their seven-game goalless streak ended just before halftime when China scored just their third goal of the year against the USWNT.
What has stood out since the World Cup, however, is the USWNT’s young talent. Jenna Nighswonger, the NWSL Newcomer of the Year, made her first start for the USWNT alongside Shaw, one game after her debut. Korbin Albert made his first appearance for the senior national team on Tuesday evening.
And each of them seemed up to the task of getting the world’s leading team back on the road to success.
Sam Coffey, who has played for the national team in recent years, equalized the game in the 62nd minute with her first international goal. Albert kicked his face, causing the foul that led to Shaw’s goal.
Nighswonger took the free kick, but her shot bounced off the Chinese wall. Sophia Smith, a 23-year veteran, collected the ball and headed it back into traffic. Shaw pounced on the ball on the run and sent a screamer into the net.
“I have so many memories here in this stadium. “I’m so happy to be able to play here at this level and in this team,” Shaw said after the game. “It’s been a dream since I was a little kid.”
In the final minutes of the game, the USWNT nearly doubled their lead twice. A beautiful diving header from Lindsey Horan in the 67th minute was ruled offside, and China goalkeeper Xu Huan redirected a hard shot from Nighswonger over the crossbar in the 89th minute.
“I think excited is the right word,” Kilgore said of the young Americans. “I think they are eager and hungry for an opportunity. They know these opportunities don’t come around very often, and they want to take advantage of these opportunities.”
The USWNT still has issues that need to be addressed. The challenge of not having new coach Emma Hayes until May will not go away either.
More: Questions we want to answer following the release of the Netflix USWNT documentary trailer “Under Pressure.”
But it ends a disappointing year on a positive note.
The USWNT finished the year undefeated with 14 wins and four draws. (The penalty loss to Sweden is considered a draw.) Additionally, only three goals were scored in 18 games, for a program record 0.17 goals-against average.
The three goals are also the second fewest the USWNT has allowed in a single season in the last 34 years. The USWNT allowed one goal in each of 2020 and 2009, but the team also played fewer than 10 games in each of those seasons.
“I spoke to the team at the end of the game and said I was so proud of how we finished our season in ’23 and how far we’ve come in a few months. “I’m just really proud of all of them,” Kilgore said. “The sky is the limit and our current ceiling of where we finish this game will be our floor if we do it again.”
Here’s what you need to know about the USWNT’s final game of the year:
Emily Fox is “doing well” after being substituted at half-time for a concussion check-up.
The defender took several hits in the first half and didn’t seem to be herself. But interim coach Twila Kilgore said after the game that Fox was checked during halftime and cleared to play.
“They were able to go out and check her for (a) bodily injury, but then they were also able to check her for her head and she was fine,” Kilgore said.
However, at halftime, Kilgore said Fox told the staff she wasn’t feeling well.
“We knew we had to check them and that it would take a little longer. Out of an abundance of caution, we replaced them,” Kilgore said.
Fox is feeling “good” now, USWNT spokesman Aaron Heifetz said.
Jaedyn Shaw gave hometown fans their money.
Shaw, who grew up just minutes from Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, scored the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute. It was the second international goal for the 19-year-old, who was playing only her fourth game for the USWNT.
The USWNT was awarded a free kick in the 77th minute after a hard foul on Kobin Albert. Jenna Nighswonger’s shot bounced off the Chinese wall, but Sophia Smith jumped on the ball and put it back into traffic. It fell to Shaw, who hammered a shot through traffic and past China goalkeeper Xu Huan.
Shaw beamed as teammates congratulated her, while her large group of family and friends – Shaw said there were 50 in the group – jumped up and down and cheered.
“They are the loudest people here,” Shaw said.
Shaw received a huge ovation when she left the game in the 86th minute and was replaced by Alyssa Thompson.
Sam Coffey assured that the USWNT would be banned from their final game of the year.
Coffey scored her first international goal in the 62nd minute when she flicked the ball into the top corner of the net from a corner. The goal tied the game at 1-1 and seemed to breathe some life into the USWNT’s otherwise lackluster performance.
Jenna Nighswonger’s corner kick landed in a scrum and the ball circled in front of the goal for several seconds before Emily Sonnett managed to recover the ball. Sonnett worked hard to retain possession before spotting Coffey on the left and passing the ball to her.
Coffey’s shot from about 16 yards flew high and into the top corner of the net, with goalkeeper Xu Huan barely able to stop it.
“It was kind of a fighting play,” Coffey said. “(Sonnett) did a really good job of finding the ball and setting it up. I’m just so glad I was able to help this team win.”
The USWNT nearly doubled the lead five minutes later, but Lindsey Horan was rightly ruled offside.
Korbin Albert, who was called up to the senior team for the first time this window, made her USWNT debut, coming on as a substitute for captain Lindsey Horan in the 69th minute. At the same time, Olivia Moultrie arrived, replacing goalscorer – and Portland Thorns teammate – Sam Coffey. It is the 18-year-old’s second appearance in a row.
Albert picked up a critical foul when she hit her face with her foot. After a close examination – Albert said she was fine but was likely to have a black eye – Jenna Nighswonger took the free kick that led to Jaedyn Shaw’s go-ahead goal.
Trinity Rodman, who has been arguably the USWNT’s best player of late, came on for Lynn Williams in the 58th minute.
Rodman was involved in each of the three goals in the first game against Saturday, assisting on the first two goals and scoring the third herself. She also scored in both games against South Africa in September.
The USWNT made two substitutions at halftime, hoping to breathe some life into their final game of the year.
Ashley Hatch was replaced by Sophia Smith, who scored the first US goal in Saturday’s 3-0 win. Emily Fox, who was out at half-time with a concussion, was replaced by Midge Purce.
China ended the USWNT’s seven-game shutout streak just before halftime, scoring only their third goal this year ahead of the Americans.
China fired a free kick across the goalmouth and Wang Siqian’s header landed a few meters from the far post. She shot the ball back into the net and Shen Mengyu, who was unmarked in front of the goal, shot the ball to give China a 1-0 lead.
Replays showed Shen may have been offside, but there is no VAR in this game. It was the Americans’ first goal conceded since their group stage draw against the Netherlands at the World Cup. The only other goal allowed by the USWNT came in the SheBelieves Cup last spring.
The USWNT had several chances in the first half, including a shot from Jaedyn Shaw in the 31st that hit the near post. But they looked unsettled for most of the first 45 minutes, trying to come to terms with a lineup that included seven changes from Saturday’s game.
Still, they dominated possession and should have had more to offer in the first half.
Kickoff is Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. ET at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. There will be a pre-match ceremony honoring two-time world champion Ali Krieger, who ended her soccer career last month by helping Gotham FC win the NWSL title.
The USWNT’s game against China VR on Tuesday will be broadcast on TruTV, Universo, Max and Peacock.
Three days after her first appearance for the USWNT, NWSL Rookie of the Year Jenna Nighswonger is making her first start.
Nighswonger and Emily Fox start at fullback, while Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson play centerback. Teenager Jaedyn Shaw is also making her first start for the USWNT after appearing in the last three games – in her hometown, no less.
Interim coach Twila Kilgore made a total of seven changes from Saturday’s lineup against China, a 3-0 win. Aubrey Kingsbury replaces Casey Murphy in goal and Davidson and Nighswonger replace Abby Dahlkemper and Casey Krueger in defense. Sam Coffey joins captain Lindsey Horan and Emily Sonnett in midfield, while Lynn Williams and Ashley Hatch act as strikers in place of Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman.
The changes are no surprise as Kilgore and new coach Emma Hayes are using this camp to take a look at younger and newer players.
No. The new USWNT coach will not join the team until her current team, Chelsea, finishes its season in May. She used the international break to come to the USWNT training camp last week and introduce herself to the players, but traveled back to England before the Americans played China on Saturday.
Who is Emma Hayes? Read more.
There is no January camp this year. Instead, the USWNT will next play in February in the Concacaf Gold Cup, a new confederation competition featuring teams from both the North, Central America and Caribbean Association and South America.
The USWNT has already qualified for the group stage, as have Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Panama and Paraguay. Group stage matches will be played February 20-28 in Los Angeles, San Diego and Houston, with the quarterfinals on March 2 and 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles and the semifinals on March 6 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego is carried out.
The final of the tournament will also take place on March 10th at Snapdragon.