3 Thoughts: USWNT vs Portugal in CT Edition
The USWNT New England base of operations saw a victory for the stars and stripes
Head Coach Emma Hayes went with a 4-3-3 formation with Claudia Dickey as goalkeeper and Avery Patterson, Emily Sonnett, Jordyn Bugg, and Lilly Reale in the backline. The midfield consisted of Lily Yohannes, Jordan Shaw, and Claire Hutton. Ally Sentnor, Alyssa Thompson, and Olivia Moultrie played up top.
Eight of the previous game’s starters were substitutes, including veterans Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Heaps.
Former WNT goalkeeper and Connecticut native Alyssa Naeher was honored before the game in celebration of her 115 caps for the team.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
1 - Quick Starts
Aside from the rotated roster, the start of the game mirrored Thursday’s. It took Moultrie only 44 seconds to slot in a goal. Portugal’s Jéssica Silva equalized in the fifth minute, heading in the ball past Dickey. Five minutes later, Moultrie scored again off a backheel pass from Shaw.
Both teams settled after the frenzied first minutes, with the Americans keeping control over most of the game.
As opposed to Thursday, the players seemed more connected this time around. They were able to respond quickly and show composure.
2 - Midfield Minded
This was the second time the midfield trio started together, and they proved to be the most consistent players on the pitch. Yohannes and Hutton linked well while Shaw played slightly higher up. They were compact and able to keep the ball when pressured by the opponent. Lots of chances were created from long balls and playing up the wing.
Sam Coffey subbed in for Yohannes late in the second half and closed the game with a goal off a Sentnor corner kick in the 81st minute.
This set of games came after a 113-day break from national play, and it evidently took some time for the team to get back into rhythm. For Hayes, today’s performance was partly a result of having her players go back to the basics.
“High volume repetitions, creating connections between them so that we were coming out the session with hundreds of passes between us,” she said. “We got used to the distances, we got used to the relationships, all of those really little things.”
3 - The Youth
Hayes continues to experiment with her roster. Over her two years as coach, she’s given 24 players their first cap and has made a point of working closely with the U-23 team. Today’s lineup had an average age of 21.7, and before today’s game, Sonnett’s 111 caps surpassed the rest of the roster’s combined 110 caps.
The young team struggled earlier in the year when they faced Brazil and Japan, but Hayes says there has been much improvement six months on.
“You can’t cut a corner to success, and you can’t cut a corner with development,” she said after the game.
The coach emphasized the importance of the youth levels and believes players like Bugg and Hutton, both 19, would benefit from playing in youth tournaments.
“What I think everybody needs to understand is that in the rest of the world, over a full cycle, the number of games players are playing is equal to one season more than players in the U.S.,” Hayes said. “And so I have to close the gap.”
The USWNT will play against New Zealand on Wednesday, October 29, and will later play two games against Italy at the end of the year.