United States One Step Closer to SheBelieves Cup Title Following Win Over Australia
Sunday's victory over the Matildas sets up championship match against Japan on Wednesday.
Emma Hayes and the United States Women’s National Team returned to action on Sunday when they faced Australia in SheBelieves Cup Group Stage action.
Thursday saw the U.S. begin the tournament strongly when goals from Catarina Macario and Ally Sentnor led the Red, White, & Blue to a 2-0 win over Colombia.
Sunday saw Emma Hayes go with a completely new lineup. Mandy McGlynn started in goal behind the back line of Crystal Dunn, Tierna Davidson, Emily Sams, and Gisele Thompson. Jaedyn Shaw and Claire Hutton were deeper in the midfield, while Emma Sears, Korbin Albert, and Alyssa Thompson were higher up. Lynn Biyendolo served as the lone attacker up top.
Alyssa and Gisele Thompson’s inclusion in the lineup marked the fourth time in USWNT history that a pair of sisters have started together.
It took the U.S. no time to find an opener. After McGlynn scooped up an errored pass from Australia, a series of passes upfield resulted in Shaw slotting a ball across the face of goal to Biyendolo, who tapped it into the net to give the U.S. just 41 seconds into the match
A poor turnover from Australia nearly paid dividends for the U.S. in the 25th minute. Albert knocked the ball away from Mary Fowler and into Shaw's path. Shaw attempted to curl a shot to the left side of the net but hit it wide.
McGlynn came up big in the 34th minute to keep the clean sheet alive. After receiving a back pass on the left wing, Charlotte Grant lobbed a ball from distance to the back post to an unmarked Hayley Raso. McGlynn stuck out an arm and tipped the ball out of play before it fell to an open Raso.
An egregious turnover from Australia in their defensive third nearly led the U.S. to double their lead in the 57th minute. After Ellie Carpenter slipped, Winoah Heatley attempted to pass the ball back to Micha, but Biyendolo snuck in to intercept the pass and looked poised to find her second goal, but her shot was wide.
The 63rd minute saw Hayes make four changes as Ally Sentnor, Michelle Cooper, Yazmeen Ryan, and Tara McKewon replaced Dunn, Thompson, Sears, and Biyendolo. Cooper wasted no time impacting the game as the substitute found her first international goal minutes after coming on.
It started with Hutton sending the ball forward into the path of Sentnor. Sentnor got a touch on the ball and cut it to her right to avoid pressure from Australia. Despite Setnor stumbling following the move, Cooper was there to get on the end of it and drilled it home to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead in the 68th minute.
Another substitution came in the 70th minute as Sam Coffey replaced Hutton. Hayes’ final change came in the 77th minute when Emily Fox replaced Thompson.
Despite the scoreline, Australia wasn’t going down without a fight. They made things interesting in the 80th minute when they cut their deficit to one. After getting on top of a ball lobbed up the right flank, Hayley Raso crossed it to an unmarked Michelle Heyman, who headed it into the net to make it 2-1.
Teagan Micha came up big to keep Australia’s hopes alive in the 88th minute. After receiving Shaw’s forward pass, Sentnor attempted to slot the ball to the right side of the goal, but Micha stuck a hand out and tipped it out of play.
Emma Hayes and the United States now turn their attention to Wednesday, where they’ll wrap up the SheBelieves Cup against Japan. A crucial game for both nations as the winner will walk away as the 2025 SheBelieves Cup Champion.