One of the youngest U.S. women’s national teams of recent years opened its stretch of friendlies with a commanding 3-0 win over China on Saturday at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Head coach Emma Hayes reaffirmed this week that the team is “on track” to meet her deadline of having a core group set by June. With some consistency and production out of midfield, it was clear things were meshing for the U.S.
Catarina Macario opened the scoring, cleaning up a strong effort from teammate Alyssa Thompson. However, it was the midfield that took center stage with several crosses into the box and goals from midfielder Sam Coffey and Lindsey Heap. Before the match was over, Hayes added in 32-year-old Lo’eau LaBonta, who became the oldest player to debut for the team.
Saturday’s game showcased veteran leadership and emerging talent as Hayes continues to prepare for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
Coffey scores second U.S. goal
As is often the case for U.S. midfielder Sam Coffey, most of her shift against China was spent doing the game’s more thankless work in the trenches. On multiple occasions in the first half, Coffey took contact from opponents, an inevitability for a player who shuttles the ball around on her dribble to draw defenders in.
On Saturday, she was rewarded for…
