Forward Sophia Smith celebrates her goal during the second half against Mexico at Red Bull Arena on Jul 13, 2024. (Photo credit: Vincent Carchietta | USA TODAY Sports)
There were highs and lows in the U.S. women’s national team‘s friendly against Mexico at a packed Red Bull Arena. In front of a crowd of 26,376 in New Jersey on Saturday night the team earned a 1-0 win over their Concacaf foe thanks to forward Sophia Smith. She found the net in the 64th minute to break the deadlock after some close calls on defense that gave the USWNT room for continued progress less than two weeks out from their Olympic opener against Zambia on July 25.
Head Coach Emma Hayes was looking at this match for markers of progress from the team and seems to have seen them. In a post-game interview, Lindsey Horan, who spoke earlier this week about the USWNT’s gold medal standard, acknowledged that there are still a “few little things we need to clean up.” Hayes seemed inclined to agree, saying that she saw many positives on Saturday but they…
