LOS ANGELES — As the rain dissipated into an idyllic sunset sky at BMO Stadium on Sunday, so too did a storm that has been surrounding the U.S. women’s national team.
Days after falling to rival Mexico for just the second time in a historic 2-0 loss in the group stage of the Concacaf W Gold Cup — and with an underwhelming round-of-16 finish in the 2023 Women’s World Cup still fresh in mind — a more youthful and aggressive U.S. XI began to steer their ship in the right direction during the weekend’s quarterfinal vs. Colombia. Hoping to avoid another disaster, goals from Lindsey Horan, Jenna Nighswonger and Jaedyn Shaw guided the USWNT to a much-needed 3-0 victory.
The win was claimed thanks to a more direct approach, excellent pressure and, notably, dialling down the number of seasoned players on the pitch. Utilizing an XI with five players aged 23 or under (the XI vs. Mexico only had two), the U.S. seemed to find the right balance of players who were able to thrive in a scrappy game against the World Cup quarterfinalists.
“We knew it would be a big physical battle,” Twila Kilgore, interim coach of the USWNT, said afterward. “I thought we did a really good job of dealing with the physicality, matching physicality and imposing ourselves, but also being very mindful.”
