Latest news with #AlyssaThompson
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Republic of Ireland well beaten by USA in friendly
A depleted Republic of Ireland proved no match for the United States as they succumbed to the hosts in Friday's friendly in the high altitude of Denver. Shorn of a host of regulars including rested captain Katie McCabe, and the injured Megan Campbell and Denise O'Sullivan, it was always going to be a tough task against the world's number one team and so it proved. Advertisement Avery Patterson, Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle and Alyssa Thompson were all on target for Emma Hayes' hosts. Despite the USA resting all of their European-based stars aside from Chelsea's Naomi Girma, they were quick to assert themselves. They threatened from the off with Thompson denied by Courtney Brosnan from point-blank range, before the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper - captaining the team on her 50th cap - turned a low Claire Hutton effort around the post. However, the opener was coming and in the 18th minute, Lavelle picked up possession from a short corner and swung a teasing ball into the box for Patterson to nod home. Advertisement Despite some stout Irish defending, the USA doubled their lead when Coffey cut through the defence and produced a composed finish. There was no reprieve in the second period as the USA continued to press for goals and they were rewarded just seven minutes in when Lavelle finished off a crisp move. Number four came in the 63rd minute as Thompson managed to get past Jessie Stapleton and head for goal before curling home a fine shot to wrap up a comfortable win. While the woodwork denied Olivia Moultrie late on, the USA laid down a marker before they play again in Cincinnati on Sunday (20:00 BST).
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Republic of Ireland well beaten by USA in friendly
A depleted Republic of Ireland proved no match for the United States as they succumbed to the hosts in Friday's friendly in the high altitude of Denver. Shorn of a host of regulars including rested captain Katie McCabe, and the injured Megan Campbell and Denise O'Sullivan, it was always going to be a tough task against the world's number one team and so it proved. Advertisement Avery Patterson, Sam Coffey, Rose Lavelle and Alyssa Thompson were all on target for Emma Hayes' hosts. Despite the USA resting all of their European-based stars aside from Chelsea's Naomi Girma, they were quick to assert themselves. They threatened from the off with Thompson denied by Courtney Brosnan from point-blank range, before the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper - captaining the team on her 50th cap - turned a low Claire Hutton effort around the post. However, the opener was coming and in the 18th minute, Lavelle picked up possession from a short corner and swung a teasing ball into the box for Patterson to nod home. Advertisement Despite some stout Irish defending, the USA doubled their lead when Coffey cut through the defence and produced a composed finish. There was no reprieve in the second period as the USA continued to press for goals and they were rewarded just seven minutes in when Lavelle finished off a crisp move. Number four came in the 63rd minute as Thompson managed to get past Jessie Stapleton and head for goal before curling home a fine shot to wrap up a comfortable win. While the woodwork denied Olivia Moultrie late on, the USA laid down a marker before they play again in Cincinnati on Sunday (20:00 BST).
Washington Post
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Washington Post
Lavelle returns to the USWNT and scores in 4-0 win over Ireland
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Rose Lavelle scored in her first national team match of the year after ankle surgery and the United States defeated Ireland 4-0 on Thursday night. Avery Patterson, Sam Coffey and Alyssa Thompson also scored for the United States. Lavelle last played for the national team in December against the Netherlands.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Young soccer players are finding different ways to launch pro careers
FILE - Alyssa Thompson, left, and her younger sister Gisele Thompson speak to the media at the National Women's Soccer League Media Day at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Anne M. Peterson, file) FILE - Alyssa Thompson, left, and her younger sister Gisele Thompson speak to the media at the National Women's Soccer League Media Day at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Anne M. Peterson, file) Of the emerging young players in the National Women's Soccer League this season, Sam Meza has had one of the more unusual journeys to start her professional career. Meza was drafted by the Seattle Regin in 2024 out of North Carolina. She made one appearance with the team before she was loaned to the Dallas Trinity for the first season of the women's pro USL Super League. Advertisement Meza, who earned Super League player of the month honors for November, was brought back to Seattle this season. She's one of several young NWSL players who have launched their careers in an ever-growing women's soccer ecosystem that offers a variety of professional pathways. Other players have skipped college soccer, or have navigated the job hunt without the benefit of a college draft. While Meza considered the loan a blow at the time, now she sees the value in it. 'Ultimately, it was an opportunity for me to learn prove to myself, which is the most important, and to prove to everybody else that I was a player that I've always been. It just took me a little bit more time to get to where I wanted to be,' Meza said. Advertisement As veteran midfielder Jess Fishlock nurses a knee injury, Meza has started six games for the Reign. She assisted on Jordyn Huitema's game-tying goal in a 1-1 draw with Bay FC last month, and she is tied for second in the league for tackles with 32. 'She's a great example of how loans can be really good, and sticking with it, sticking to the journey, because last year was really challenging for her going on loan,' Reign coach Laura Harvey said. 'She wanted to do it in the end, but I'm sure she would have preferred to be with us the whole time.' Meza, a Dallas native, is a member of the final draft class in the NWSL. The league eliminated the college draft in the latest collective bargaining agreement and 2025 was the first year without a draft. She's also one of a handful of players who have been loaned to the Super League, which is on the top tier of women's soccer in the United States alongside the NWSL but is only in its first season. Those deals are expected to grow. Advertisement North Carolina Courage defender Natalia Staude followed a similar path. She started her pro career on loan to the Super League's Tampa Bay Sun before joining the Courage this season. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has said one of the strengths of the league on the international stage is its depth — and part of that is due to its emerging young stars. The loan process helps develop young players who in the past may have left soccer altogether. "There have been examples where our teams have loaned players to those other leagues when they anticipate that a particular player isn't going to get playing minutes, or that it's not the right fit from a technical environment perspective, but they want to give the player an opportunity to continue to develop and play," Berman said. 'So I think optionality for players is good, and I think a robust ecosystem that allows for players at all levels to be able to continue to play is a good thing for the sport.' Some of the other emerging young players who haven't taken traditional paths to launch their pro careers: Advertisement Riley Tiernan, Angel City In the absence of a draft, Tiernan was a non-roster invitee to Angel City's preseason training camp this year. She did so well she earned herself a spot on the team and signed a two-year contract. She's scored five goals, tied for second in the league. Claire Hutton, Kansas City Current Hutton initially committed to North Carolina but then decided to go pro instead. She was signed by the Current ahead of the 2024 season via the NWSL's Under-18 Entry Mechanism and was a finalist for NWSL Rookie of the Year. Hutton followed in the footsteps of other talented NWSL players who skipped college, including Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman. Advertisement Olivia Moultrie, Portland Thorns Although Moultrie made her professional debut in 2021, she's still just 19 years old. She turned pro at just 13 when she hired an agent and signed a deal with Nike. But she wasn't allowed to play professionally because of an NWSL rule that required players to be 18. In 2021, she sued for the right to play and won. Moultrie's legal fight created the pathway for the rule that Hutton and many others have used to turn pro. The Thompson Sisters, Angel City Alyssa was the first high school player drafted into the NWSL when she was the No. 1 pick in 2023. Gisele Thompson was just 17 when she joined Angel City ahead of the 2024 season through the under-18 rule. She scored this month against Bay FC with an assist from Alyssa for the league's first sister-to-sister goal. ___ AP soccer:
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Press and Thompson score for Angel City in 2-0 win over Utah in the NWSL
Christen Press came off the bench to score and Angel City beat the Utah Royals 2-0 in the National Women's Soccer League on Friday night in Los Angeles. In Friday's only other NWSL game, Racing Louisville beat Gotham FC 1-0. Press made an instant impact after she entered the match in place of Claire Emslie in the 65th minute. Twenty-five seconds after stepping onto the field, Press outfoxed Madison Pogarch then curled the ball into the top left corner of the goal. Alyssa Thompson doubled Angel City's lead when she rifled a shot off the post and into the back of the net in the seventh minute of stoppage time. Angel City defender Savy King was carted off on a stretcher and taken to a hospital after going down with a non-contact injury in the 78th minute. The team said she was responsive and with club medical staff and family. It was the first shutout of the season for Angel City (4-2-2). Utah (1-6-1) has now lost six of its last seven matches. Flint leads Racing to win at home Taylor Flint scored to give Racing Louisville its first home win of the season at Lynn Family Stadium. Flint received the ball in space and then sent it into the back of the net from nearly 30 yards out in the 56th minute. It was the 10th NWSL goal of the midfielder's career but her first from outside of the box. Esther González missed a chance to equalize for Gotham (3-3-3) when she failed to score a header from close range in the 72nd. Gotham dominated possession (63%) and outshot Louisville 13-9. The game was a physical and aggressive encounter, with Louisville (3-3-2) committing one less foul (16) than Gotham (17). ___ AP soccer:
