Latest news with #UtahRoyals'
New York Times
21-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
USWNT 2, Colombia 0: Macario scores in her return, Sentnor stuns with first goal
The U.S. women's national team's 2025 opened up with a 2-0 SheBelieves Cup win over Colombia in Houston Thursday night. Chelsea midfielder Cat Macario and Utah Royals' Ally Sentnor were the difference for the U.S., the latter scoring in her first start with the senior national team. With plenty of rotation and debuts expected across the friendly tournament from head coach Emma Hayes, and a starting XI that was missing some of the team's biggest names, the victory was a promising start to what should prove to be a year of evaluation. Advertisement Beyond the two goalscorers, midfielder Lily Yohannes had a statement performance, making her first start for the team. Her passing game out of the midfield directly led to Macario's opening goal, and she proved her mettle defensively against a tough Colombia team. In the waning moments of stoppage time, she nearly connected with Lynn Biyendolo with a pass off the outside of her foot that had a solid chance of being the third goal. While Hayes has promised that she will allow Yohannes to develop on her own schedule, the 17-year-old's performance showed she's perfectly capable of fighting for a more consistent starting role on the USWNT. In a camp full of players looking to work into Hayes' plans for the coming years, it's important to make a lasting impression. Ally Sentnor, 21, certainly made her mark on Tuesday, scoring a golazo early in the second half to put the U.S. ahead 2-0. This year has hardly started, but she arguably submitted the highlight of her budding career in the 60th minute against Colombia on Thursday. Collecting a pass through the midfield from Tara McKeown, Sentnor beat one opponent on her dribble, then a second, as she cut from the left half-space into the central channel. From there, she looked up and saw an opening, uncorking a knuckling shot from over 25 yards out that caught Colombia goalkeeper Katherine Tapia flat-footed as it curled into the far upper corner. The versatile attacking midfielder — who was Sports Illustrated's SportsKid of the Year in 2019, a year before USC basketball star JuJu Watkins — played collegiately with the vaunted North Carolina Tar Heels, overcoming a torn ACL in her freshman year to earn first-team All-ACC honors in her two seasons before going pro. She became the final player taken first overall in the NWSL's draft before it was eliminated in the most recent collective bargaining agreement, landing with the Utah Royals. Sentnor SENT! IT! #USWNT x @VW [image or embed] — U.S. Women's National Soccer Team bot (@ February 20, 2025 at 9:38 PM In 2024, Sentnor kept on shooting. Utah needed her to step up from the opening whistle of its first match, as the club thrust her into a starring role. She relished the responsibility, tapping into the bag of tricks she worked to refine as a youth player. As she told the TBS broadcast, her diminutive size forced her to hone in on her technique — both in terms of dribbling and shooting quickly with power before her opposing mark could contain her. Advertisement Sentnor kept busy as a rookie, finishing ninth among all NWSL players by attempting 68 shots in 1,866 minutes. She also played a key role for the United States at the U-20 World Cup, scoring three goals en route to a bronze medal finish last year, the nation's best showing at the tournament since 2012. She was a deserving winner of U.S. Soccer's Young Female Player of the Year award and earned two senior team appearances late in the year to cap a memorable year. GO DEEPER USWNT tryouts: The numbers behind the newest U.S. call-ups It was only her first start for Hayes' side, but with her unpredictable ingenuity, Sentnor is bound to get a few more looks in this tournament and beyond. Two days after celebrating her birthday, it was a performance she and fans alike won't soon forget. — Jeff Rueter This has been Macario's third reintroduction to the USWNT pool, and she took full advantage of the moment. It wasn't a shock that the European-based players looked a little sharper from the jump on Thursday, but Macario's connection with Yohannes was immediately promising for the U.S. Her first-half goal was the final touch on a well-worked sequence that started with Yohannes, who sent a ball to Yazmeen Ryan. Streaking in off the right wing to a more central position, Ryan only needed to square it to Macario, who smashed it home from close range. The goal was her first with the national team since April 12, 2022, a whopping 1,045 days. Cat's 𝑠𝑜 back 💥 #USWNT x @VW [image or embed] — U.S. Women's National Soccer Team bot (@ February 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM Macario offers so much more than goalscoring though. Colombia's physicality didn't throw her — a promising sign for Macario who has grappled with injuries for so long — but it did limit her ability to create with the ball at her feet. As Just Women's Sports reporter Claire Watkins pointed out during the game, Macario's service on set pieces and corner kicks is something the USWNT could certainly benefit from. It could also potentially free up someone like Mal Swanson moving forward. With Megan Rapinoe's retirement, the team could use a new dedicated set piece maestro, and Macario makes a compelling case. Advertisement Macario exited in the 64th minute as Hayes continues to evaluate her pool of players. Is the Chelsea midfielder set for a repeat of her 2022 SheBelieves MVP performance? It's probably going to come down to how many minutes she gets over the next week — but Thursday was a solid start for her 2025 campaign. — Meg Linehan Center backs aren't often expected to rack up assists from the run of play. Their passing is often limited to short-range circulation, while a healthy portion of their passes are speculative launches that, statistically more often than not, miss their intended target. As one veteran defender told me years ago: 'I'm well aware I'm the last player fans pay to see on the ball.' Making her USWNT debut, Tara McKeown provided a compelling counterargument to that point. Earning her first senior cap as part of the starting lineup, McKeown played the ball that let Sentnor wreak havoc through Colombia's midfield en route to her long-range goal. In the hour preceding that sequence, the Washington Spirit defender was tested often by Colombia, with Linda Caicedo and Mayra Ramirez looking particularly eager to test the 25-year-old. The United States' clean sheet speaks for itself, with McKeown and center back partner Emily Sonnett also keeping possession moving whenever the ball went their way. It was a fine showing that warrants subsequent looks. Also making her debut, Gisele Thompson came on in the 76th minute. The Angel City left back made her club debut last year, joining her older sister (United States winger Alyssa) to kick off her professional career. By the time she joined the action, the scoreline was already 2-0 with neither team showing the same attacking verve that typified the game's middle half-hour. With new Arsenal signing Jenna Nighswonger getting the start, we could see Thompson make one of Hayes' two remaining starting lineups at the SheBelieves Cup. —Rueter
Reuters
19-02-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
New year, new faces for US team navigating life without Naeher
NEW YORK, Feb 18 (Reuters) - United States' first tournament without Alyssa Naeher will provide a shot for fresh talent between the sticks, as the four-times World Cup winners look to start a new chapter without the veteran goalkeeper at the SheBelieves Cup. Naeher stepped down from international duties late last year after keeping 12 clean sheets and conceding only a dozen goals in 22 starts at the World Cup and Olympics, helping the U.S. team to their fifth gold in Paris. When they open their latest SheBelieves campaign against Colombia on Thursday, the team will look to either 2023 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Jane Campbell or Utah Royals' Mandy McGlynn, who has made only one appearance for the U.S. "With both of them, they're both extremely talented and again, both very eager to just get on the field, get the connections, get the relationships and show what they have," Arsenal right back Emily Fox told reporters on Tuesday. Campbell and McGlynn are far from the only candidates to replace Naeher, however, with Paris Olympic backup Casey Murphy a prime choice along with Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce. "We have so much talent in our goalkeeper pool," said defensive midfielder Sam Coffey. "It is a really exciting time and opportunity for them to kind of come into this position where it's kind of open and there is an opportunity to really, you know, take a shot at it." The United States play in their 10th SheBelieves Cup without some of their most familiar faces, as Trinity Rodman recovers from a back injury and Mallory Swanson opts out due to personal reasons. The third member of the U.S. attacking trio, Sophia Wilson - who changed her last name from "Smith" after marrying NFL wide receiver Michael Wilson last month - is also regaining her competitive strength, U.S. Soccer said. Four of the seven forwards called up have four or fewer caps for the senior national team, while fans will cheer the return of Chelsea forward Catarina Macario, who had to withdraw from the U.S. Olympic team due to knee irritation. "While it's a totally different vibe and there's a lot of new energy, fresh faces and, you know, there's challenges in navigating that in certain moments, I think there's so much opportunity for us as a team to continue to deepen our player pool, to continue to layer in our understanding of tactics and the way we want to play," said Coffey. The United States play their first match of the four-team invitational round robin tournament against Colombia at Houston's Shell Energy Stadium, while Japan and Australia face off on Thursday at the same venue.
