USWNT Wills Its Way to the Gold Medal Match
Team Chemistry and Brilliant Skill Fueling New Era of Belief from Players and Supporters
Prior to the Olympics, I did not know what the expectations for the USWNT should be. Their first two matches under Emma Hayes against South Korea showed that the team could be potent. Then their final two sendoff matches showed some concern that the front 3 may be lacking a killer instinct, despite the obvious talent. Putting a new coach with a team a month prior to a major tournament, no matter how good that coach and players are, was always going to be a tall task. I think most knowledgeable supporters would have said any medal would have been an obvious improvement over the 2023 World Cup.
Maybe, just maybe, we shouldn’t have sold the women so short.
I could recap every match and scoreline for you, but I’d like to take an overarching view of what I have seen on the pitch, and what seems to be happening with the team off of it as well. So, what has been happening on the pitch that has made this team not only a force to be reckoned with, but also believing in itself once again?
Alyssa Naeher in goal has been a brick wall. If it wasn’t for her heroics against Germany in the semifinal that game was going to go to a penalty shootout more likely than not. Her save pose was so iconic it was even featured on the very popular “Art but Make it Sports” social media platforms.
Also, this team beat that German team twice, in two completely different ways. Beating any team twice, especially one as good as Germany, is no small feat.
The back line slowly but surely is getting its flowers. From Emily Fox and Crystal Dunn patrolling the outside also getting into the attack, to Naomi Girma shutting down anyone that gets near her, these staples of the back line have been massive in shutting down dangerous attacks. Tierna Davidson has also been massive when healthy, and Emily Sonnet has been the professional veteran you knew she would be coming in when called upon.
The midfield has been pretty thin due to injury and yellow cards accumulated but has been able to hold its own mostly. Having Sam Coffey back against Germany was huge after she served her suspension for yellow card accumulation. Lindsey Horan was also big once shifting back to a more defensive position. Rose Lavelle, while not involved directly in scoring, has made her presence felt by causing chaos with her freedom to move. She has also been massive helping out on defense as well.
And now we get to the part of the pitch that has people the most excited. Christen Press calls them “Triple Trouble” which they seem to embrace. Others have adopted “The Trident”. Personally, I like the Spanish version “El Tridente de la Muerte”, which is absolutely a shirt I would buy. I am of course talking about Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, and Sophia Smith.
(Since originally writing this article this morning, they announced on Today Show that they would like to be known as Triple Espresso. We’ll see if it sticks, but it makes a lot of sense)
These three players are all brilliant in their own right, but together make it impossible for teams to play a normal shape to counter them. Each of them has 3 goals in the tournament, and that accounts for 9 of the 11 total goals scored. Rodman and Smith scored wonder goals respectively that saw the US make it through their quarterfinal and semifinal games. And each of those goals shed a light on something we all knew. Allow any of those players a moment, and they can show off brilliance. Unless teams want to play 9 out players behind the ball and stay in a defensive block, El Tridente de la Muerte is like Thanos.
Inevitable.
Finally, I’d like to get to some things I have seen off the pitch and how it seems to show on it. Emma Hayes is one of the best football coaches in the world, men or women, full stop. What she has done with this team besides tactics, has been to also help them believe in themselves. It may seem silly and childish, but that is a massive thing for anyone, especially professional athletes. If you listen to the way she talks to the players and see how she interacts with them, it is obvious the effect she has had on the team overall.
This team is also having fun bonding and genuinely enjoying being together. It is not that this has not been a staple of USWNT players in the past, but it is all the more important now. The criticism lobbed at this team from very loud and public figures has been detrimental at best. No matter how much they may try to insulate themselves, stuff like that inevitably comes back to players. Imagine just trying to be yourself and play the game you love, and people are coming after your hairstyle or how you choose to show your personality. Some of you know exactly who I am talking about, and others can find the clips quite easily if you so choose.
I won’t name the detractors/haters, and I won’t dwell on them. They don’t deserve my oxygen…for now.
The point is, this team seems to be able to not only show off their personality, but also kick ass at the same time. If you have seen some of their social media posts or seen some of the YouTube series “Behind the Crest” for US Soccer, you can see how much this team loves one another. You can see how happy they are for one another. I think that comes from Emma allowing them to do what they are best at, and also giving them the confidence to be themselves when many in their own country wanted to tear them down for things that had nothing to do with actual play between the lines. That along with brilliance on the pitch are why this team will be in the final this Saturday, against a Brazil team that has a pretty amazing story in their own right.
Let me be clear. As much fun as they have been having bonding and what not, it has been the coaching of Emma Hayes and the unquestionable talent of the players on the pitch that have helped get them back to where us USWNT supporters know they should always be.
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