The U.S. women’s national team got off to an exciting start at the 10th annual SheBelieves Cup. The USWNT defeated Colombia, 2-0, on Thursday night with goals by Catarina Macario and Ally Sentnor. The program is on the hunt for a sixth consecutive title, a potential eighth overall, and is doing it without several cornerstone players on the roster.
Hayes’ 23-player roster is a healthy mix of 2024 Olympians, NWSL players in preseason form, Americans playing abroad in Europe, and uncapped players with limited international experience. Injury, form, and commitments have kept out key starters this tournament.
There is no “Triple Espresso” attacking line with Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson, or Sophia Wilson. Rose Lavelle is recovering from ankle surgery, and Naomi Girlma is managing a calf injury.
So how did a roster with potential “depth” players fair in game one of the SheBelieves Cup?
A budding midfielder
It was 17-year-old Lily Yohannes who stole the show in the middle third for the USWNT against Colombia. Starting alongside team captain Lindsey Heaps and Sam Coffey, the coaching staff has largely preached patience when it comes to developing Yohannes. She’s grown her game in the Netherlands playing with AFC Ajax and could’ve had a path toward playing internationally with the Dutch, but she committed to the USWNT in November after her USWNT debut in June.
“I don’t think we should get carried away,” said Hayes in postgame after taking several questions on the player.
“She’s coming from a well-established, extremely structured, 4-3-3 environment, playing the Ajax way, and I think she is adding the physicality to her performances. But, like I said, she’s in season, so I think her qualities on the ball are unquestioned. I’m really pleased with the progress she’s making defensively. But listen, I think it’s really early on … I think she’s someone who deserves to develop without putting too much focus and attention on it.”
She plays with a maturity not typically seen for her role, a deeper lying midfielder, with vision and awareness that only comes with extensive experiences on the pitch. Hayes emphasized the journey that players make on the international stage, citing all the work and reps they put in to earn their mainstay, and referenced Coffey and Heaps as examples.
“Lily plays beyond her years at times, but I also think she’s in season in Europe, and it showed. She certainly developed in the last 12 months since I’ve seen her, but there’ll be tougher tests, and I think tonight was a really good game for her to come into and show the development she’s made in the last 12 months. But there’s been a lot of things she has to work on in her game, and that she’s very hungry to learn, to improve … so I know that she’s in a great place to do that. She’s got her feet on the ground. She’s really switched on, and someone who understands the importance of doing everything for the team that I really admire in her.”
Macario may finally be back
The 25-year-old Macario scored the opening goal against Colombia and celebrated her first international goal in three years with a roaring smile and clenched fists.
The Brazilian international has been working her way back toward fitness after sustaining an ACL injury in 2022. She’s had to manage her comeback in between a World Cup and the Olympics and ultimately pulled out from the 2024 Summer Games due to knee inflammation.
“Definitely not easy,” Macario said after the game. “Probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life. There are a lot of tears that were shed, a lot of heartbreaks, that’s for sure. A lot of times that I thought I wouldn’t be able to play again. Just a lot of adversity and I’m just so thankful to be playing again.”
Macario’s goal came just after the half-hour mark as she was making an alternate run inside the box and slotted the ball into goal after the service from Yazemeen Ryan on the wing. She subbed out after an hour of play, and she and Hayes shared an embrace after her performance. Hayes signed Macario to Chelsea and has been on the coach’s end of aiding a player back into form due to a lingering injury.
“I think my first feeling was, just aside from being happy for her, was that I just felt pride because of how long she’d been out and how hard it had been for her,” Hayes said in postgame.
“And also because I thought she played well. I thought she held the ball up so well, linked exceptionally well… she’s got an instinct in and around the goal which was demonstrated with the goal [she scored]. So, I said it to her when she came off. I said, ‘everybody is super happy, super proud, and I’m sure everybody back in Chelsea is too.'”
Sentnor’s blast off
After extensive performances at the youth national team level, Ally Sentnor opened her scoring account with the senior national team against Colombia. Sentnor provided an insurance goal and did it in a familiar fashion when she scored from outside the box.
Four of her five goals for Utah Royals in 2024 came from beyond the box, and as no stranger to taking the space given to her, Sentnor did exactly that and caught Colombia ball-watching when she scored a stunning goal from distance.
What’s next
The USWNT will face Australia on Sunday before closing out the SheBelieves Cup against Japan on Wednesday. The Stars and Stripes are currently in second place on the Shebelieves Cup table after Japan opened up their tournament with a 4-0 win against Australia on Thursday.
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