USWNT Takeaways From Emma Hayes First Game

COMMERCE CITY – So that Emma Hayes first game for the USWNT was fun. The Lady Yanks beat Korea 4-0. All three Colorado natives got a start. Mallory Swanson got a brace. Tierna Davidson scored two goals on set pieces. Let’s take a deeper look at how things went and what it means ahead of the Paris Olympics.

Mallory Swanson is fully back from her knee injury:

It’s been a year since Mallory Swanson suffered that knee injury that saw her miss the World Cup. She’s been back with her club team. She was cooking at the No. 9 position in this game. Mall is back, fam.

“I was super thankful I could play in front of (my family), I could play on this team again. You never know when the last time you could play. They were supporting me all of last year. For them to be in the stands and see me back on the field doing what I love is super special,” Swanson said with relief and maturing in the mixed zone.

“Couldn’t ask for anything more (for her). She’s magnetic as a human being, the way she operates in the team. She can multitask. My goal is to keep her fit, keep her healthy,” said Hayes.

Her fellow Coloradans of course had her back. Swanson joked that the three of them bought a suite cause it was easier than organizing player ticket requests from teammates who wouldn’t need them.

“It’s so fun to see Mall back out there. She’s one of my favorite people to play with. She’s like my big sister. I watched her go through a tough time (with the injury). To see her back out there, being Mall, doing what Mall does, it’s good,” said Windsor native Sophia Smith.

Swanson finished by saying “This week has been a lot of growing and trusting the process.”

Tactics and personnel are still a work in progress:

On multiple occasions, Hayes alluded to tactical tinkering that wasn’t quite perfect on the afternoon. Captain and Golden native, Lindsey Horan was a bit low at times in the double pivot. “These are tactical tweaks” as Hayes put it.

“I want everyone to be patience. There’s a lot of young players. They are learning but they want to give everything for their shirt, their country. Off the pitch, some make mistakes. Some have to learn. My job as a coach is to help teach them. We want to create an environment that’s tolerant, that’s respectful, that’s inclusive. I will always make sure I educate and do the right thing in the background. Happy Pride everyone.”

Hayes did say Alex Morgan was left on the bench as a precaution, wanting her to be fresh for the game in Minnesota on Tuesday.

“With the Olympics, it’s 18 players. Within this team, it’s super competitive. I’m just taking things day by day,” said Swanson. She added “We want to pay attention to little details. That’s the biggest thing right now.”

“She wants us to be fluid in our structured principals. She gives us a lot of freedom. Stay in the pocket but also see what the opponent’s giving you and be available for your teammates,” said Catarina Macario.

Also for those doubting Horan’s tenure as captain, Hayes put those to bed: “Lindsey, she’s a captain for a reason. She leads by example in so many ways.”

Set pieces!

Part of those tactics of course were set pieces. The USWNT likes being good at them. If yesterday was any indication, so does Hayes.

“We were really excited to implement things. I feel like we had information overload throughout the week. We had to just see how it went throughout a game. Emma was really excited to see how it’d go,” said the set piece finisher Davidson.

“We were changing different things. We implemented what we wanted to implement. For me, it was rounding out the back side (at the far post). Those two services came to me, so I made sure I put them back in.”

Davidson had one goal in 57 games with the national team prior to yesterday. When asked if this came out of nowhere, Smith wasn’t having it:

“No! But Tierna, she’s dominant on set pieces. Her headers were all perfect. We have great deliveries.”

Photo Credit: John Babiak

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