Laken Litman
College Football & Soccer Analyst
HOUSTON —The United States women’s national team is off to a strong start. In their first match of 2025, the Americans opened the SheBelieves Cup with a 2-0 win over Colombia thanks to quality goals from Catarina Macario and Ally Sentnor.
Japan beat Australia 4-0 in the first match earlier Thursday evening.
With no major tournament until the 2027 World Cup, USWNT coach Emma Hayes has made it clear that at least the first half of this year will be focused on experimenting with more inexperienced talent and broadening the player pool. She explained earlier this week that there’s always risk involved when developing players and that “it won’t look polished in its entirety.” While the squad Hayes rolled out, including the substitutions made, was by no means a finished product, the group appeared strong, confident, technical and showed promise.
Three players made their debuts. Tara McKeown started at center back alongside Emily Sonnett, who was honored for reaching her 100th cap before the game. And Gisele Thompson and Michelle Cooper were second-half subs. Sentnor and 17-year-old Lily Yohannes made their first starts.
It’s no secret this is a young roster –10 players entered camp with four caps or fewer. While that creates a different kind of vibe than, say, the one the team had last summer at the Paris Olympics, it’s certainly an encouraging one that’s focused on growth.
“The veteran players really believing in us and telling us every day that we’re here for a reason,” Sentnor said of what this week has been like. “Lindsey [Heaps] talked to me before the game, which meant a ton and every play each one of them is just kind of hyping us up and making sure we know what’s going on. And it really means the world to us and I’m just so proud of everyone that came in today and did a great job.”
Sentnor said Heaps’ message to her before the game was to “be me and continue to just play my game and we’ll get the feedback afterwards. But go out there and just do what I know how to do.”
Expect to see more rotation throughout this tournament, especially given that these players are all in different stages of their training. European-based players are in-season, while American-based players have not played a game for a while, given the NWSL does not begin until next month.
Here are takeaways from the match:
Play of the game
This banger of a goal from Sentnor. In the 60th minute, the young forward found a gap in the middle of the field and then fired off a shot from outside the box that Colombian goalkeeper Katherine Tapia had no chance of saving.
It was her first-ever USWNT goal in her first-ever USWNT start in just her third appearance for the senior team. Sentnor nearly scored a minute later, but that one went wide.
“Oh my gosh I’m just so thankful and I’m just so happy to be here,” Sentnor said. “I think the team has just put in the work these last few trainings. We haven’t had a lot of them, but I think we went out there and really executed what we’ve been working on and I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
The 21-year-old has been building off a strong rookie NWSL season with the Utah Royals. She was the No. 1 overall pick in 2024 and was voted U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Player of the Year and ended the year making her debut for the USWNT at Wembley Stadium vs. England in front of 78,346 fans. Sentnor has been an impactful player in the U.S. youth system for years, and also captained the U-20 team to a third-place finish at the 2024 World Cup in Colombia.
Turning point
In the 34th minute, Yohannes collected the ball near midfield and found Yazmeen Ryan from deep. Ryan took a touch just inside the right corner of the 18-yard box, then slotted a quality cross to Macario, who was making a run near-post and one-touched the ball into the back of the net to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. It was Macario’s first goal for the national team in three years.
“Honestly, I don’t remember much,” Macario said with a chuckle. “I just know that someone played the ball into Yazmeen and I just saw a big gap and I was like, ‘OK, this is my job.’ She played a tremendous ball and I just knew that I had to be there.”
Macario’s story has been an emotional journey as the Chelsea star has undergone a slew of injuries that have derailed her career. She made her valiant return to the USWNT last April after a long layoff due to multiple ACL injuries. She appeared to be fit and in form leading up to the Paris Olympics last summer, but then a knee irritation bumped her from the small 18-player roster at the last minute. It was heartbreaking for the team and for a player who has been working hard to solidify her place in the national team. Thursday marked just her 20th cap and ninth goal.
“I’m just so happy to be playing,” said Macario, who shared an emotional hug with Hayes when she was subbed off later in the game. Macario of course played for Hayes at Chelsea before Hayes became the USWNT manager.
“She knows what I went through the past few years, the past few months, so she knows how hard I’ve worked to come back to the pitch,” Macario said. “She knows all the frustrations, all the heartbreaks that I’ve endured, and she’s been there through everything. Now that she’s my national team coach, she knows how much it means to me and how happy I am, and she’s been someone that’s been really supportive through everything and wants to make sure that I can stay on the pitch and contribute to the national team”
Since the Olympics, the 25-year-old forward has been working her way back with Chelsea and entering the SheBelieves Cup, has played in 13 matches for her club with five starts and has scored five goals with two assists. This was her first USWNT match in eight months.
The USWNT has struggled to score when the “Triple Espresso” front line of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Wilson and Trinity Rodman aren’t on the field. Without the creativity of that trio in this camp, it was important for the Americans to capitalize in the final third and having a healthy Macario in the mix clearly makes a difference.
Key stat
More on Sentnor, who scored her first but definitely not last goal for the U.S. on Thursday night:
Hayes said she knew when Sentnor got the ball in that space that she was going for goal.
“Ally has come through the youth ranks, demonstrating the qualities you need to be at this level,” Hayes said. “And we’ve been working with her many camps that she’s been with us on the decision-making and execution from when she’s in the pocket situation. So is she in the pocket to stretch deep? Is she in the pocket to receive it? Is she in the pocket to receive it from the sides?
“And we just had a conversation about it and she said, ‘I’m still not sure entirely which one to do at what point.’ I said, ‘That will come. However, your super strength is when you get on the half turn in those areas.’ And I knew the minute she turned where that ball was going to end up because she does that shot consistently well. That is something she absolutely has in her locker.”
What’s next for the USWNT?
The SheBelieves Cup is always a quick turnaround, given the teams play three matches in seven days. The USWNT will travel to Glendale, Ariz. to face Australia on Feb. 23 and then go to San Diego to play Japan on Feb. 26.
The winner of this tournament will be determined by total points (three for a win, one for a tie) with the first tiebreaker being overall goal difference, followed by most goals scored, then head-to-head.
The USWNT has won seven total SheBelieves Cup titles, including the last five in a row.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
United States
SheBelieves Cup
Get more from United States Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
