Trinity Rodman returns in 2-0 defeat of Brazil for USWNT
It didn’t take long for the Trinity effect to take hold of the USWNT in their faceoff with Brazil at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in what would be the first rematch of the two sides since the final of the Paris Olympic Games. Trinity Rodman scored an emphatic goal within the first five minutes of the game bringing SoFi into a frenzy off of a brilliant through ball from the ascending Alyssa Thompson who has continued to impress this year for the USWNT. For Trinity the goal was indicative of an urgency and pace that transforms the USWNT immediately when she is on the field. As one of the three in the triple espresso combo from the Paris Olympics, Trinity brought an energy to the USWNT camp over the last week that was palpable in training, and could be felt immediately in the 30,000+ filled SoFi stadium looking to get a glimpse of Trinity in her iconic pink braids. This was the first time that professional women’s sports event was ever played at the NFL stadium in LA, and also was a five times greater turnout than the USMNT had brought in just weeks prior in the CONCACAF Nation’s League.
For Brazil, there were fleeting chances of brilliance that were easily snuffed out by an interesting United States side including a fresh face in goal as Phallon Tullis-Joyce made her debut start, calm and commanding between the posts. Anchoring the backline were Emily Fox and Crystal Dunn out wide, with Tara McKeown and Emily Sonnett holding things down centrally. Sam Coffey slotted in at the No. 6, quietly controlling the midfield, while Lindsey Heaps and Ally Sentnor took up the No. 8 and No. 10 roles with grit and creativity. Up top, Catarina Macario stepped into a fluid false 9 role, linking play and pulling defenders, with Trinity Rodman and Alyssa Thompson bringing pace and edge to the wings. Emma Hayes stressed in the training run up to Saturday’s matchday that without the services of her veteran players there would be experimentation over the course of the Brazil friendlies and the possibility of a lack of connectivity. To the happy surprise of the Los Angeles USWNT fans it was the combinations of Rodman and Thompson that proved to be absolutely electric creating multiple scoring chances and showing the powerful combination those two can play together on the flanks.
It has been a fascinating balancing act watching Hayes control not just the growth of her young players but also the narratives around the experiments that she is actively running on the USWNT. The success of the program at the Olympics as well as the continued shining moments like Saturday’s win continue to give Emma Hayes ample leeway and leverage to build what she sees as a long term vision for the club. For Hayes the short term success of the team filling stadiums at a 5x rate of their USMNT counterparts, while important, pales in comparison with the goal of creating a program that is multidimensional and multigenerational. Her experiments are planting the seeds for multiple USWNT runs to come beyond the upcoming World Cup, setting the sites to the recently announced bid for another US women’s World Cup in 2031. Creating the foundation that can last beyond that will ultimately be her greatest legacy.
