It was a tale of two games before Halloween for the USWNT. Still, without a head coach on the sideline, the Stars and Stripes used a shot of adrenaline from three young stars to grab a triumph following a listless draw in Utah.
Not only is the future of the team becoming clearer off the pitch with the coaching search down to three, but the stars of the next era have begun to introduce themselves to their nation. The baton has not been completely passed, but you can see the transition beginning to take shape. The old guard is coming around the corner with the next generation waiting to retrive the hand-off and run with it.
The first three halves of football in this window included a lack of creativity from a side that had a majority of the World Cup roster. Then came the slap in the face. No, not a bad one, one of those that lets you know its time to get going. There is still so many questions that need answers for the United States with only months before the Olympics begin in Paris this summer. In case you missed anything from this past week's contests, or want to stroll down your files of memories, here's how it went down in Sandy, and San Diego.
The "Same Old, Same Old" Match
United States 0-0 Colombia
Venue: America First Field
If you didn't tune in to see this match, you didn't miss much. Well, you missed 90 minutes of football, but from an American perspective, there were few positives to take from it. The two teams combined to amass two shots on target as the story of the contest was once again a lack of bravery from the Red, White, and Blue.
Alex Morgan missed a penalty and Ashley Hatch got denied of a solid strike in the second 45-minute period, but other than that, there was not much to write home about. Trinity Rodman did complete a silky move into the final third, nutmegging a defender with her back against the goal before her cross was cleared by the away team.
Jaedyn Shaw earned her first senior cap, coming on for Lynn Williams in the 87'. Twila Kilgore deployed a double pivot with Emily Sonnett and Andi Sullivan to start before sliding Lindsey Horan back down so that substitute Savannah DeMelo could serve at the No. 10.
The U.S. was once again wasteful on set-pieces an area that the new manager has to examine how to improve. Colombia, under a new manager, demonstrated exactly why it was a quarterfinalist in the previous World Cup. From the opening whistle, Las Cafeteras feared nothing, running at a side that looked hungover from a long night at the club.
Gone are the days when the United States embarrasses teams in friendlies on its home turf. The disparity is shrinking. Sure, it can be about the United States' inability to convert chances, but credit has to be given Colombia's way. It was a contest that pretty much summed up the country's worst-ever World Cup display this past summer.
The "Youth Takeover" Match
United States 3-0 Colombia
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium
As Tupac once said, "California, knows how to party." For the USWNT, that so-called "party" in SoCal did not come until the second half. The first 45 minutes of this match was like reading the same script from a few days ago with just a little bit more energy. The intensity and willingness to create was at a completely different level in the first half at Snapdragon compared to in Utah. Multiple crosses and a few Horan headers could not ultimately break down the Colombia defense.
After Casey Murphy was called into action more than once in the first two minutes of the second half, the U.S. began to send warning signs up front. A brilliant Emily Sonnett cross found the head of Mia Fishel to break the deadlock in the 56'. The party then commenced. The South American side let the fish loose. Nothing good happens from that, just ask Tottenham Hotspur who did it on the first match week of the Women's Super League campaign.
The fact that it took this long for the Chelsea forward to find the back of the net at the senior international level is a catastrophe. The Blues' No. 2 is the No. 9 of the future for the Red, White, and Blue. If she is not starting up top by this time next year, something has gone horribly wrong on the coaching end.
Just six minutes later, the USWNT captain added another highlight to her lengthy career tape. Horan slotted home one of those goals you could watch over and over again on Twitter, and not get bored. It was purely magnificent. Emily Fox's cross laid it on a platter for an unmarked No. 10 to send the American fans into a frenzy.
The icing on the cake was the San Diego Wave attacker, in her home stadium finding the back of the net for her first international goal. Jaedyn Shaw, arguably the future of that No. 10 role in the midfield capped off an encouraging second 45 minutes for the U.S. It was two 18-year-old attacking players combining for the third goal. Alyssa Thompson to Shaw. That may be the first time you hear that, but not the last. It was a true "Gen Z" takeover.
It's not how you start, it's how you finish. The USWNT followed that to a tee in this window. Frustration turned into elation. The hope is that the players who created that "elation" continue to get more shots at this level. That's because this window gave a clear-cut answer to many of the questions people had. The future is now. There is no getting around that. If the U.S. is going to get back to the top in Paris, the youth will be the biggest reason why.
The Red, White, and Blue retake the grass in December for two contests in the final international window of 2023 against China in Florida and Texas.
