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USWNT vs. Costa Rica: Emma Hayes' team held scoreless in Olympics tune-up match
By Chris Bumbaca and Carrie McDonald , USA TODAY,
9 hours ago
WASHINGTON — In their final pre- Paris Olympics tune-up, the United States women’s national team played to a scoreless draw against Costa Rica in front of 18,972 fans at Audi Field who endured a kickoff temperature of 96 degrees.
Trinity Rodman nearly found the back of the net in the final minutes of stoppage time with her left foot, but like all of the U.S. chances Tuesday, the effort came up empty.
Rose Lavelle, the third-most experienced player on the Olympic roster, was scratched after experiencing leg tightness during warmups.
The Americans will play Zambia in their first game of group play at the Olympics on July 25.
➤ Problems finding back of net persist: The finishing foibles persisted in the nation's capital. Far too often, the attack panned out as if the only way to score a door was via a backdoor cross — which never materialized successfully.
➤ This team can't afford to not have Rose Lavelle: Winning a medal in Paris will be a challenge enough for the new-look United State women’s national soccer team. Doing it without Rose Lavelle — or a diminished version of the vibrant midfielder — will add another layer of difficulty.
➤ Playing in extreme heat will only help in France: On Monday, Hayes said the forecast for Tuesday — the heat index eclipsed 100 in Washington D.C. — was "perfect preparation for Marseille.” The heat was nothing the players haven't played in before.
Although she entered in the 88th minute, Croix Bethune relieved Mallory Swanson and received arguably the loudest ovation of the night. The NWSL rookie has clearly made herself a fan favorite in 11 short games with the Washington Spirit.
Despite several chances in the last 30 minutes of the game, the U.S. has come up empty-handed on the tally sheet. Trinity Rodman had a header go directly to the keeper. Mallory Swanson saw a shot go wide of the left post. Few balls are making it through the Costa Rican defense. Multiple Costa Rican players have gone to the ground in the last couple of minutes and impacted the flow of the game.
In the 67th minute, USWNT coach Emma Hayes made her move to give as many players experience in the game she could – a goal of hers entering the match. Emily Fox, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Korbin Albert were all taken out.
Casey Kreuger, Lynn Williams, Emily Sonnett, and Jaedyn Shaw entered the game.
When it looked like the USWNT had finally broke through about 10 minutes into the second half, the referee signaled offside – again. The Americans have had at least two goals waved off by offsides in addition to a few more solid chances.
To start the half, the U.S. had some real chances with numbers. The attack looked organized. Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith couldn’t connect on what would have surely led to the game’s first goal.
Tierna Davidson played a beautiful through ball to Sophia Smith, who opted to pass instead of shoot and Noelia Bermúdez easily corralled the ball. More inside-the-box combinations could not yield a shot on goal.
The Americans have dominated possession and kept most of the action in the Costa Rican half. But much like against Mexico on Saturday, they have done little with their chances – something head coach Emma Hayes had wanted to see improved in this exhibition.
In the final pre-Olympic tune-up, neither side is playing with intensity. For that caliber of match, however, there is a decent level of physicality. Both teams will be mindful of injury in the second half and the conservative style should continue.
An overheated capacity crowd began the customary “USA!” chants at the 29:30 mark. Rodman hustled to earn a corner a couple minutes later. The game slowed down a bit from there around both sides of the hydration break before the U.S. had a couple of more chances with a Lindsey Horan header and a Sophia Smith strike that sailed high and to the right.
Trinity Rodman and Costa Rica goalkeeper Noelia Bermúdez are down after Rodman took a forearm from Bermúdez. Both players stayed on the ground for about three minutes. Rodman and Bermúdez both stayed in the game.
A run from Crystal Dunn led to the United States’ first real chance in the ninth minute on a corner. It was a solid look that messed with the timing of the Costa Rican defense but couldn’t find the foot or head of a U.S. player to capitalize.
In the 12th, a nifty move by Trinity Rodman created a chance on the right side. The Americans had another chance via a ball played in long but the offsides flag went up. Nobody marked Sophia Smith during another rush and Costa Rica goalkeeper Noelia Bermúdez had to make a save.
The Audi Field surface is certainly not considered among the best in the United States professional soccer circuit. A rugby event at the venue on Friday and D.C. United game Saturday had the field in particularly brutal shape. The ball skipped with an unorthodox bounce to it and patches are visible. It's another reason why team decision-makers were OK with giving Lavelle a breather.
In a last-minute change, Korbin Albert will replace midfielder Rose Lavelle in the USWNT lineup. Lavelle was removed due to leg tightness, the team said.
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff was in attendance at Audi Field and received a loud ovation as fireworks started going off and the starting lineups walked onto the field.
Casey Krueger and Trinity Rodman, along with reserves Croix Bethune and Hal Hershfelt, are members of the hometown Washington Spirit and are sure to receive some heightened ovations during introductions and throughout the match.
Defender Emily Fox hails from nearby Ashburn, Virginia.
TNT and truTV will broadcast the match in English and Universo will broadcast in Spanish. You can live stream the game in English on Max and in Spanish on Peacock .
Team captain Lindsey Horan will earn her 150th cap in Tuesday night's Olympics send-off match against Costa Rica. Horan is the 25th player in USWNT history to earn 150 or more senior team caps.
Trinity Rodman, meanwhile, is appearing in her 30th consecutive USWNT match, having played in every match for her national team since the start of 2023.
The USWNT's path through the Olympics starts in Group B, where it will face Zambia, Germany, and Australia. The women's soccer tournament essentially spans the entire Olympiad, with play beginning on July 25, a day before the Opening Ceremonies. Should the USWNT push through a difficult field to reach the gold medal game, its final contest at the Olympics will come on August 10, a day before the Closing Ceremonies.
Here's the full schedule (all time Eastern):
Thursday, July 25: USA vs. Zambia, 3 p.m.
Sunday, July 28: USA vs. Germany, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, July 31: USA vs. Australia, 1 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 3: Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Aug. 6: Semifinals
Friday, Aug. 9: Bronze medal match, 9 a.m.
Saturday, Aug. 10: Gold medal match, 11 a.m.
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