This is not last year's USWNT - Dunn and Yohannes' goals prove it (2024)

New coach, new energy, new players. This is not the same U.S. women’s national team that bowed out of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in the round of 16 last summer. New head coach Emma Hayes has made that clear. Even with nine changes to the starting line-up from Saturday’s win over South Korea in Denver, the U.S. found its groove again on Tuesday, defeating the same opponent 3-0 in Minnesota.

Whether it was moving Crystal Dunn to the attack, a position she hadn’t played in for the U.S. since 2017, or giving 16-year-old Lily Yohannes her first cap, Hayes has shown, in two games, that the team is ready for a fresh start. And the changes are paying off. Dunn and Yohannes both scored on Tuesday along with forward Sophia Smith, who added a physics-defying goal.

Here are the key takeaways from the last USWNT game before Hayes confirms her 18-player roster for the Paris Olympics.

Lily Yohannes scores in USWNT debut

While a friendly appearance doesn’t cap-tie a player to a nation, seeing Yohannes enter the game in the 72nd minute was another step in the team’s ongoing post-World Cup refresh. The 16-year-old was given the freedom to drift off of midfielder Sam Coffey, looking to play in the wingers, which she was comfortable doing right off the bat. At points, she was also asked to navigate around the venerable Ji So-yun, a big ask for a first assignment, but an important one that demonstrated both a level of trust and a level of willingness to let Yohannes fly or fall on her own merits.

Yohannes picked “fly” by scoring her first goal, a calmly-placed shot that rolled underneath goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi. At 16 years and 358 days old, she became the third-youngest goalscorer in USWNT history as she made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute.

“Lily is a baller. From the day she came into camp, she was just making passes that you don’t see a 16-year-old make,” Smith said after the game. “You don’t even see veteran players make these passes. She’s confident, she’s composed. We knew she was going to get into this game hopefully, and she came in and didn’t miss a beat. She looked like a natural out there, and then to get a goal on top of that is amazing and so well deserved.”

After the goal, Yohannes ran to the corner to celebrate with her team, including many of the players on the bench.

“I think that made it just that much more special,” Yohannes said. “I just took off to the corner and I see all of them running at me. And yeah, just super, super special and so grateful. It’s a great team.”

A DREAM DEBUT FOR LILY!!!!#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/RWlOYpLSjj

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 5, 2024

Fun fact: the No. 1 movie the day Yohannes was born was Ocean’s 13.

— Steph Yang

Crystal Dunn belongs in the attack

USWNT fans have been begging to see Dunn play in a more advanced role than the program’s makeshift left back. On Tuesday, it only took 13 minutes for her to validate Hayes’ trust in her as a forward.

As rain fell on the Allianz Field pitch, it took a bit for the United States to find its rhythm. Sustained spells of possession were seldom rewarded with a dangerous final ball, instead fizzling out at the edge of the eighteen-yard box. A South Korea turnover in their own attacking half sprung a counterattack. Alex Morgan played facilitator, operating in the central channel with enough pace to not lose the moment while affording her teammates time to rush upfield.

The payoff was immediate. Morgan rewarded a lung-busting run up the left by Jenna Nighswonger with a well-weighted pass, which the Gotham FC left back turned into a dangerous cross just in front of goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi. The ball skirted past a few sliding players on both teams, only to find Dunn at the far post for a cooly-taken finish. It was her 25th goal for the USWNT and her first in 75 caps —a symptom of playing along the backline for years.

Crystal Dunn gets us started in Minnesota! #USWNT x @vw pic.twitter.com/gcpZ5zAF1C

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 5, 2024

Alas, the second half showed that Dunn isn’t quite finished playing as a left back. She returned to the role when Trinity Rodman entered in the 61st minute in place of Nighswonger. Still, that seems like a decision prioritizing in-moment logistics over the long-term plan — and if that plan sees Dunn play further up the field, the USWNT could benefit.

— Jeff Rueter

A formidable forward line

For the second straight friendly, Hayes made numerous changes just after the 60th minute. In unison, she brought on Mallory Swanson on the left, Smith through the middle, and Trinity Rodman on the right. It’s a small sample size to work off of, but this feels like Hayes’ preferred attacking trio — and could be for the foreseeable future.

In the 67th minute, Rodman pushed the tempo on a direct attack, working from the wing to the half-space before lightly prodding the ball toward Swanson, who weaved from the left into the central third. Swanson deftly dinked the ball beyond her with a backheel into Smith’s path. Smith rounded the keeper and finished the sequence with a goal from the tightest of angles. The chemistry between this trio is beginning to seem downright intuitive, a dangerous prospect for any potential opponent.

IMMEDIATE IMPACT FROM TRIN, MAL, AND SOPH!!!!!#USWNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/YlTpdlGVgX

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 5, 2024

Swanson, in particular, has been able to regain first-choice standing swiftly. Her quality has never been in doubt, even as previous coaches worked to determine her best long-term role. However, it’s been an arduous road back from the patellar tendon tear that ruled her out of the World Cup. She could have hardly done more to impress Hayes in her first two performances, scoring a brace in the first game and dishing an assist in each of the two friendlies.

“Mal like literally makes it so easy,” midfielder Rose Lavelle said, reflecting on assisting Swanson’s second goal on Saturday. “Whenever I see her peeling out that way, I’m like, she always times it so perfectly, I don’t really have to think much because her run is so good that I don’t feel like I even have to do anything hard.”

Of course, the goal was Smith’s to convert on Tuesday.

This year has seen the striker remind opponents and fans why she entered last summer’s World Cup to so much fanfare. She was able to shake off that tournament’s disappointment with a gutsy performance against Canada in the W Gold Cup and has gone from strength to strength in each ensuing camp.

Encouragingly for her, she’s been able to log more minutes at her natural striker role than the left wing she patrolled under Vlatko Andonovski. Her line-leading work was vital to the opening goal on Saturday, and she expertly read the sequence on the second goal to round the goalkeeper without knocking the ball too far to set up her own shot. Smith will always score on the break when she’s at her best, but it’s the more thankless hold-up work that’s helped her stay centrally more often rather than being a wide player — a refining skillset that works nicely in combination with Swanson and Rodman.

— Jeff Rueter

(Photo: Brad Smith/Getty Images for USSF)