Current:Home > MarketsUSWNT's future is now as Big Three produce big results at Paris Olympics -SummitInvest
USWNT's future is now as Big Three produce big results at Paris Olympics
View
Date:2025-04-18 07:01:24
MARSEILLE, France – The future of the United States women’s national team, at least when it comes to scoring goals, rests with forwards Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman.
The Front Three. The Big Three. Whatever they’re called, if the trio plays like they did Sunday in the Americans' 4-1 victory over Germany, the signs are positive for the USWNT moving forward.
Through two games and six points at the Paris Olympics, Rodman (one), Smith (two) and Swanson (three) have accounted for six of the Americans’ seven goals.
“You can see, I’m not making many changes to the lineup, because they have to build connections,” said head coach Emma Hayes, who was much cheerier than after the Zambia match.
Hayes added: “I think the front three in general were dynamic as hell, really fun to watch. Most importantly they enjoyed themselves.”
2024 Olympic medals: Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.
Swanson scored twice in the opener against Zambia, a 3-0 victory. Then it was Smith’s turn to double up against Germany. Rodman has been the tone-setter. She scored the first goal against Zambia and she set up the opening tally against Germany when she drove with the ball to the right side of the box and her perfect cross found Smith’s boot.
The best part about that goal, Swanson said, was it proved they can take the work they put in on the training ground directly into their play – not necessarily an easy task as the players adjust to Hayes’ preferences.
Hayes said she’s still trying to figure out the tendencies of her front line and that the players are still learning about one another too. Smith, 23, and Swanson, 26, played for the same club while growing up and have chemistry on and off the field.
“Honestly, it’s kinda like sisters, but everyone, too,” Swanson said. “This group we have right now is special and we’re having a lot of fun.”
Smith left the loss against Zambia early after being banged up and felt fresh Sunday because of that decision.
“I love Soph. She’s my type of player,” Hayes said. “She gives to the team.”
The intricacies of playing the “nine,” or center forward, are coming to Smith, Hayes said. The coach enjoys working with her in that respect.
“Because she absorbs it,” Hayes said.
The on-field bond between Smith and Swanson went on hold last April when the latter tore her left patella tendon. A year passed before her return. But over the past few months, a healthy Swanson and Smith have revitalized their pitch connection. The 21-year-old Rodman fits right in.
“I feel like we’re clicking really well, really fast,” Smith said. “This is only like 70 percent of what we can do. The more games we get together, the more we’re going to be playing off each other and just learning each other’s tendencies. It’s so much fun playing with them.”
On Thursday, Rodman said they’ve been improving every match they play together. Doing it on the Olympic stage will only help, she said.
“I think our connections have been so good,” Rodman said after the Zambia win.
Rodman added that the nerves heading into her first Olympics, despite playing in last year’s World Cup, were real.
“It felt so good, to get that goal was amazing, to get it on that big of a stage was great,” Rodman said.
The respective skill sets of the three allow for all to play to their strengths.
Smith can threaten from behind, hold up the ball or hop off the line, Swanson said. Rodman excels in the one-on-one game. Swanson can play in the “pocket” and still also be effective behind the play.
“When you have all of that in your back pocket,” Swanson said, “it’s super special.”
Perhaps it was fitting then that Swanson’s goal came on a rebound of a shot from Smith.
“Because she’s Mal,” said Lynn Williams, who entered as a sub and scored the fourth goal with an assist from Swanson, in response to why the Chicago Red Stars forward has been off to a hot start in France. “I just think that there’s a belief within herself. There’s a belief within the team that we’re going to get the job done. But not just her. I think that collectively we are finding her in great spots and she is making amazing runs and touches and creating for herself but creating for others as well.
“She’s obviously an amazing player, and I think amazing players score amazing goals.”
veryGood! (8425)
Related
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Ambitious Climate Proposition Faces Fossil Fuel Backlash in El Paso
- Why the Language of Climate Change Matters
- Patrick Mahomes Is Throwing a Hail Mary to Fellow Parents of Toddlers
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Outrage over man who desecrated Quran prompts protesters to set Swedish Embassy in Iraq on fire
- Zayn Malik Reveals the Real Reason He Left One Direction
- What Denmark’s North Sea Coast Can Teach Us About the Virtues of Respecting the Planet
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- Indoor Pollutant Concentrations Are Significantly Lower in Homes Without a Gas Stove, Nonprofit Finds
Ranking
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- RHOM's Guerdy Abraira Proudly Debuts Shaved Head as She Begins Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
- Relentless Rise of Ocean Heat Content Drives Deadly Extremes
- Low Salt Marsh Habitats Release More Carbon in Response to Warming, a New Study Finds
- See you latte: Starbucks plans to cut 30% of its menu
- NOAA warns X-class solar flare could hit today, with smaller storms during the week. Here's what to know.
- Lawmakers Urge Biden Administration to Permanently Ban Rail Shipments of Liquefied Natural Gas
- Why Khloe Kardashian Forgives Tristan Thompson for Multiple Cheating Scandals
Recommendation
Small twin
In Dimock, a Pennsylvania Town Riven by Fracking, Concerns About Ties Between a Judge and a Gas Driller
Senator’s Bill Would Fine Texans for Multiple Environmental Complaints That Don’t Lead to Enforcement
Educator, Environmentalist, Union Leader, Senator, Paul Pinsky Now Gets to Turn His Climate Ideals Into Action
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
As Enforcement Falls Short, Many Worry That Companies Are Flouting New Mexico’s Landmark Gas Flaring Rules
In a Famed Game Park Near the Foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Animals Are Giving Up
Road Salts Wash Into Mississippi River, Damaging Ecosystems and Pipes