It was a dream night for Rose Lavelle, who made her return to the US women’s national team on Thursday in Commerce City, CO. The 30-year-old midfielder contributed a goal and assist in the USA's 4-0 win over Ireland in the first of three friendlies the USWNT will play over the international break.
Defender Avery Patterson opened the scoring – with an assist from Lavelle – for her first international goal, followed shortly by a second goal from midfielder Sam Coffey. Lavelle scored the team's third goal in the 53rd minute, then Alyssa Thompson added a fourth 10 minutes later.
Gotham FC's Lilly Reale made her USWNT debut, along with Claudia Dickey and Jordyn Bugg. Both Reale and Dickey were in the Starting XI, providing a glimpse of US women's head coach Emma Hayes's vision for a new US national team following the departure of several veteran players.
USA: 26 shots, 8 shots on target, 68% possession, 526 passes, 91% pass accuracy, 9 fouls, 7 corners
Ireland: 1 shot, 0 shots on target, 32% possession, 258 passes, 72% pass accuracy, 7 fouls, 0 corners
Goals:
• USA, Avery Patterson, 18'
• USA, Sam Coffey, 45+4'
• USA, Rose Lavelle, 53'
• USA, Alyssa Thompson, 63'
Attendance: 18,504
Rose Lavelle being Rose Lavelle
After nearly seven months out recovering from an ankle injury, Lavelle is officially back.
If her return to Gotham earlier this month wasn't convincing enough, last night's performance certainly was. In her 111th cap, the 30-year-old sent a right-footed assist to Patterson for a header into the net. She went on to score her 25th international goal after a straight-forward cross from Ally Sentnor met her right foot in a goal that gave the US a 3-0 lead.
Rose Lavelle scores for the USWNT | Courtesy NWSL
"It feels really great," Lavelle said in a pre-match press conference. "It was a long time away, which just made me miss it a lot. Really happy to be back with the girls, happy to be back in the environment."
Lavelle is the 19th player in USWNT history to attain more than 25 goals and 25 assists. She earned the Player of the Match title for her efforts last night, not only for her contribution to the scoreline, but for consistently moving the ball up the field in key moments to create scoring opportunities.
It's a moment of triumph for the Gotham midfielder as she continues to make her way back to regular play.
USWNT's youthful roster
There's something to be said about Hayes's vision for the USWNT squad.
It's noticeably younger. The team's starting lineup against Ireland had an average age of just 23.8 years, with seven of the 11 players under the age of 25. That's in stark contrast to national teams of the past. The intent is clear: Hayes is molding a team from the ground up, prioritizing youth and long-term development rather than a reliance on established veterans.
Under Hayes, 17 players received USWNT call-ups for the first time. It's the most debuts in a new manager's first 20 games since Anson Dorrance in the late 1980s.
"One thing about the US is that we always have young talented players coming up, and I think you're seeing that now," Lavelle said before the game. "I think we have a lot of really, really exciting players. Even though we don't have the bigger names that we're used to, I still think we have a lot of talented younger players who can impact the game the second they step on the field."
Avery Patterson's first goal for the USWNT | Courtesy USWNT
The goal is to create a pool of players capable of winning the 2027 World Cup by October. Hayes believes the team has "a lot of catching up to do" against the top players in the world with Champions League and Nations League experience. The introduction of the U-23 program was one of the ways Hayes is closing the gap. Another is having her younger players continuously face high-level opponents to "determine if [they] are world-class."
"I don't believe in perfection," Hayes said press conference prior to last night's friendly. "I think you can chase something like that knowing that rarely if ever it comes. What I do believe in is development. I know as a developer of people, there is not a quick route to it."
Hayes's experiment paid off in last night's win, but only time will tell if her youthful squad can sustain their momentum.
Three Gotham starters
Lavelle, Reale, and defender Emily Sonnett started for the team in last night's game. Reale joined Bugg, Dickey, Izzy Rodriguez, Sam Meza, and Angelina Anderson in earning their first caps. The 21-year-old made her debut with a position in the starting lineup as a left-back, notching her first international goal contribution by providing an assist to Alyssa Thompson with a pass up the left flank.
Alyssa Thompson scores on a Lilly Reale assist | Courtesy USWNT
Sonnett made her 57th international start out of 109 caps, playing as a defensive center for all 90 minutes, while Lavelle made her first start since December 2024. Sonnett and Lavelle were one of three players older than 25 in the starting lineup, bringing World Cup and Olympic experience to a team with an average of 31.9 caps.
"I have been one of the more experienced players now for a little bit," Lavelle said before the game. "I feel like I've obviously been in that position before where I was the newer, inexperienced player. I always say I had a lot of really really great older players to look up to to help usher me into the position where I now can be that for the younger players."
USWNT faces Ireland once more on Sunday, June 29 at 3 pm ET at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio (fuboTV, Max, Peacock, Universo), before playing Canada on Monday, July 2 at 7:30 pm ET at Audi Field in Washington DC (TNT, Universo).
