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How the USWNT depth chart is adjusting to injuries ahead of the World Cup – Equalizer Soccer

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Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

Only eight weeks remain until the first match of the 2023 World Cup kicks off, but U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski is still facing some uncertainty regarding his World Cup roster.

On Tuesday, forward Catarina Macario announced that she has removed herself from World Cup selection due to the setbacks she’s faced recovering from the ACL tear she suffered last June. Despite hopes that she would rehab in time for the tournament, she has yet to take the field competitively in almost a year. Tuesday also brought the news that midfielder Rose Lavelle might not get any club minutes ahead of the World Cup, thanks to a setback in her recovery from an unspecified knee injury.

These two injuries are worrying enough, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg in terms of injuries the team has faced over the past couple of years. Players are out or of a questionable fitness level across all lines, but with the United States talent pool as deep as it is, there are plenty of choices Andonovski can make to round out the squad.

It’ll be another month or so before the roster is revealed, but here’s a rundown of the biggest challenges the team is facing and what solutions they may find.

Worrying trends

Injuries are an unfortunate fact of life for most professional athletes. What’s been so concerning these past couple of years is the sheer number and severity of the injuries.

In addition to Macario, Mallory Swanson is also out after tearing her patellar tendon this past April. She had been in phenomenal form up until her injury and many people expected her to lead the attack in Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, midfielder Sam Mewis, forward Christen Press and defender Abby Dahlkemper were all key parts of the 2019 World Cup team and all haven’t seen competitive minutes since last year after all facing serious injuries.

Even among players that are shoo-ins, there are questions about fitness. In addition to Lavelle, captain Becky Sauerbrunn has been out with a foot injury for the past few weeks. And although Julie Ertz is back and looking good after more than a year away from the field, we’ve hardly been given a big enough sample size to really gauge her form. And, like Lavelle and Sauerbrunn, she’s also been marked as questionable thanks to what was reported as a thigh injury.

Of course, it’s very possible Lavelle, Sauerbrunn and Ertz are on minutes management specifically to keep them fresh for the World Cup. But the fact three key players need such careful management isn’t exactly confidence-inspiring amidst all the other injuries – especially with so many bubble players also in questionable form. For example, defenders Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger have had a rough time finding their form after returning from injury. Lindsey Horan hasn’t quite been herself either after rehabbing from a lingering knee issue. Taylor Kornieck has just returned from an extended abdominal injury and Midge Purce has missed games with a hip injury. Although not currently injured, Kelley O’Hara and Megan Rapinoe have been increasingly injury-prone in recent years.


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The last time the United States previously faced even close to this many injuries was when Abby Wambach, Leslie Osborne and Cat Whitehill all missed the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Wambach broke her leg in a friendly against Brazil while Osborne and Whitehill both suffered ACL tears. Despite a less-than-perfect performance in the final against Brazil, the U.S. did in fact go home with Olympic gold that year off a game-winning goal from budding star Amy Rodriguez in her first major tournament.

Likewise, Andonovski is going to have to look for up-and-coming young talents to be the difference-makers during the World Cup as the U.S. looks to defend its title and compete for a third consecutive championship. Luckily for him, there are quite a few to choose from.

Exploring the depth

Although it seemed unlikely at the beginning of this year, it is increasingly likely that Angel City forward and teenage phenom Alyssa Thompson has worked her way onto the World Cup roster. She’s the closest the United States has to a replacement for Swanson which is evidenced by her being immediately called up to finish the second of the pair of friendlies against Ireland after Swanson was injured during the first leg. Whether Thompson gets significant minutes with players like Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith ahead of her is yet to be seen, but there’s no question she’s a player the team will want to build around in the future.

Although not a young up-and-comer, it is as good as certain that Lynn Williams will be on her way to her first World Cup this July. After returning from her own major injury in 2022, she’s come back in excellent form and has five goals in eight games with Gotham. Although the loss of Swanson and Macario will be felt acutely, an attack featuring Smith, Morgan, Thompson, Rodman and Williams is hardly something to sneeze at. Ashley Hatch and Megan Rapinoe are also good bets to step in and round out the group. Although Hatch has been getting called up to the senior team since 2016, this will be her first major tournament, should she get the call from Andonovski.

In terms of midfield depth, both Sam Coffey and Taylor Kornieck have received senior call-ups, although they’ve missed the most recent camps. Coffey has been on a hot streak with the Portland Thorns and notched two assists last week against the Chicago Red Stars. Kornieck is just coming back from injury, but offers versatility across the line, and at 6’1″ she’s the tallest field player in program history which gives her a unique angle no other player can match.

There’s also been increasing noise around whether versatile midfielder Savannah DeMelo is deserving of a call-up to the national team. The Racing Louisville player has been on fire lately and has scored four goals and notched an assist in her last five appearances. With all the questions surrounding the midfield, could DeMelo have a shot at making the roster? Possibly, but Andonovski has said in the past he wants to bring players with senior team experience, and DeMelo, unfortunately, remains uncapped. Only once in United States history has a player with no caps made a World Cup roster – Shannon Boxx in 2003 – so it seems unlikely, but if Lavelle faces an even more severe setback or another player drops in form significantly, DeMelo may find herself on the plane to Australia and New Zealand.

Injuries everywhere

While it’s certainly far from a positive development, the one thing the United States has going for it in terms of injuries is that they’re far from alone in losing key players. Almost every single top team has lost at least one important player, most often to ACL tears. To name just a few, Canada’s Janine Beckie tore hers in the NWSL preseason, England’s Leah Williamson ruptured hers in April, and Dutch star Vivienne Miedema tore hers in November. And just yesterday, it was announced that France’s Delphine Cascarino ruptured her ACL as well. Of these players, only Miedema has a shot at making the World Cup roster, but even if she does, there’s no guarantee she’ll be in top form.

ACL tears are nothing new in women’s sports but as schedules get denser and play becomes more physical and demanding, they seem to be happening more often. While more needs to be done to prevent these injuries in the future, in the meantime, they’ll almost certainly impact how this World Cup ultimately plays out as coaches rework their rosters to accommodate missing players. That’s the task ahead of Andonovski as he’s tasked with finalizing the 23-player roster for the United States and seeing if he can put together another championship squad despite some key pieces missing.





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How the USWNT will operate with Emma Hayes not arriving until May – Equalizer Soccer

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(Photo Credit Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)

When Twila Kilgore was completing her U.S. Soccer Pro License — the top coaching license in the country — she was tasked with studying another coach for the full year. She decided to study Emma Hayes, the Chelsea women’s head coach who had built the team into England’s gold-standard and a consistent contender in Europe.

Two years later, Kilgore is now working with Hayes. Kilgore’s familiarity with Hayes could come in handy as the United States women’s natoinal team navigates an uncertain time.

Kilgore is the interim U.S. head coach tasked with setting up the team for the impending arrival of Hayes as head coach in May, at which point Kilgore will become a full-time assistant on Hayes’ staff. How it is all going to work over the next six months is still a work in progress.

Hayes is still the full-time coach of Chelsea through the end of the European season in May, and she insisted this week that she is not watching U.S. players in her spare time. She’s 100% focused on Chelsea, she said. But Hayes is at least in contact with Kilgore about the selection of U.S. rosters.

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Tigres, América punch ticket to Gran Final – Equalizer Soccer

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The final two are set for the Liga MX Femenil 2023 Apertura Gran Final.

Tigres and Club América will compete in the two-legged final on Friday, Nov. 24, and Monday, Nov. 27. Both matches are slated to begin at 9 a.m. The matches will air on ViX+.

This is Tigres’ eighth trip to the Gran Final, winning five titles. Meanwhile, Club América are the reigning champions, defeating Pachuca in the spring Clausura. América has competed in three finals, winning two — both against Pachuca.

Their lone final loss was to Club Tigres in the 2022 Apertura.

To punch their ticket to the final, Tigres took down C.F. Monterrey, while América took down Chivas de Guadalajara. Tigres won on a more controversial goal, while América and Chivas had a seven-goal affair between two legs. Take a look and catch up on what happened before this weekend’s Gran Final.

Tigres 1, Monterrey 0

After a scoreless first leg match on Rayadas’ home field, the teams met up at El Volcán on Monday night. Stephany Mayor scored the game-winning goal in the 81st minute, but not without controversy.

Tigres got the ball in the attacking half, and crossed the ball over to Lizbeth Ovalle. The veteran midfielder headed the ball down, but Pamela Tajonar blocked the shot out, instead of grabbing the ball. Maricarmen Reyes raced to gather the ball up quickly, slide tackling into a Monterrey player.

The referee whistled to play on, giving Tigres new life. The ball found its way to Mayor in front of goal and she smacked it on the valley past Tajonar. Rayadas played holler at the referee but a decision had been made to keep the goal.

Monterrey could not find the back of the net in the last few minutes. Tigres, on the other hand, advanced to their ninth Gran Final. Keeping a clean sheet against Monterrey isn’t easy, when facing off against the likes of Christina Burkenroad, Myra Delgadillo and Jermaine Seoposenwe. Tigres needs more lethal play from Reyes and Ovalle, their regular-season standouts. But, the defense can be satisfied with two clean sheets.

Club América 4, Chivas 3

Four different players found the back of the net for Club América in their two legs against Chivas. Club América didn’t dominate on the defensive side of the ball — letting three goals past them — but stunned offensively.

Katty Martínez and Alison González scored in the first leg, while Kiana Palacios and Andrea Pereira scored in Leg 2. To kick things off, Martínez scored off a header during the run of play, with midfielder Angelique Saldivar providing the assist. Meanwhile, González — whose time with América has been riddled with injuries — scored after winning a ball on a breakaway and then taking on Chivas goalkeeper Blanca Félix, slipping the ball through her legs.

At home for Leg 2, América were able to keep Alicia Cervantes off the score sheet — after she scored two goals in Leg 1. However, Chivas got on the board first thanks to Casandra Montero. The home field advantage propelled América, though, as Palacios and Pereira scored within five minutes of each other.

In the 75th minute, Palacios put a hard strike into the top of the goal, just narrowly sneaking it underneath the crossbar. In the 79th minute, Pereira picked up a loose ball off a corner kick and sent it, through traffic, into the low far corner of the net.

Club América were able to hold off Cervantes and company for the last 10 minutes and stoppage time, punching their ticket to a second-straight Gran Final.





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How Rose Lavelle continues to stun and cut opponents – Equalizer Soccer

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© Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The OL Reign lost the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League Championship game to Gotham FC, so Rose Lavelle’s display could not be described as a match-winning performance. It was, however, a match-stealing performance. There was a back-heel, a deft chip, an outside-the-boot pass, all to cut open Gotham’s defense. There were shoulder drops, hip swerves, sudden accelerations of tempo or changes of direction, all to leave her markers dumbfounded. 

This was classic Lavelle. And this was a one-woman rampage against modern soccer.

Numbers matter now more than ever. There was a time, not so long ago, when those who counted the actions performed during soccer games were branded as outsiders. These were strange folk who did not belong in a sport that hated thinking, and they had to fight to prove their worth. Eventually, they did. Now, fairly and squarely, data analysis is inside soccer. And yet, data doesn’t tell the whole story, particularly when we talk about a player like Lavelle.

This has been a tough year for the 28-year-old, in many ways mirroring her career as a whole. She endured spells out with injury either side of the World Cup, limiting her to four NWSL regular season appearances, one assist, zero goals. Still, she was pivotal to the Reign’s chances in the postseason, all but defining the Championship game. The numbers are reductive. Lavelle can unlock games, and get fans out of their seats. Watching her is a feeling, not a fact or figure.

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