With two matches of a three-match camp in the books, the USWNT now faces New Zealand in Kansas City, Mo. This fall camp came after a long hiatus with a 113-day gap separating the July 2 win vs. Canada from this week’s first match against Portugal on Oct. 23. On Oct. 23, the U.S. scored early with a beautiful strike from Rose Lavelle in the first match but couldn’t shake all the rust off and ultimately fell 2-1 to the European side. Back to it on Sunday, the USWNT — fielding a young and inexperienced team that averaged 21.7 years old and 19.2 caps per player at the start of the match — marched into East Hartford, Conn. and buried goals early and late to beat Portugal, 3-1. Portugal took just one shot on goal in the second match, and it went into the net. On Oct. 26, Olivia Moultrie struck in the first minute and the 10th, her second, enabling the USA to take the lead after the third Portugal header goal of the two-game series. From then on, the U.S. held the line until the end of the match and, in the 82nd minute, Sam Coffey called game with a sublime finish off a corner from Ally Sentnor.
The USWNT now holds a 9W-3L-0D record on the year and a 11W-1L-1D record against Portugal. The USA will finish the three-game set with a match against New Zealand in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in the team’s first-ever match at CPKC Stadium (8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, on TNT, truTV and HBO Max in English, on Universo in Spanish and on the radio on Westwood One Sports).
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals)
October Matches vs. Portugal & New Zealand
GOALKEEPERS (3): Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 3) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 4), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United, ENG; 4)
DEFENDERS (8): Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC; 3/0), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG; 69/1), Eva Gaetino (Paris St-Germain, FRA; 1) Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 9/0), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash; 8/1), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; 3/0), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 5/0), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC; 112/2), Kennedy Wesley (San Diego Wave; 0/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 40/5), Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 168/38), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; 8/1), Lo’eau LaBonta (Kansas City Current; 3/0), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC; 114/26), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 10/4), Jaedyn Shaw (Gotham FC; 28/8), Lily Yohannes (OL Lyonnes, FRA; 10/1)
FORWARDS (6): Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current; 9/1), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG; 25/11), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash; 14/2), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville; 10/1), Ally Sentnor (Kansas City Current; 13/4), Alyssa Thompson (Chelsea FC, ENG; 24/3)
24 DEBUTS IN 27 GAMES
In the last FIFA window, Emma Hayes gave five players their first caps – goalkeeper Claudia Dickey, defenders Jordyn Bugg, Lilly Reale and Izzy Rodriguez and midfielder Sam Meza. All but Rodriguez and Meza are back on this roster, which features just one first-time call-up in Kennedy Wesley. Rodriguez and Meza, who started on June 29 vs. Ireland, became the 23rd and 24th players to debut under Hayes in her 27 games at the helm, a remarkable ratio for the Olympic champion head coach. Hayes has given 28 total players their first USWNT call-ups, but she also gave a first cap to a player who did not get a first call-up under her, as Lily Yohannes earned her first call-up under former interim head coach Twila Kilgore but did not see action under Kilgore. The 24 players who have earned their first USWNT caps under Emma Hayes are: Sam Staab, Lily Yohannes, Croix Bethune, Yazmeen Ryan, Hal Hershfelt, Emily Sams, Emma Sears, Mandy McGlynn, Alyssa Malonson, Eva Gaetino, Ally Sentnor, Tara McKeown, Michelle Cooper, Gisele Thompson, Claire Hutton, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Avery Patterson, Lo'eau LaBonta, Kerry Abello, Claudia Dickey, Lilly Reale, Jordyn Bugg, Sam Meza and Izzy Rodriguez.
ONE MORE FOR THE ROSTER
Defender Eva Gaetino, who was participating in U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Training Camp this week outside of Philadelphia, has been called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team roster and joined the U.S. camp ahead of the final two matches of the FIFA window. After Trinity Rodman’s withdrawal from the October camp roster due to injury, the USWNT entered camp with 25 players. Confident in her players at both the senior and U-23 rosters, and once again emphasizing the importance of the U-23 program, Hayes looked to the oldest of the USA’s Youth National Teams to fill the 26th spot. With the U-23s training at the same facility as the USWNT, a call-up could easily be made. With all this in mind, Hayes attended U-23 trainings to assess the players, and, with all of her U-23 teammates looking on, informed Gaetino after one of those trainings that she would be joining the senior team for the rest of camp. The 22-year-old Michigan native was with the senior team for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, but did not see action, and then earned her first and only cap in a 90-minute performance against Argentina on Oct. 30, 2024 — helping the U.S. squad to a 3-0 win that night. The 5-foot-11 central defender is in her second full season, with Paris Saint-Germain in France’s Première Ligue after a banner college career at Notre Dame.
THE EMMA FILE
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has compiled a record of 22W-3L-2D through her first 27 matches at the helm of the USWNT and guided the USA to five consecutive shutouts before seeing that streak end against Germany in the group stage of the Olympics. It was the second-longest shutout streak to open the tenure of any full-time USWNT head coach, trailing only the nine consecutive shutouts that opened the Greg Ryan era. Ater the 3-0 opening game win over Zambia at the Olympics, Hayes became the first USWNT head coach to win their first major tournament match by a margin of three or more goals and joined Anson Dorrance as the only head coaches in USWNT history to win their first six matches at a major tournament. Dorrance won all six games with the USWNT at the 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Hayes joins three other USWNT head coaches of the last eight in USWNT history who won their first major competition (Anson Dorrance – 1991 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Pia Sundhage – 2008 Olympics, Jill Ellis – 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup). The gold medal victory in Paris came in Hayes’ 10th match at the helm of the USWNT, the fewest matches before winning a World Cup or Olympics by any head coach in women’s soccer history. Hayes picked up her first world honor as head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team when she won the Ballon d’Or as the 2024 Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year. France Football, the top soccer magazine in France and one of the most reputable in Europe, has been awarding the Ballon d’Or to men’s players since 1956 and to women’s players since 2018, but 2024 was the first year it has given out awards to coaches of men’s and women’s soccer. Hayes then followed that up by winning The Best FIFA Women’s Coach award. Hayes won that award in 2021 and finished second to England head coach Sarina Wiegman in 2023.
SERIES HISTORY – USA vs. NEW ZEALAND
Thursday’s matchup will be the 22nd meeting all-time between the two teams. The U.S. leads the matchup record 19W-1L-1D and a 75-goal gap between the two teams. The most recent meetings between the teams came in January of 2023 when the USA visited New Zealand before the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The USA won both matches handily, 4-0 in Wellington and 5-0 in Auckland. Of the players who scored those nine goals over those two games, only Rose Lavelle, who scored twice in Auckland (while wearing the captain’s armband) is on this roster.
Before those matches, the USA and New Zealand met most recently about 11 months before on Feb. 20, 2022, on the second matchday of the SheBelieves Cup in Carson, Calif. The USA won 5-0 in a match that featured a highly unusual and painful to watch three own goals from one player – defender Meikayla Moore who currently plays for Calgary Wild FC in Canada – along with scores from Ashley Hatch and Mallory Pugh.
The USA and New Zealand met in four consecutive Olympic Games: 2020, 2016, 2012, and 2008. New Zealand and the USA met in the middle game of group play at the delayed 2020 Olympics with the Americans rolling to a 6-1 victory as Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan, Christen Press and Alex Morgan scored while the USA forced the Football Ferns into two own goals. The teams also met in the opening game of the group stage match at the 2016 Olympics, the quarterfinal of the 2012 Olympics and in group play at the 2008 Olympics. In Brazil, the USA picked up a 2-0 win behind first-half goals from Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan. In England, the USA won 2-0 on goals from Abby Wambach and Sydney Leroux. In China, the USA won 4-0 on goals from Heather O’Reilly, Amy Rodriguez, Lindsey Tarpley and Angela Hucles. O’Reilly scored 40 seconds into the match which was the fastest goal in Olympic history until Canada’s Janine Beckie scored 20 seconds into the 2016 Olympic match against Australia.
USWNT TEAM & ROSTER NOTES
- Since the start of 2020, the USWNT has played 71 matches in the United States and 32 outside the country. The USA is 61W-5L-6D in domestic matches and has outscored the opposition 219-25 (+194) at home. Outside the United States, the USWNT is 20W-4L-8D with a 62-20 goal margin (+42).
- Since its inception in 1985, the USWNT has compiled a record of 602 wins, 75 losses and 91 ties. Over the history of the program, the USA has gone 356W-25L-37D (90% winning percentage) at home, 59W-20L-16D away (71%) and 187W-30L-38D (81%) on neutral ground. The USA’s overall winning percentage of 84% is the best all-time of any international sports team in history. Of the USA’s 75 losses, 12 (16%) came at the Algarve Cup in Portugal, long one of the world’s most competitive tournaments but one in which the USA no longer competes.
- Since the end of the 2015 World Cup, the U.S. has played 198 matches with a 161W-14L-23D record.
- Thirty-four of the USA’s 50 goals in 2024 (68%) were scored or assisted by a player under 25.
- In 2025, of the USA’s combined 30 goals and 23 assists this year, 47% involved a player under 25.
- Goals scored by players under 25:
- 4 by 21-year-old Ally Sentnor
- 2 by 20-year-old Alyssa Thompson
- 2 by 20-year-old Olivia Moultrie
- 1 by 22-year-old Michelle Cooper
- 1 by 22-year-old Trinity Rodman
- 1 by 23-year-old Avery Patterson
- 1 by 19-year-old Claire Hutton
- Assists by players under 25:
- 3 from Sentnor
- 2 from Thompson
- 2 from 20-year-old Jaedyn Shaw
- 1 from Cooper
- 1 from 24-year-old Emma Sears
- 1 from 19-year-old Olivia Moultrie
- 1 from 19-year-old Claire Hutton
- 1 from 21-year-old Lilly Reale
- 1 from 23-year-old Avery Patterson
- Lindsey Heaps and Rose Lavelle are the leading scorers on this roster with 38 and 26 career goals, respectively. Catarina Macario (11) and Jadeyn Shaw (8) have the next most international goals. No one else has more than four, which is the career total for Sam Coffey and Ally Sentnor.
- Lavelle now sits even at 26 goals and 26 assists after Oct. 23rd’s match. Her goal is the 21st USWNT goal in under a minute of play. Coming in at 33 seconds, it’s the 7th fastest on record.
- Moultrie’s goal on Oct. 26 was the 22nd USWNT goal scored in the first minute.
- Olivia Moultrie went on to score a brace in the Oct. 26 match. Her two goals came in the 1st and 10th minute and the second featured an assist from Jaedyn Shaw. This is Moultrie’s second international brace, the first of which she achieved on Feb. 20 vs. Dominican Republic.
- Shaw and Ally Sentnor both made their third international assists on Oct. 26. Shaw for Moultrie in the 10th minute and Sentnor for Coffey in the 82nd minute.
- The late goal was Coffey’s fourth in three camps. She had one against China PR on May 31, one against Ireland on June 26, another vs. Canada on July 2 during the summer window and one in this afternoon’s match.
- Ally Sentnor had a night to remember on June 3 vs. Jamaica, scoring twice in what was her fourth career start. She had an excellent 2025 SheBelieves Cup, scoring twice – most of any player – on two terrific finishes, giving her two goals in her first two starts and first five caps.
- Alyssa Thompson, who scored five goals – with one assist – in a five-game span at the end of the 2024 NWSL season, had six goals and two assists for Angel City FC before her high-profile transfer to Chelsea FC. She was the second youngest player in league history to reach 20 goal contributions, after current USWNT teammate Olivia Moultrie. Thompson is off to a fine start in England, having earned her first goal and assist on Oct. 15 in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
- Eight players on the roster have senior world championship experience, led by Heaps, Lavelle and Sonnett, but three of those eight, Jaedyn Shaw, Alyssa Thompson and Cat Macario barely played or did not play on their respective Olympic Teams. Sam Coffey and Emily Fox are the others, both of whom played major roles in the 2024 Olympic gold medal run.
- There are three teenagers in training camp in Jordyn Bugg and Claire Hutton who are both 19, and Lily Yohannes who at 18 years and three months old is the youngest player on the roster. Yohannes is the first player born in 2007 to be called up to the USWNT. Olivia Moultrie turned 20 on Sept. 17. The oldest player is Emily Sonnett, who turns 32 in late November.
- On June 1, 2024, Macario made her first start for the USWNT in 781 days, having started in her April 12, 2022, appearance. Macario played 60 minutes in the win over Korea Republic and assisted Tierna Davidson’s goal in the first half, which marked her third career assist and first in 829 days, last tallying an assist (along with two goals) against Iceland in the SheBelieves Cup finale on February 23, 2022.
- For the USA, Alyssa Thompson scored in back-to-back games for the first time her career when she again found the fourth and final goal against Ireland on June 29, giving her three for her young career. Thompson has four goals and two assists in 13 caps.
- Emma Sears got her first call-up to a U.S. National Team at any level for the USA’s October 2024 friendlies. She leads Racing Louisville with 10 goals, most of any American in the NWSL, and to the brink of its first-ever playoff berth.
- Lindsey Heaps was given the last FIFA window off to rest after a long European season. A consistent presence in the midfield and regular captain for the USWNT, Heaps made her USWNT debut in 2013 and has tallied at least one goal for the USA every year since 2015, the longest such streak by any player currently on the team. She is the seventh player in USWNT history to score in at least 10 consecutive calendar years, along with Mia Hamm (15 from 1990—2004), Abby Wambach (14 from 2002—15), Carli Lloyd (12 from 2010—21), Tiffeny Milbrett (12 from 1992—2003), Shannon Boxx (11 from 2003—13) and Alex Morgan (10 from 2010-19).
- Rose Lavelle returned to the USWNT roster for the first time in 2025 during the last FIFA window and had a tremendous match on June 26 vs. Ireland, scoring a goal and earning an assist. After a planned rest on June 29th and a cameo in her hometown of Cincinnati, for the final five minutes, much to the delight of the crowd which welcomed her home with a huge roar; she picked up an assist via a corner kick on Claire Hutton’s first senior international goal vs Canada on July 2.
- On Nov. 11, 2024, 17-year-old Lily Yohannes announced that she was committing her international future to the United States. At that time, the USA was her only option for international soccer, but had she received a passport from the Netherlands, where she has lived since the age of 10, she would have been able to represent the Dutch. This is her sixth senior team call-up. She earned her first call-up for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup and became the youngest player to be called up for a full National Team camp since 16-year-old Sophia Smith was called up in April 2017 for the training camp prior to matches against Russia in Texas.
- At age 32, Lo’eau LaBonta gets her second USWNT call-up. The Kansas City Current veteran, captain and midfield anchor became the oldest player to debut for the USWNT program in its 40-year history when she came on in the 70th minute vs. China PR on May 31.
- 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year for the Orlando Pride, Emily Sams earned her first USWNT call-up as a training player for the July 2024 friendlies against Mexico and Costa Rica after a standout season with the Pride and was added as an alternate to the Olympic roster following Cat Macario’s injury.
- Mandy McGlynn made her first start and earned her first cap on Oct. 30, 2024, vs. Argentina, becoming the ninth GK in USWNT history to debut with a clean sheet. Phallon Tullis-Joyce became the 10th GK to earn a shutout in her first cap and earned it, making six saves on April 5 vs. Brazil Claudia Dickey joined that group in her first cap against Ireland June 26. Before them, the three most recent GKs to achieve that feat were Aubrey Kingsbury in 2022, Casey Murphy in 2021 and Alyssa Naeher in 2014.
IN FOCUS: NEW ZEALAND
FIFA World Ranking: 33
World Cup Appearances: 1991, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023
Best World Cup Finish: Group Stage
Record vs. USA: 1W-1D-19L (GF: 7; GA: 82)
Head Coach: Michael Mayne (NZL)
NEW ZEALAND WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (3): 21-Victoria Esson (Wellington Phoenix FC), 37-Alina Santos (University of Denver, USA)
Defenders (9): 2-Kate Taylor (Dijon FCO, FRA), 3-Claudia Bunge (Melbourne Victory, AUS), 5-Meikayla Moore (Calgary Wild FC, CAN), 14-Katie Bowen (Inter Milan, ITA), 15-Grace Neville (Ipswich Town, ENG), 19-Elizabeth Anton (Kolbotn IL, NOR), 25-Mackenzie Barry (Wellington Phoenix FC), 27-Michaela Foster (Durham FC, ENG), 28-Lara Wall (Wellington Phoenix FC), 39-Rebecca Lake (Vancouver United, CAN)
Midfielders (7): 10-Annalie Longo (Aukland United), 22-Hannah Blake (Durham FC, ENG), 26-Maya Hahn (FC Viktoria Berlin, GER), 29-Katie Kitching (Sunderland FC, ENG), 30-Manaia Elliot (Wellington Phoenix FC), 32-Emma Pijenburg (Feyernoord Rotterdam, NED), 38-Deven Jackson (Melbourne City FC, AUS)
Forwards (5): 9-Milly Clegg (Halifax Tides FC, CAN), 16-Jacqui Hand (Kolbotn IL, NOR), 17-Gabi Rennie (Eskilstuna United DFF, SWE), 20-Indiah-Paige Riley (Crystal Palace, ENG), 34-Kelli Brown (Newcastle Jets, AUS)
NEW ZEALAND FAST FACTS
- New Zealand is coming off two losses to Mexico at the start of its North American tour, 1-0 in Mexico City and 2-0 in Ciudad Juarez.
- New Zealand finished fourth in the 2022 SheBelieves Cup – its only SBC appearance -- with two losses (including a narrow 1-0 setback to Iceland) and a 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic, which also held the USA to a 0-0 tie.
- The Football Ferns have qualified for every world championship since the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup. New Zealand made a fifth consecutive appearance at the Olympics last summer, having qualified for every Olympic Games since its debut in 2008.
- New Zealand has been in five consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cups but has never gotten out of the group.
- U.S. Soccer will help honor retiring former New Zealand captain Ali Riley before the match. The former Angel City FC captain, Los Angeles native, former Stanford star and long-time professional player in WPS, NWSL, Sweden, England and Germany (not in that order!), announced her retirement at the end of September.
- Lacking a strong domestic league, almost the entirety of NZL’s roster plays club soccer outside the country in Australia, the USA, England, the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and Sweden.
- The Wellington Phoenix, which plays in the Australia W-League, went professional a few years ago and four players on this roster play there.
- Nine players on the New Zealand roster played college soccer in the U.S.: Katie Bowen (UNC), Alina Santos (University of Denver), Michaela Foster (University of San Diego), Hannah Blake (University of Michigan), Maya Hahn (University of Oregon), Katie Kitching (University of South Florida), Deven Jackson (Western Kentucky), Jacqui Hand (Colorado College), Gabi Rennie (University of Indiana and Arizona State).
- Katie Bowen, a long-time Fern, spent time during her professional career in the US and this match in Kansas City is a pseudo-welcome home match for the Aukland native. The 31-year-old was originally drafted from the Tar Heels by FC Kansas City in 2016 and stayed there until the club ceased operations after the 2017 season, scoring two goals for the side. She then moved to the Utah Royals for two years before returning to the Kansas City Current. Now, Bowen plays for Inter Milan and has made 43 appearances for the Italian side since 2023.
- The defensive midfielder has 113 caps and four goals for the Ferns since 2011.
- Milly Clegg, a New Zealand forward, has also played in the NWSL and is currently on loan to the Halifax Tides from Racing Louisville. She made one appearance for the Kentucky side before moving to Canada where she’s made 20 appearances this season and scored one goal. Before switching hemispheres, Clegg started her career in New Zealand and Australia’s leagues.
- New Zealand head coach Michael Mayne, who came aboard in May of 2025, became the first New Zealand-born head coach for Football Ferns in more than 20 years.
