On the Pitch
On the Pitch
On the Pitch
USWNT Carrying Positive Energy into Match Against Chile
U.S. Women’s National Team will face Chile at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, California to close January Camp
By: De Turner
“To start the year off on that note, I feel pretty good about that,” Sears said. “Just a happy moment with the team, for the group, getting a win against Paraguay first game of the year. The vibes are up, and that energy is going to carry into the game [against Chile].”
The USWNT has won its last five matches, including four shutouts and a goal differential of +19. The team plays Chile on Tuesday at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara, Calif. (7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET on TBS and HBO Max in English, Universo and Peacock in Spanish, and on the radio in English on Westwood One and in Spanish on Futbol de Primera) with the chance to extend its winning streak to six matches for the first time since 2024.
Tuesday’s match will be the first-ever full-international match for the USWNT on the Central Coast of California, and it’s the first time the team has been at Harder Stadium since 1991. Head coach Emma Hayes said she hopes the “intimate” stadium will translate to a more fluid performance, particularly earlier than it did on Saturday against Paraguay.
“One of my prerequisites in the build-up to qualifying for the World Cup is can we pick stadiums that are going to be full, and can we go to places that maybe we haven't been to as much,” Hayes said. “It’s not about the size of the crowd; it's about the quality of the crowd. And when something feels full and you have to play with something at stake, and you do when you're performing for people, that's what shapes you. For our team, as we prepare to qualify for the World Cup, creating these exposures is so important for us.”
Along with the unfamiliar venue, there will also be a completely different lineup for the U.S. on Tuesday. The Starting XI against Paraguay averaged just 9.6 caps entering the match – the fewest average caps for a starting lineup in 25 years. Tuesday’s lineup will likely average even fewer.
Defender Emily Sams will be the third player in this camp to wear the captain’s armband for the first time, joining forward Trinity Rodman and midfielder Claire Hutton. Sams was a part of the Gold Medal squad at the Paris Olympics, and she earned her first cap in October 2024.
“I've really taken the time over the last year and a half,” Sams said, “to learn as much as I can from Lindsey (Heaps) and (Emily) Sonnett and Rose (Lavelle) and those players who have so many caps, that have been on this team and really know what it takes to be on this team. So, I just feel extremely honored and excited to captain the game.”
With such an inexperienced roster and different lineups featuring players who might have never been on the field with each other before, the team has emphasized creating chemistry during training.
“Building connections, it takes time,” Sears said. “We were prepared for that coming into camp. We knew that the lineups were going to change, and so during trainings this past week, we’ve definitely been working on those connections and building the relationships, both on and off the field, which I think will be showcased [against Chile].”
“After this camp, as we get into SheBelieves,” Hayes said, “it's locking in now to qualification, and this window is about identifying which players we think will be key to that core group. Then, it's which players are going to be instrumental to that pool, and then which group are for 2028, or which ones are for 2031. But I have a really good idea with the pool. I know which group of players we're going to be building around in the build-up to World Cup qualification.”
