The US Women’s National Team opened in 2025 with a 2-0 victory over Columbia in Houston on Thursday night. Chelsea midfielder Cat Macario and the Utah Royals allies are US differences, with the latter scoring in their first start with the senior national team. The win was a year of ratings in the starting XI, which was expected to have many rotations and debuts throughout the friendly tournament from head coach Emma Hayes, and lacked some of the team’s biggest names. It was a promising start, something that should be proven.
Beyond two goal scorers, midfielder Lily Johannes had a statement performance and got his team’s first start. Her passing game from midfield led directly to Macario’s opening goal, and she proved her temper defensively against the tough Columbia team. At the moment of pause time waned, she almost connected with Lynn Biendro, passing through the outside of her foot, potentially making her third goal.
Hayes promised to allow Johannes to develop on his own schedule, but the 17-year-old performance showed he could compete for a more consistent starting role at USWNT.
Catalina Macario shows she returned to USWNT with goals against Colombia. (Jack Gorman/Getty Images)
Welcome to Katarina Macario
This was Macario’s third reintroduction into the USWNT pool, and she made the most of the moment. It wasn’t a shock that the European-based player looked a bit sharper from Thursday’s jump, but Macario’s connection with Johannes was soon promised to the US.
Her first half goal was her final touch to the servicing sequence that began with Johannes. Striped from the right wing to a more central position, Ryan simply cut it off to the Macario and smashed it into the house from close range. Her goal was her first national team since April 12, 2022, with a whopping 1,045 days.
“I felt it was a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Macario told TBS broadcast after the match. “I’m just happy and excited to score the national team again and play again. …That means the whole world.”
That was Macario’s first goal in three years. She recovered from the tears of the ACL at the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.
Cat bag 💥
#USWNT X @VW
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– US Women’s National Soccer Team Bot (@uswntbot.bsky.social) February 20, 2025, 8:51pm
But Macario offers more than goalscoring. Colombian physicality did not throw her. This is a promising sign for Macario, who has been working on injuries for a long time, but it limited her ability to make the ball at her feet. As female sports reporter Claire Watkins pointed out during the match, Macario’s set pieces and service on corner kicks is something USWNT can certainly benefit from. It could also free people like Mal Swanson. With Megan Rapinoe’s retirement, the team will be able to use the new dedicated set piece Maestro, and Macario makes a compelling claim.
Macario came out in the 64th minute as Hayes continues to rate the player’s pool. Is Chelsea midfielder set up to repeat the 2022 Cheverive MVP performance? It will likely take how many minutes she will reach next week, but Thursday was a solid start to her 2025 campaign.
– Meg Linehan
Ally Sentnor celebrates winning the first goal for the US women’s national team. (Brad Smith/Getty Images)
Who are your allies?
It is important to make a lasting impression in a camp filled with players looking to tackle Hayes’ plans for the next few years. The 21-year-old Senner certainly made her mark on Tuesday, earning Gorazo early in the second half to lead the US 2-0.
Though barely started this year, she undoubtedly submitted highlights of her budding career in the 60 minutes with Columbia on Thursday. Collecting passes through midfield from Tara McKeown, Sentnor dribbling over one opponent, then cut from left half space into the center channel for a second. From there she looked up and looked at the opening, covering the knuckle shot from over 25 yards, and saw Columbia goalkeeper Katherine Tapia rounded to flat corners.
A year before USC basketball star Juju Watkins, the multi-purpose offensive midfielder, who was Sports Illustrations Sports Kid of the Year in 2019, boasts North Carolina tar heels and torn ACL in freshman years overcame the first team all. The ACC will be praised for two seasons before going to the pro. She became the first final player to be filmed overall in the NWSL draft before being eliminated by the latest collective bargaining agreement.
The sender has been sent! that!
#USWNT X @VW
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– US Women’s National Soccer Team Bot (@uswntbot.bsky.social) February 20, 2025 at 9:38pm
In 2024, Sennar continued shooting. Utah had to step up from the opening whistle of her first match as the club pushed her into the starring role. She enjoyed the responsibility and tapped a bag of tricks she worked to refine as a youth player. As she told the TBS broadcast, her small size would not polish her technique, both by dribbling and shooting quickly with force before her opposite marks contain her. I didn’t get it.
Sentnor became busy as a rookie and finished 9th out of all NWSL players by attempting 68 shots in 1,866 minutes. She also played a key role in the United States at the U-20 World Cup, scoring three goals on her way to last year’s bronze medal finish. She won the Female Player of the Year Award and won two senior team appearances in the second half of the year to win a memorable year.
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It was just her first start on Hayes’s side, but her unpredictable ingenuity means that Sennor will get some more looks in this tournament and beyond. Two days after celebrating her birthday, it was a performance that she and her fans would not immediately forget.
– Jeff Ruter
Lily Johannes is earning the US’s first start against Colombia. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
The era of Lily Johannes begins
Last year, Yohannes made history and became the third youngest scorer in USWNT history. The then-16-year-old midfielder played against South Korea in June’s friendly, quietly slotting the ball through a busy penalty box and entered the Allianz Field net. She didn’t score again on Thursday, but the calmness of her balls made her an undeniable standout.
It’s deeper
At 16, USWNT midfielder Lily Johannes is right on time
The Ajax midfielder got his first start with Hayes in the Shebelieves Cup, wearing the number 11 shirt in the absence of Sofia Wilson. It was Johannes who sparked the sequence that led to Macario’s opening goal.
Throughout the rest of her shift, she played in control and calm for over 17 years. Playing as the chief linebreaker behind Senner, Lindsay Heap and Ryan, Johannes constantly slotted the ball between Columbia midfielder and defender. It wasn’t even when the opponent had forgotten one repetitive trick. There was more balls with lobbed inside the backline and wings, and the ball rolled a half-space hit outside the foot, making quick first touch passes to pry the ball out of his opponent’s boots.
For fans who spent an active night in Houston, it was an exhibition with many promises.
– Rueter
Tara McKeown will make his USWNT debut with Colombia with Shebelieves Cup. (Maria Lysakar/Getty Images)
I’ll try a new player
Centre-backs are less likely to get assists from running plays. Their passage is often limited to short-range circulation, but the healthy part of their path is a speculative launch, statistically missing the intended target.
As one veteran defender told me years ago, “I know well that I’m the last player that fans pay to see at the ball.” Tara McKeown, who made her USWNT debut. provided an attractive rebuttal to that point.
McKeon, who won her first senior cap as part of the starting lineup, played the ball that wreaked havoc towards her long-range goal through Columbia’s midfield. In the time before that sequence, the Washington Spirit defender was frequently tested by Columbia, with Linda Caseco and Meila La Mirez looking particularly enthusiastic about the 25-year-old test. The US clean sheet speaks for itself. McKeun and centre-back partner Emily Sonnett also keep their possessions moving as the ball progresses. It was great to guarantee the appearance afterwards.
Also, Gisele Thompson, who made her debut, came in the 76th minute. Angel City joined her sister (Winger Alyssa of the United States) last year and began her professional career. By the time she got into the action, the scoreline was already 2-0, and neither team showed the courage to attack, symbolizing half the time of the game. With the new Arsenal signing to Jenna Nighswonger for a start, we were able to see Thompson make one of Hayes’ two remaining starting lineups at the Shebelieves Cup.
– Rueter
What’s next?
In the first match of the Shebelieves Cup, Japan stepped over Australia with a 4-0 victory. Royals forward Mina Tanaka was outstanding, earning a brace and adding an assist in the victory. Thanks to the Gold Differential, Japan is currently on the table in the tournament, followed by the US
The Shebelieves Cup continues on Sunday.
Sunday, February 23rd
State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona
Colombia vs Japan – Noon MT / 2pm et usa vs. Australia – 3pm MT / 5pm
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(Photo above: Jack Gorman/Getty Images)
