For the first time in nearly a decade, the United States Women's National Team was back in the Pacific Northwest. They took on Japan in match two of a three game series during the April international break. Stumptown Footy's Wilder Isom and Kelsey Baker were on the scene for the occasion. Here's Wilder's reflections and recap, along with some of Kelsey's best shots from the match!
With the USWNT returning to Seattle for the first time since 2017, driving up I-5 in the pouring rain felt fitting for the occasion. As someone who didn't live in the PNW at that time, this was the first time I would be seeing them play here. In fact, it would be the first time seeing them play in the U.S.
I was very lucky to have been able to travel to France for the 2019 World Cup as a high school graduation present. We went to multiple different cities and got to see multiple different countries play, but I was most excited to see the U.S. play twice. Getting to now travel to see the U.S. play again much closer to home, and now as a member of the press, younger was pinching herself I'm sure.
I've only been to Seattle three times for soccer games before this journey. Once years ago for a Sounders game (back in the Clint Dempsey days) a second time for Megan Rapinoe's final game in the NWSL (yes, I cried), and finally I travelled for the Thorn's away game last season. But this time felt different. I was "traveling for work" and I was going to get a whole new experience this time.
As I drove the three hours up to Seattle, I was reflecting on how much women's sports have grown in the last few years. Seattle is a brilliant example of that: they tally 3 professional teams now. The Reign, whom we love to hate, the Storm (whom we will love to hate during the Fire's first season), and now The Torrent.
There have been bursts or surges recently where women's sports keep exploding, most recently with the Winter Olympics, where numerous female athletes saw the spotlight. Athletes like Alyssa Liu, Hilary Knight (and the whole US women's hockey team), and Mikaela Shiffrin, to name a few. So, it really is just a special time to be a fan of women's sports, and I feel so lucky to get to cover them in whatever capacity I'm given.
I have long suffered from imposter syndrome in the sports reporting realm. I started writing for my college school newspaper kind of by chance... that chance being I was the only one on the team who cared about the sports side of sports writing. Because of that, I eventually became the sports editor and finally was introduced to STF. It kind of all happened in a way that was out of my control, and while I am so happy to be here, I honestly never expected it to take me all the way to the press box of a USWNT game.
Even applying for the press pass, I kept thinking, "No way they'll actually accept me." And then they did. Walking into the stadium, I kept having to ask for directions to get to, the media check-in and then, to the press box itself. (Ed. note: the Lumen Field press box is indeed quite notoriously annoying to find and get to).
But eventually I made it and was greeted with a lovely view of Lumen field.
As things started to warm up (and by things, I do mean players), the video boards also warmed up, and I got a reminder that a montage will always make me emotional. Especially a montage that shows the "99'ers" (the 1999 USWNT World Cup winning team) combined with young girls who get to grow up with women's sports in the spotlight. And this game showcased how big that spotlight has gotten, as the fans showed out for this match, tallying 36,128 total.
As we got closer to kickoff, I started paying attention to the players on the field, specifically the Thorns, both new and old. The Sam Coffey sighting felt like seeing a long lost... I don't want to say ex, but maybe like the cousin you only see on major holidays. Then, our current players, Olivia Moultrie, who got the start, and Soph Wilson, who was on the bench.
Mini highlights/ vibes
(A note on all the subs, I started writing them all down, realized I didn't have to, but also realized I didn't want to just stop partway through, so you're getting them all...)
Pregame
- Crystal Dunn plays a mean flute
- Lights and fireworks (a lot of fireworks) to welcome the teams out
- Fittingly, Claire Hutton no. 15 is wearing the captain's band (Megan Rapinoe's spirit is alive in Lumen (she's not dead, just retired))
- Another emotional montage to really get the game going
- A firework fell into the empty seats way in the nosebleeds during the star spangled banner... always exciting
First half
- Back and forth first 15, both had good efforts on goal but none found home.
- 27' Japan scores first, quite a lovely goal, honestly. Maika Hamana jukes Lilly Reale and puts it away top bins.
- A lot of attempts for the US near the end of the first half, but not quite enough to get there.
- Halftime USA 0-1 Japan
- Pinoe in the house at halftime (in a suite, not on the field sadly)
- Only sub at the half: Japan's Miyabi Moriya replaced by Hikaru Kitagawa
Second half
- Slightly sloppy passing from the US to start, a trend that continued for the rest of the game
- 59' Two more Japan subs, Maika Hamano replaced by Aoba Fujino, and Remina Chiba replaced by Yuzuki Yamano.
- Tullis-Joyce made a diving save to deny Japan. She played well this match.
- 65' A flurry of US subs: Tierna Davidson, Giselle Thompson, Soph Wilson, and Trinity Rodman all come on for Sonnett, Reale, Moultrie, and Sears. Really great to see those players taking the pitch for the US again, with Davidson returning from injury and Wilson from maternity leave.
- 68' Riko Ueki comes on for Mina Tanaka (the lone goalscorer), and Hinata Miyazawa replaces Fuka Nagano.
- The US gets a shot off, but right into the keeper's waiting hands. This seemed to be the theme for the night: a lot of chances but none of them really threatening the Japanese keeper.
- 70' Apparently it is the battle of the subs this half as the US subs Lindsay Heaps on for Lily Yohannes.
- Japan put together a goal-line clearance to deny the US as they started to heat up on the attack.
- 78' Sub, Japan: Momoko Tanikawa for Honoka Hayashi, Risa Shimizu for Yui Hasegawa, and US: Jameese Joseph replaces Jaedyn Shaw.
- Japan's keep denies the US again. She really put in a shift this match to retain her shutout and keep the US off the board.
- Heaps went down holding her leg, and for a moment it didn't look good; the whole crowd booed the refs for the no call there.
- Near the end of the match, Japan nearly doubled their lead when they had a little onslaught of shots in the 18.
- Heaps almost had the moment of the match – a side volley first time on frame, but yet again Japan's goalie Okuma comes up big.
- Final thoughts: fun time, big crowd, Japan outplayed the US.
Post-game is always when I feel the most imposter syndrome, because what do you mean I get to go down into the stadium and interview the players and the coach? Every time I always have the thought, "Maybe, I just won't go." Then I think, "Okay, okay, I'll go, I don't even have to ask a question." Finally, I get there and end up asking the questions anyway. Tonight was no exception, throughout the game I was thinking, "I don't have anything to ask these players," but then when they walked out into the media zone, my brain went into reporter autopilot.
Post-game
Olivia Moultrie
Q: This was the first time the US has played in Seattle since 2017, you obviously play down in Portland; so what was it like representing the US here?
A: Right now, this is the closest I'm getting to a home national team game so I was really just embracing that. The weather was very Portland-esque, you know, so I felt right at home. The field was nice, and the atmosphere was great.
Q: Getting to play a series of friendlies like this with the same team, how do you approach things like that, where, you know, you have different matches, different weather, different stuff like that, but it is the same opponent.
A: Yeah, I think it's a little bit of a chess match, because you don't know what's going to happen each game. It's like, how much stays the same, how much changes.
But it is really good practice, because when you're in a World Cup you have to play every couple of days. Those are the things that we're going to face against the best teams in the world when we compete to win another World Cup.
So, yeah, I think it's good practice for us, and it's definitely interesting to wonder what's going to be rolled out (by the other team). But at the end of the day, we're really focused on who we are, what we're doing, what we're practicing, and just refining those things.
Phallon Tullis-Joyce:
Q: This is the first time the US is back playing in Seattle since 2017. What did that feel like for you as someone who used to play for Seattle and now getting to represent the US back here in the Pacific Northwest?
A: I think it's great that we're back here in the PNW. Especially giving Lumen a shoutout now that it's got its grass (Ed. Note: the field has brand new grass ahead of the Men's World Cup). The fans were incredible tonight, so I think that's really special for the team to be back here.
Emma Hayes
Q: This kind of trio of games against the same opponent is kind of a unique thing. It happens fairly often with friendlies. But going forward, you're playing down in California, where it's nice and sunny, you come up here, where it's rainy, but you're still playing the same team. How do you approach that? Where you're playing against the same opponent, depending on their lineups, but you're also getting a bunch of different variables. You're getting the opportunity to play a bunch of different people. How do you look at that with like, the opportunity to play against the same team a few different times?
A: I always felt that when I was coaching in the Champions League, if you won the first game, the second one was always tougher, because the losing team always studied the things that they needed to do better. So I think swinging like it is not a surprise with the two top teams on show. But I think being able to handle different, you know, different environments, different weather patterns out there, we're going to altitude now, is preparation for major tournaments.
So, I think they're important. Like I said, if we'd have picked a lesser opponent, and I'm just sat here and said, "what a great night, we've won by multiple scorelines," I'm sure I'd feel good and I'd fill your columns with lots of things that further enhance the reputation of the team, but I don't believe in it. Where you can push yourself to play against the very best opponents in every situation, that is how you improve. So, as I said the other day in my press conference, we have to keep handling the hard better, no matter who's on the field.
With the international break now over, Olivia Moultrie, Sophia Wilson, and the Portland Thorns return to action on the road when they face Angel City. Kickoff on Sunday, April 26, is set for 3pm, and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Stay tuned to Stumptown Footy for all of the continuing coverage of the Thorns and USWNT!
