The U.S. women did not disappoint in the competitive debut of first-time head coach Emma Hayes.
The United States’ top soccer team earned a 3-0 victory over Zambia to open Olympic play at the Paris 2024 Games on Thursday.
The highlight of the evening came from Trinity, the daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman, who scored a sublime goal to open the scoring in Nice.
From there, it was the Mallory Swanson show, including a pair of goals 70 seconds apart in the 24th and 25th minutes.
Hayes took over the U.S. team in late May after finishing the season with Chelsea in the Women’s Super League. She made some changes to her Olympic roster, leaving star forward Alex Morgan, a veteran of three Olympic Games, at home.
The highlight of the night was Trinity, the daughter of NBA legend Dennis Rodman.
The U.S. women did not disappoint in head coach Emma Hayes’ competitive debut
Rodman, second from right, reacts with teammate Mallory Swanson, right, after scoring.
Hayes is tasked with leading the Americans as they seek to distance themselves from the disappointment of last summer’s Women’s World Cup, when they were eliminated in the round of 16.
“This team is already past that. I think this team is firmly focused on creating a new story together,” Hayes said earlier this week.
“Our motivation is not always to correct mistakes. Quite the opposite. We are excited. We are ready.”
Not everything was so easy on Thursday in Group B.
U.S. forward Sophia Smith left the game with what appeared to be an ankle injury late in the first half and was replaced by Lynn Williams.
Williams was originally an alternate on Hayes’ Olympic roster, but Catarina Macario was unable to play in France due to minor knee irritation.
It was the first time the United States faced Zambia on the international stage.
Although Zambia started stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, neither of them managed to break through.
Banda is a proven goal scorer, with 12 goals in 12 games this season for the Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League. At the Tokyo Games, Banda notched back-to-back hat-tricks in the group stage.
