The United States women’s national team gave coach Emma Hayes a victory in her first game in charge, eliminating South Korea 4-0 in front of 19,010 fans at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado.
Mallory Swanson opened the scoring in the 34th minute after good game preparation. Sophia Smith slid a ball through the South Korean defense and Swanson, crossing the penalty area, beat goalkeeper Kim Jung-Mi to make it 1-0.
Four minutes later, Tierna Davidson doubled the lead for the Americans, earning a header off a Catarina Macario corner kick.
The USWNT didn’t wait long until the second half before making it 3-0. Davidson, left unmarked in the box, headed in his second goal of the game in the 48th minute off a Swanson corner kick.
Swanson scored her second goal of the game after another slow, methodical play from behind by the USWNT. Rose Lavelle picked up a loose ball in the South Korean third and slipped a pass to Swanson, who scored the goal in the 74th minute.
Hayes was hired in November and her first step was to renew a USWNT roster that needed it. Only 11 players on this squad were part of the 2023 World Cup team and only 10 of the 23 have participated in a previous national team camp.
Saturday’s victory was an impressive performance and provided valuable experience for several players as the team continues its preparations for this summer’s Paris Olympics.
The USWNT has three more friendlies (another meeting with South Korea on June 4, Mexico on July 13 and Costa Rica on July 16) before Olympic competition begins on July 25.