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U.S. Women's National Team midfielder Sam Coffey (17) celebrates her goal with teammates during the first half against China PR at Allianz Field. Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

Players who stood out in key friendly between USWNT, China

By Alyssa Clang | Last updated May 31, 2025 8:18 PM ET

The United States Women's National Team beat China 3-0 on Saturday in a friendly match in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was a confident display from the USWNT and one that should build confidence as the 2027 World Cup cycle draws nearer.

USWNT coach Emma Hayes has been vocal about the importance of these friendlies: she uses them to gauge where her players are in their development cycles, what kinds of opponents they thrive against and how they can all work together and improve. With that in mind, let's take a look at this USWNT lineup through Hayes's eyes. Who stood out? Why? And what can we learn from their performances?

Sam Coffey

Emma Hayes was tasked with solving endless problems when she took over the USWNT coaching job last year, but the first—and arguably the biggest—was expanding her playing pool in advance of the 2027 World Cup. Hayes had veterans (Lindsey Heaps, Crystal Dunn) and prospects (Alyssa Thompson, Lily Yohannes) at her disposal, but she started her USWNT tenure without a solid core of prime players in between.

Enter Sam Coffey. The 26-year-old midfielder has emerged as a leader of Hayes's "mid-career" contingent and looks like someone who will be a part of the team for years. She's a fabulous defensive midfielder, one who is equal parts composed and fiery, and there's no one else who plays quite like her on the USWNT.

Coffey delivered a brilliant, conductor-like performance against China, and she would've topped this list even if she hadn't scored. But Coffey didn't just score: she netted a gorgeous, unexpected, first-time chip that sucked the air out of Allianz Field.

"Look, I miss plenty of them in practice," Coffey quipped at halftime on the live TV broadcast. "It's about time I made one."

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Avery Patterson

USWNT defender Emily Fox is one of one. She's won an Olympic gold medal and, as of a few weeks ago, the UEFA Champions League, and she simply cannot be imitated. When it became clear that Hayes would rest Fox against China to help her recover from her long club season with Arsenal, USWNT fans cringed.

Turns out, they shouldn't have. 22-year-old Avery Patterson stepped up in Fox's absence and gave something better than an Emily Fox impersonation: she gave herself. Patterson is a fast, intelligent attacking full back, and she was at the center of many of the USWNT's best line-breaking moves.

Cat Macario

The USWNT has been without its Triple Espresso attack of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Wilson and Trinity Rodman for every match it's played in 2025. While it'll be great to see them back fully fit in the future—Swanson and Wilson are pregnant, while Rodman is recovering from a long-term back injury—their absence has been a blessing in disguise for the USWNT. It's forced Hayes to dig deep into her attacking bench in a way that previous coaches never needed to.

That digging has unearthed some diamonds in the rough (Ally Sentnor, Michelle Cooper), but it's also reinvigorated USWNT stalwart Cat Macario. The 25-year-old striker missed most of last year, including the Olympics, due to a gruesome knee injury, and many fans wondered if she'd be the same player once she returned. She isn't: she's better. Macario's hold-up play has always been world-class, but her performance against China shows that she's starting to build real attacking chemistry with her USWNT teammates, too. She was unstoppable when linking up with Alyssa Thompson and Michelle Cooper. China simply couldn't take them.

Lo'eau LaBonta

It's been a wild ride for Lo'eau LaBonta. The one-time national champion with Stanford has been an NWSL mainstay for years and currently captains the Kansas City Current, but her impressive career has lacked one thing: a USWNT cap. Not anymore. LaBonta came on as a substitute in the 70th minute to earn her first-ever appearance with the national team. At 32, LaBonta is now the oldest USWNT debutante in history, and her story proves that it's never, ever too late.

"She’s been consistent in everything that she has done," coach Hayes said of LaBonta's call-up. "This is the right moment to do it.”

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The USWNT will play one more friendly in this international window. It's set to face Jamaica Reggae Girlz on Tuesday, June 3, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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