Hayes praises Macario’s ‘pride’ in USWNT return

United States women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes said she felt “pride” at Catarina Macario’s return to the USWNT, one that the Chelsea forward celebrated with a goal in a 2-0 win over Colombia in the SheBelieves Cup.

Hayes and Macario had worked together when the two were at Chelsea, meaning Hayes saw up close the player’s struggles with a knee injury.

When Hayes moved to the USWNT last year, she witnessed again the heartbreak Macario endured as knee irritation kept her off the squad that ultimately won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

But with Macario back in the team, both player and coach were able to celebrate a success, as Macario opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, hammering home Yazmeen Ryan’s low centering feed. It was Macario’s first goal for the USWNT in nearly three years, and she was heavily involved in the U.S. attack throughout her 63 minutes of playing time.

“The first time in the half that we attacked the box quickly, she was in the right place at the right time,” Hayes said of Macario.

“I think she’s got an instinct in and around the goal, which was demonstrated with the goal. So I said it to her when she came off, I said Everybody is super happy, super proud, and I’m sure everybody back at Chelsea is too.”

The U.S. got a 60th minute goal from Aly Sentnor, who collected a pass from Tara McKeown and hit a rocket from almost 30 yards that cleanly beat Katherine Tapia in the Colombia goal.

“I said I knew the minute [Sentnor] turns where that ball is going to end up because she does that shot consistently well,” Hayes said.

“That is something she absolutely has in her locker. But I appreciated her work great tonight. I thought she was tenacious both sides of the wall for a young player of course she’s still got a lot to learn but I thought it was a very strong performance for her.”

Hayes also had praise for 17-year-old midfielder Lily Johannes, who was consistent with her distribution and also contributed on the defensive end with a vital blocked shot late. Hayes added that defensive work is indicative of the progress Yohannes has made since first playing for the USWNT last year.

“There’ll be tougher tests, and I think tonight was really good game for [Yohannes] to come into and showed the development she’s made in the last 12 months,” Hayes said.

“But there’s been a lot of things she has to work on in her game. But she’s very hungry to learn to improve and she’s in a fantastic club at Ajax so I know that she’s in a great place to do that and she’s got her feet on the ground, she’s really switched on and someone who understands the importance of doing everything for the team and for that I really admire her.”

Thanks to Japan’s 4-0 win over Australia, the U.S. finds itself in second place in the SheBelieves Cup standings on goal differential. The USWNT will face Australia in Glendale, Ariz. three days from now, with the final match against Japan set for Feb. 26 in San Diego, California.