The U.S. women did not disappoint in first-year head coach Emma Hayes’ competitive debut.
America’s preeminent soccer team scored a 3-0 win over Zambia to open Olympic play at the 2024 Paris Games on Thursday.
The highlight of the night belonged to NBA legend Dennis Rodman’s daughter, Trinity, who delivered a sublime goal to get the scoring started in Nice.
From there, it was the Mallory Swanson show, which included a pair of goals within 70 seconds in the 24th and 25th minutes.
Hayes took over the U.S. team in late May after finishing out the season with Chelsea in the Women´s Super League. She shook things up a bit with her Olympic roster, leaving star forward Alex Morgan, a veteran of three Olympics, at home.
The highlight of the night belonged to NBA legend Dennis Rodman’s daughter, Trinity
The US women did not disappoint in first-year head coach Emma Hayes’ competitive debut
Rodman, second from right, reacts with teammate Mallory Swanson, right, after scoring
Hayes is charged with leading the Americans as they seek to distance themselves from the disappointment of last summer´s Women´s World Cup, when they crashed out in the round of 16.
‘This team is past that. I think this team is firmly focused on, you know, creating a new history together,’ Hayes said earlier in the week.
‘Our motivation isn’t always about righting the wrongs. Far from it. We’re excited. We’re prepared.’
Not everything was so easy on Thursday’s Group B play.
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 wasn’t able to play in France because of minor knee irritation.
It was the first time the United States has faced Zambia on the international stage.
While Zambia started stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, neither of them was able to break through.
Banda is a proven 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 had a pair of back-to-back hat tricks in the group stage.
Zambia’s Racheal Kundananji is challenged by US’ midfielder #03 Korbin Albert on Thursday
The controversial Korbin Albert came on in the second half for midfielder Rose Lavelle. Albert managed to get a pair of shots on goal, both of which were saved.
Albert came under criticism Thursday after sharing an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post to her TikTok.
The 20-year-old had previously shared a Christian sermon to the account, which discussed how being gay and ‘feeling transgender’ is wrong. The posts resurfaced this week, sparking backlash led by US soccer legend Megan Rapinoe.
The retired player shared a post to her Instagram story addressed to ‘the people who want to hide behind ‘my beliefs” telling them to ‘wake TF up!’
Rapinoe did not specifically name Albert in her Instagram story, but it’s widely believed that she was talking about those posts, causing the rising star to issue an apology.
