WASHINGTON, D.C. - It was set piece magic that led the U.S. women's national team past Canada 3-0 on a sweaty, sweltering and sold-out Wednesday night, with 19,215 fans jaming Audi Field for the Allstate Continental Clásico.
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes went with a familiar starting lineup - almost identical to the first of three summer friendlies last week against Ireland - with the only adjustment Lynn Biyendolo starting as the No. 9.
The first half was a USWNT domination of Canada on all sides of the ball, their backline under pressure through the first 45 minutes of play. The USWNT balance of Sam Coffey in the middle and an attack-minded Rose Lavelle in front of her, created endless chances. In just the 5th minute, Biyendolo had a 2v1 chance against Canada goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan and tried to cheekily chip her, but the ball went over.
Not long after, the USWNT had a set piece opportunity from outside the 18-yard box and executed like it had been drawn up many times this week.
Lavelle served a lofted ball that forced Canada to step out of the box and clear - yet a poor clearance landed at the foot of 19-year-old Claire Hutton, who laid it off perfectly to set up Coffey for a one-time strike to put the Americans ahead 1-0. It was Coffey's third goal in her last five USWNT appearances.
In the 35th minute the USWNT had another set piece opportunity, again served in by Lavelle. She took the corner and found a jumping Hutton just outside the box, who headed it home for her first international goal.
The USWNT continued to press the pedal, dominating the second half, as well. Hayes made several subs late, and there wasn't any real momentum shift. Washington Spirit's own Tara McKeown entered the match, on her birthday, and drove down the flank just moments after stepping on the pitch. She then slipped the ball centrally to Yazmeen Ryan, who finished to make the game 3-0.
The win pushed Hayes' record to 21-2-2 in her first 25 games in charge of the USWNT, and wraps her team's play for the summer. As for what's next?
“I will start by going to the Euros," Hayes said on TNT. "I want to see top-level European opponents live. I think that’s important because we don’t get a lot of windows to play them. I’ll take a break in August, but my big goal is that we work toward what we call the "Goldprint." That is an actionable framework that we’ll be able to sort ’27 and beyond."
The USWNT players in the NWSL will return to their clubs as the season re-starts at the beginning of August.
GOAL rates the USWNT's players from Audi Field.