USWNT Tests Versatility With Entirely New Starting XI for Second International Friendly Against Japan
By Becca Weinberg
Seattle, WA - In her media session after U.S. Women’s National Team practice in Seattle on Monday, head coach Emma Hayes discussed the importance of every rostered player experiencing the highest level of the game. She brought truth to her words in the team’s match tonight against Japan by rolling out a completely different starting XI than the previous match on April 11th. Through deliberate tests of versatility and chemistry, Hayes’ priority of team development was on full display in the 0-1 U.S. shutout loss against Japan at Lumen Field.
USWNT and Kansas City Current forward Ally Sentnor during the International Friendly against Japan at Lumen Field on Tuesday, April 14th, 2026. (Photos by Liz Wolter for Circling Seattle Sports)
“We have the talent, it’s just gathering that experience, and it's a credit to the staff for allowing us to do that and the veterans for giving us their knowledge and helping us in the game,” said U.S. forward Ally Sentnor. The 22-year-old recorded four goals and three assists through 11 games played and six starts for the U.S. last season.
“I think it's a testament to the depth of this team and that hopefully, come World Cup time, it won't matter who you put in, like, hopefully we'll be able to fill in those roles, and I'm really just proud of this group for allowing us that opportunity,” she said.
Veteran midfielder Lindsey Heaps agreed with the perspective of the team’s younger players and praised the U.S. coaching staff for providing them with unique opportunities to improve through in-game situations.
“Well, these young ones are getting a lot of experience now, and also they're a lot more confident than I was when I was first coming into the team, and that's credit to Emma [Hayes] and the experience that she's giving them,” said Heaps after the match. Heaps is entering her 12th year with the U.S and was a late-game sub in tonight’s match, along with a group of four other veterans who came on late to give the team a needed boost.
“But also [credit] to them stepping into the roles that they're playing, and doing it seamlessly. It doesn't look like a very young 11 that played in the first half, even given the result,” she said.
USWNT and Denver Summit midfielder Lindsey Heaps during the International Friendly against Japan at Lumen Field on Tuesday, April 14th, 2026. (Photos by Liz Wolter for Circling Seattle Sports)
Hayes was adamant in her post-game press conference on Tuesday night about looking past the score to see the success of the younger players who stepped up. Her goal of creating multiple contenders for each position on the roster will continue to be aided by in-game experience.
“So, stacking up, if we're solely looking at the result, Japan won, we lost. But you can't look at it like that when you're trying to develop players to be prepared for the highest level, because it just means you'll never play them, or you will always play them in the most comfortable circumstances,” she said post-game. As Hayes mentioned on Monday, closing gaps becomes difficult until you identify them, and being comfortable with where the team is makes progress even harder.
“Where you can push yourself to play against the very best opponents in every situation, that is how you improve,” said Hayes. “So as I said the other day in my press conference, we have to keep handling the hard better no matter who's on the field.”
36,128 fans, the largest standalone crowd for a women’s sporting event in Seattle, got to witness the product of Hayes’ philosophy in action. Although it was not the desired result, the early trials of the team’s roster in high-pressure situations will surely begin to show when the team turns its focus towards World Cup qualifying at the end of the year.
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Check out our previous USWNT in Seattle articles here.
Check out our previous articles with writing for CSS by Becca Weinberg here, and her work with Lookout Landing here.
Check out previous articles with photos by Liz Wolter here, and her portfolio here
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