# U.S. Women’s Win Streak Ends in 1-0 Loss to Japan

- Link: https://exclusiveaccess.net/u-s-womens-win-streak-ends-in-1-0-loss-to-japan/
- Published: 2026-04-15T17:01:37-04:00
- Author: EAN

 

The return of the U.S. women’s national team to Seattle for the first time in nearly
a decade saw a 10-game win streak come to an end for the Americans.It also saw a
pretty strong debut for the grass field to be used during the FIFA Men’s World Cup
later this year.The U.S. women saw their 10-game win streak come to an end after
a 1-0 loss to Japan on Tuesday night at Lumen Field, the first shutout loss for 
the Americans in 42 matches. The U.S. used a lineup of younger players that was 
void of many of their regular starters for the first hour of the match and the arrival
of standouts like Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman and Lindsey Heaps for the final 
20 minutes couldn’t generate a goal for the Americans.“I’m a developer of players,
and they need to go through these things,” U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. “It’ll get
us one step closer to where we are, but we cannot always simply play just for the
result. But yes, we don’t like to lose.”The return of the U.S. women for the first
time since 2017 was made possible by the grass field that was installed at Lumen
Field and received its first test. Installation of the field started in late February
and continued through the past couple of weeks when the sod was laid on top of the
12 to 14 inches of base materials that were brought in and placed on top of the 
existing artificial surface in the stadium.For the first night, the grass appeared
to hold up quite well on the surface, especially considering the miserable conditions.

The return of the U.S. women after nine years was welcomed by a quintessential Seattle
night with times of sideways rain, blustery breezes and temperatures that felt more
like winter than the middle of April.“It was good. I think, especially the fact 
that it’s one of those more long-term grass lays, I think they’ve done a good job
with it,” U.S. defender Tierna Davidson said. “Hopefully it will hold up over the
summer and will serve really well for the World Cup.”Those less-than-optimal conditions
didn’t dissuade fans from showing up as the majority of the lower bowl of the stadium
was filled along with a healthy number of fans sitting under cover on the east side
in the upper deck. The announced crowd of 36,128 was the largest for a stand-alone
women’s soccer match ever in Seattle, topping the 34,130 for Megan Rapinoe’s farewell
match in 2023.“The crowd was elite. It was really, really great,” midfielder Olivia
Moultrie said. “The atmosphere was awesome. People really showed out in the rain.”
The lone goal of the match came from Japan’s Maika Hamano in the 27th minute when
she cut back and unleashed a left-footed shot that U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-
Joyce couldn’t keep out of the net.Hayes changed the entire starting lineup from
the first match against Japan on Saturday in San Jose, Calif. Rather than sprinkling
in some of the primary starters expected to be key parts of the World Cup roster
next season, Hayes went with a lineup primarily filled with youth.Aside from veteran
defender Emily Sonnett, no other U.S. player had made more than 35 appearances for
the national team. Midfielder Claire Hutton wore the captain’s armband at age 20—
the youngest U.S. captain for a match since 2001.

But that meant the big names on the roster for this international window — Rodman,
Wilson, Heaps, Rose Lavelle, Sam Coffey and Reign FC goalkeeper Claudia Dickey —
were all out of the starting lineup.The absence of those standouts showed in the
first 45 minutes of play, which was choppy and lacked quality chances on goal for
the U.S. The best opportunities came in the 34th minute when Emma Sears’ left-footed
shot was pushed wide by Japan goalkeeper Akane Okuma, and the 40th minute when Lilly
Reale’s header off a corner kick twisted wide of the post.Wilson, Rodman and Heaps
all came on in the second half and dramatically changed the dynamic of the U.S. 
attack. The best scoring chance for the U.S. came when Wilson’s initial shot in 
the penalty area was blocked, fell to Heaps and she backheeled a pass to Jaedyn 
Shaw, only to see it get deflected wide.But that was as close as the U.S. would 
get to a goal on the night.“It’s a very technical, savvy team in the final third.
I still thought we gained momentum, even in the last minutes there, and we got opportunities,”
Heaps said. “But again, it’s a good team that you’re facing up against three times
in a row, so credit to them. But I still think we could have gotten a (draw) out
of it.”