U.S. women's national team head coach Emma Hayes continued her tour of National Women's Soccer League games with a stop in New Jersey on Sunday to catch No. 1 Gotham host an in-form Angel City for a highly anticipated match-up that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Hayes spoke to reporters before kick-off, sharing thoughts on the USWNT's upcoming friendlies against World Cup champions Spain and what she has gained from traveling up and down the East Coast this week with assistant coach Denise Reddy.
The trip started Friday when Hayes flew to Orlando, where the Pride lost 2-1 to No. 2 San Diego Wave.
"I love watching football, so it's been an opportunity to connect the clubs and people," Hayes said. "Whether it's off the field, whether it's the players — and immersing in each culture, which I love doing — I try to get around to as many games as I can.
"This was a good opportunity before camp."
One player who has benefited from Hayes' previous NWSL road trips is 28-year-old Utah Royals defender Kate Del Fava, who was announced on Sunday as a replacement player for injured USWNT center back Naomi Girma .
Del Fava was already planning to travel to Atlanta for training camp with the U-23 women's national team as an overage player. She has impressed Hayes in recent months when called into that environment, even traveling with the U-23's to Brazil in June. Hayes has regularly scheduled the senior and U-23 camps to run concurrently in hopes of extending the growing fluidity between their rosters.
"I've talked extensively about the importance of the Under-23. One of the reasons we have over-age eligible players is for players that might have developed in the league but didn't get their shot at the national team, getting the opportunity to go in and impress there and playing games there, and she made such an impression," Hayes said.
Del Fava has "been a consistent performer for her club. She's very durable, always available, the quickest defender in the league, and best aerially in that position. We've been watching her for a while. She's been unlucky, just on the edge of not being selected. It's the right moment to bring her in, and we're very excited."
On Sunday, Hayes watched Gotham's Jaedyn Shaw and Angel City's Ally Sentnor, with Shaw scoring the opener. They were both left off the USWNT's senior roster for the upcoming friendlies against Spain and were instead called in to train with the U-23s.
Hayes repeated last week that Shaw and Sentnor remain a very important part of the senior national team's plans, and the decision to call them into the U-23s was to stress their development. She said they would have received limited minutes on the pitch against Spain.
Gotham features a long list of Hayes' former Chelsea players — from 2026 signings Guro Reiten and Sam Kerr to Jess Carter and Ann-Katrin Berger, who were important in helping the New Jersey club lift the team's second NWSL Championship last year.
"They're all winners," Hayes said. "Anne has consistently been a world-class goalkeeper, and same for Jess: international-class defender, and she has shown her versatility to play at the back.
"Then you've got Guro, who can put service on Sam Kerr's head. They know each other telepathically, and Sam is finding her feet in the league and showing her worth to the team for the world-class striker that she is. Good to see."
Early in the first half on Sunday, Reiten showed that link-up, floating a ball that connected with Kerr's head. It had Sports Illustrated Stadium roaring. Gotham has similarly managed to float to the top of the table, with a league-leading 55 points.
Hayes says she has been impressed with Gotham's consistency, praising head coach Juan Carlos Amoros for his ability to raise and maintain standards.
"Winning once is one thing but winning multiple times is the true test of a quality team. Gotham have had a quality roster for years, and a lot of winners in the environment to compete," Hayes said. "Juan has done a fantastic job at developing that winning mentality in the group, and he'll be even closer this year. There are a lot of top teams in the league vying for the championship, but he deserves his flowers. It's not easy to win."
Amoros has also been outspoken in recent months about his decision to take five weeks off for parental leave, following the birth of his second child this year. Hayes praised the head coach for his openness on the topic, emphasizing the significance of using his platform. In his absence, assistant head coach Shaun Harris and the rest of the staff steered the club to the No. 1 spot over five weeks.
"Too often, we dismiss the importance of being around our children in this profession. It doesn't matter if you're a mother or a father," Hayes said. "Our children need us, and that bonding time is something you can never get back. Life with your family is the most important thing."
This article originally appeared in The Athletic .
US Women's national team, Gotham FC, Angel City, NWSL, Women's Soccer
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