Tag: Mallory Swanson

Swanson fulfills sixth-grade yearbook prophecy with Olympic gold medal

The USWNT star’s prediction from her middle school yearbook has come true

Like many kids, Mallory Swanson dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal. On Saturday, the U.S. women’s national team star became one of the rare athletes to actually make that childhood dream come true.

Swanson scored the only goal in the gold medal game, as the USWNT battled to a 1-0 victory over Brazil in Paris.

The strike capped off an excellent tournament for the 26-year-old, who led the team with four goals in France as she delivered a comeback performance for the ages after missing the 2023 World Cup with a knee injury.

The goal also made a dream come true that she articulated in her sixth-grade yearbook. Swanson, née Pugh, posted her yearbook photo on Instagram several years ago, with the caption: “Just a girl with a dream.”

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In addition to declaring her favorite sixth-grade memory to be outdoor ed, the youngster also said: “I want to be on the USA soccer team and win a gold medal.”

Roughly 14 years later, Swanson accomplished her lofty goal.

Swanson will add the gold medal to her World Cup title from 2019, as she continues putting together a resume that even her sixth-grade self would have scarcely imagined.

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Fox apparently thinks Sophia Smith and Dansby Swanson are an item

This one probably should have been caught before it got on air!

Fox came under fire for much of its soccer coverage this summer, and it couldn’t avoid another blunder on Saturday — even though it was broadcasting a baseball game.

During Saturday’s game between the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox, Fox took a moment to recognize Mallory Swanson’s heroics earlier in the day.

Swanson scored the only goal in the Olympic gold medal game, giving the U.S. women’s national team a 1-0 win over Brazil. She also happens to be married to Cubs star Dansby Swanson, so her inclusion in the broadcast made plenty of sense.

Except the person Fox included in its graphic very much was not Mallory Swanson, but instead her forward line partner Sophia Smith.

Yikes.

Both Smith and Swanson are paired up with fellow pro athletes, as Smith and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Wilson got engaged earlier this summer. But that, needless to say, isn’t much of an excuse!

Later in the game, the inevitable apology arrived, along with a corrected graphic that humorously acknowledged the mistake.

It hasn’t been the greatest summer for Fox, which took plenty of heat for its coverage of Euro 2024 and Copa América. It appears that the network’s soccer blunders now transcend all sports in its coverage portfolio.

Watch Fox apology for Swanson graphic error

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Watch the goal and save that won the USWNT the Paris Olympics gold medal match

These two plays defined the USWNT’s gold medal match victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A stellar goal and a stunning save helped separate the Untied States from Brazil in the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal match for women’s soccer.

The USA took the gold in a 1-0 decision, sparked by forward Mallory Swanson’s electric goal in the second half and goalie Alyssa Naeher’s absolutely crucial save in stoppage time that could’ve evened the score.

Saturday’s win gave the United States women’s national team its first set of gold medals since the 2012 London Olympics, making this a historic 12-year gap erasure for the Americans. It’s the fifth gold in the program’s history.

That wouldn’t be possible without Swanson and Naeher’s absolute vital plays, which you can watch below.

 

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What is the USWNT ‘Triple Espresso’? The Rodman, Smith, Swanson nickname, explained

If you hear the phrase “Triple Espresso”, here’s what it means.

Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson officially have a nickname to explain their dominance.

The USWNT has been recently crushing it during this year’s 2024 Paris Olympic Games. They’ve survived several tough tests, including an overtime thriller against Japan that probably added gray hairs to fans’ heads.

Truthfully, the team doesn’t get as far on the Olympic stage, with a chance to play for a gold medal, without Trinity, Mallory and Sophia. The trio has contributed to 10 — YES, TEN! — of the 11 goals U.S. women’s soccer has scored. The ladies have been so good — almost quite literally waking up games — that they officially have a nickname for themselves: Triple Espresso.

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2016 to 2024: Horan and Swanson reenact photo eight years after Olympic debuts

The Colorado natives recreated the photo they took on their way to the Rio games

Lindsey Horan and Mallory Swanson have come a long way in eight years.

The U.S. women’s national team pair have touched down in France alongside the rest of their teammates, with the Paris Olympics set to kick off next week.

The Colorado natives both made their Olympic debut eight years ago at the 2016 games in Rio de Janeiro. Horan was 22 at the time, while Swanson (then Pugh) was 18 as the U.S. was stunned by Sweden in the quarterfinal.

While they were once USWNT up-and-comers, Horan and Swanson are now grizzled veterans on a team looking to win gold for the first time since 2012.

Horan is now the USWNT captain and recently earned her 150th cap, while Swanson has returned from a serious knee injury to regain her role as one of the focal points of the team’s attack.

Ahead of their flight to France, Horan posted a pair of photos on her Instagram story commemorating the journey she and her teammate have been on since their Olympic debut.

Horan was a part of the Olympic squad that won a bronze medal in 2021, while Swanson missed out on the roster. That team lost to Canada in the semifinal before rebounding to beat Australia in the third-place match.

The USWNT will face Australia once again at this Olympics, with the Matildas drawn into Group B alongside the U.S., Zambia and Germany.

The tournament kicks off on July 25 when the U.S. takes on Zambia and Australia faces Germany.

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Maddie DiMaria wins the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year

Maddie DiMaria wins the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

A remarkable season of high school soccer sees Maddie DiMaria named the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

And perhaps making it even more remarkable is that DiMaria was just a freshman in high school this past season. She is the first-ever freshman to win the award.

DiMaria, who plays for Cor Jesu Academy (Affton, Mo.), had 30 goals and 21 assists this past season.

She received the award at her high school with her coaches and teammates as well as her family all present to see the moment. United States national team forward Mallory Swanson, who won the 2014-15 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year, sent DiMaria a video message of congratulations.

Notable recipients of the award include Aly Wagner and Kennedy Fuller as well as the aforementioned Swanson.

(Courtesy of Gatorade)

“Maddie DiMaria’s historic freshman season was a perfect example of what makes her such a special talent,” said J.R. Eskilson, a national analyst for PrepSoccer.com said in a statement.

“Ruthlessly efficient on the attack and fiercely competitive, she did what her team needed in order to win, supplying goals, assists and everything else to help her side hang a state championship banner.”

Midfielder Ransford Gyan of St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark, N.J.) won the award on the boys side.

USWNT coach Hayes delighted with ‘sensational’ Swanson

Swanson made the perfect first impression on her new USWNT coach

The U.S. women’s national team kicked off its time under new coach Emma Hayes with an authoritative 4-0 win over South Korea, and Mallory Swanson was the star of the show.

Back in her native Colorado, Swanson scored two clinical goals as the USWNT made sure its start to life under new management left no questions as to why U.S. Soccer had hired Hayes away from Chelsea.

For the London-born manager, Swanson’s performance was the start of something special.

“Mal was sensational [in the] first half. You know, the way she has the ability to face forward, link [play],” Hayes told reporters in a post-match press conference. “I mean, I couldn’t ask for any more.”

The Chicago Red Stars attacker scored the first U.S. goal under Hayes’ stewardship, combining superbly with Sophia Smith to open the scoring in the 34th minute. Swanson’s finish capped off a 20-pass sequence that offered a glimpse of what the team could achieve in the months to come.

Swanson would go on to finish off the scoring as well, ruthlessly finishing after collecting Rose Lavelle’s 74th minute through ball.

The performance served a reminder of the blistering form the 26-year-old was in before suffering a severe knee injury in April 2023. Before tearing her patellar tendon and spending nearly a year on the sidelines, Swanson had scored in six straight USWNT matches, all against teams that would go on to play at last summer’s World Cup.

The 47-year-old manager said she had “long admired” Swanson’s play from afar, and has not been disappointed now that they’re working together.

“She’s a connector. She’s really magnetic as a human being, too, the way she operates in the team,” explained Hayes. “She can multitask, she can do what she’s doing on the pitch and she can listen [to what we’re saying] on the sidelines. I noticed that about her today.

“My goal is to keep her fit, keep her healthy, because she’s an important part of this team.”

Still, as any coach worth their salt would believe, there’s always room for growth. While Swanson was clinical when her chances arrived, the USWNT’s dominance may have given the team more openings to increase her touches (44) and shot attempts (four) on the day.

“Again, there’s work to be done,” insisted Hayes. “Many moments throughout the first half, I felt we could have done it better.”

That will be music to Swanson’s ears, and serves as a warning to upcoming USWNT opponents.

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Macario talks ’emotional’ USWNT return alongside Swanson

The pair have returned to the national team after lengthy absences

U.S. women’s national team fans will get a taste of what could have been — and what still could be — during the 2024 SheBelieves Cup.

Catarina Macario and Mallory Swanson were both named to a USWNT roster for the first time since serious knee injuries. For Swanson, it’s been almost exactly a year since her last USWNT appearance. For Macario, almost exactly two years.

Those absences knocked the forwards out of the 2023 World Cup, a tournament in which an anemic offense helped doom the USWNT to a round-of-16 exit — easily the program’s worst finish at a World Cup.

It’s hard not to wonder how things could have been different with Macario and Swanson on the roster. Swanson, in particular, was in scintillating form prior to her injury, as she managed to lead the USWNT in goals in 2023 despite not playing after April.

But the duo has now returned simultaneously, a milestone that wasn’t lost on Macario when she spoke to the media on Wednesday.

“There are no words to describe how good Mal is, honestly,” Macario said.
“She makes us so much better. She’s the type of player that you always want to play with.

“Though I got injured a little bit before her, I was just absolutely gutted for her because she was really in the form of her life leading up to the World Cup. And I have no doubt that she’ll get there again.

“I’m just super happy to see her back. She’s a a great person too. It’s emotional for us to be both back together after so long.”

Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Both players have returned to their club sides in strong form. Macario has hit the ground running at Chelsea despite being sidelined for the better part of two years, while Swanson has started all three NWSL games for the Chicago Red Stars this season, scoring her first goal in year last weekend.

For Swanson, the time away from the game gave her a new perspective on the game, and life in general.

“You can’t ever take life for granted, you can’t take your health for granted,” she said. “And so ever since then, I’ve kind of had a new perspective on that. When something’s taken away from you, you always have a new perspective on it. So I’m just grateful to be back in this environment, back with this team and wearing the crest because it means so much.”

The USWNT may have been able to have a more successful World Cup with Swanson and Macario in the fold, but the team’s future outlook is looking much rosier now with both returning to the picture.

“Both Mal and I wish that we could have been there,” Macario said. “I think sometimes you kind of need to take things into perspective. And I feel like everything works out for a reason.”

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After injury nightmare, USWNT’s Swanson scores first goal in over a year

One of the USWNT’s biggest names is back scoring goals

Mallory Swanson made her return from a major injury a few weeks ago, but on Friday she made sure to show that she is all the way back.

The U.S. women’s national team star scored her first goal in just over a year as the Chicago Red Stars and Orlando Pride battled to a 1-1 draw in the NWSL.

Swanson’s 64th-minute equalizer for Chicago was a classic example of the 25-year-old’s gifts, with her low-angle shot seeming to freeze Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse before nestling into the furthest depths of the bottom corner.

The goal was Swanson’s first in a competitive game in 370 days, with her last strike being a successful penalty kick for the Red Stars on March 25, 2023.

Swanson was in staggering form early in 2023 for the USWNT, scoring seven times in five matches across January and February, but a torn patellar tendon suffered in a friendly against the Republic of Ireland kept her out of contention for last summer’s World Cup.

Swanson recently revealed that the procedure to repair that injury was followed by an infection that required emergency surgery, setting her recovery back significantly.

In the meantime, Swanson signed a long-term contract with Chicago, at the time making her the highest-paid player in the NWSL. That record was only broken earlier this week when Sophia Smith inked a two-year deal with the Portland Thorns.

Swanson told reporters after the match that what she had “learned the past three games, is, it takes time. I think I needed to give myself a little bit more grace with where I was.”

Still, as much as the goal was cathartic, Swanson couldn’t resist throwing in a deadpan bit of analysis. “That, and honestly just, take a deep breath and shoot the ball.”

Watch Swanson’s first goal in a year

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Swanson marks return from injury that changed ‘whole perspective on life’

Swanson said that her knee injury has given her a new perspective on life

Mallory Swanson is back on the field, and the Chicago Red Stars forward has returned with a new appreciation for being able to play the sport she loves.

Swanson missed nearly a full year after suffering a torn patella tendon in April with the U.S. women’s national team, knocking her out of the 2023 World Cup.

The forward’s recovery was complicated by an infection that required a second surgery less than two weeks after her first operation.

After returning for Chicago’s preseason, Swanson was back on the field in the Red Stars’ 2024 opener on Saturday as her side defeated the Utah Royals 2-0.

Swanson played 80 minutes in the win, looking like she is on her way to regaining the form that saw her lead the USWNT in goals last year despite not playing a game after April.

Following the match in Utah, Swanson posted her gratitude for the moment on Instagram.

“After 343 days, 3 surgeries, and an infection that changed my whole perspective on life I realized many things,” she said. “Life is a beautiful blessing. Health is a blessing. This game that I love is a blessing. And at the end of it all I am more than thankful to be able to do what I love again.”

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