U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Staff Falls to Japan 1-0 in 2nd Assembly of 3-Sport Collection

SEATTLE, WASH. (April 14, 2026) – The U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Staff’s 10-game win streak got here to an finish on a wet night time in Seattle because it fell 1-0 to Japan in the second one of 3 consecutive fits between the 2 facets. Midfielder Maika Hamano scored the game-winner within the first 1/2 to boost the Nadeshiko to simply their third-ever win over the US. 

America had the easier of the fit in lots of spaces, conserving 67% of the ownership, breaking Japan’s press smartly all fit and outshooting the Asian champions, 12-9, however a loss of sharpness on ultimate passes and completing within the ultimate 0.33 could be the US’s downfall.

The fit marked the go back of the USWNT to Seattle for the primary time since 2017 as 36,128 poured into Lumen Box regardless of terrible climate, atmosphere the file for the most important crowd ever to wait a girls’s carrying eventin the town. Former Seattle Reign FC goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce began in her previous house stadium and defender Tierna Davidson, who entered the fit within the sixty fifth minute, made her first look for the U.S. since Feb. 26, 2025, following her restoration from an ACL damage in March of 2025.

For the fourth time in her tenure, U.S. head trainer Emma Hayes solely modified her beginning XI from the final fit. It used to be simplest the 9th time in program historical past {that a} trainer has swapped out their whole beginning lineup in consecutive fits. Tuesday’s beginning lineup averaged 23.9 caps heading into the fit, lower than 1/2 the typical caps of the former fit on April 11 in San Jose (56.3). Japan additionally made 9 adjustments to its lineup from the former assembly.

America just about had back-to-back video games with early objectives when midfielder Jaedyn Shaw’s shot from the highest of the field pressured a save from Jap goalkeeper Akene Okuma within the 5th minute. In a while after, defender Emily Sams performed an extended ball to fellow defender Avery Patterson making an overlapping run down the precise aspect. Patterson’s pass throughout the field used to be headed away earlier than falling to ahead Emma Sears whose shot used to be blocked for a nook.

Japan additionally created more than one probabilities within the first 1/2 earlier than scoring the go-ahead function within the twenty seventh minute. Hamano gained ownership within the central 0.33 and Japan blended passes up the sphere earlier than ahead Maya Hijikata performed it again to Hamano at the appropriate aspect of the penalty house. She minimize inside of previous U.S. left again Lilly Reale to her left foot and rifled a shot off the fingertips of Tullis-Joyce and into the higher appropriate nook. Hamano additionally scored the game-winning function within the AFC Asian Girls’s Cup Ultimate towards Australia final month.

2nd-half substitutions amped up the file crowd because the USWNT got here with regards to discovering the equalizer. Within the 71st minute, Davidson performed a ball excessive to ahead Sophia Wilson, however her right-footed shot from about 10 yards out used to be appropriate at Okuma. Wilson had any other alternative mins later after Trinity Rodman discovered her appropriate in entrance of function, however her shot used to be cleared off the road. The rebound fell to Shaw, however her try used to be deflected out for a nook kick.

Within the ultimate moments of second-half stoppage time, midfielder Claire Hutton arrange Tons for a flying side-volley that used to be headed against the ground left nook, however Tons used to be offside, rendering Okuma’s diving save moot.

The USWNT closes its three-game collection towards Japan on Friday, April 17 at DICK’S Carrying Items Park in Trade Town, Colo.

Function Scoring Rundown:

JPN– MAIKA HAMANO (MAYA HIJIKATA), twenty seventh minute: Maika Hamano gained ownership within the central 0.33 and endured her run down the precise aspect as Japan blended passes up the sphere. Simply out of doors the penalty arc, Maya Hijikata performed the ball again to Hamano with house on the fringe of the field. Hamano took a slightly inside of to overcome Lilly Reale and despatched a left-footed shot slightly below the crossbar, off the outstretched hand of Phallon Tullis-Joyce into the higher appropriate nook of the online. USA 0, JPN 1

Further Notes:

• Emma Hayes made a little extra program historical past through solely converting her Beginning XI from the final fit. That is the fourth time in her tenure by which she has performed that however simplest the 9th time total in program historical past {that a} trainer has swapped out their whole beginning lineup in consecutive fits.
• She first swapped the overall Beginning XI between the primary two fits of the 2025 SheBelieves Cup. After the U.S. gained 2-0 over Colombia within the SheBelieves opener on Feb. 20, an absolutely other Beginning XI began the 2-1 win over Australia. Hayes additionally switched out all of the Beginning XI between the 2 fits towards Eire in June of 2025. The U.S. gained each fits, 4-0. Maximum just lately, she modified out all of the Beginning XI between the 2 January Camp fits towards Paraguay and Chile. The U.S. gained the ones fits 6-0 and 5-0, respectively.
• This fit marked simply the 9th instance in 777 all-time fits that the USWNT’s beginning lineup featured 11 adjustments in consecutive outings and it’s simply the fourth time – all underneath Hayes – that it has passed off all over the similar match/camp that didn’t come with a closed-door pleasant.
• Emily Sonnett used to be essentially the most skilled participant on this night’s beginning lineup. She entered the fit with 115 caps whilst the remainder of the roster blended for 148 caps. The following-most skilled participant to start out the fit used to be Jaedyn Shaw who entered the fit with 34 caps. Of the gamers within the beginning lineup, simplest Sonnett has noticed on-field mins in a FIFA Girls’s Global Cup or an Olympics Video games.
• The U.S. returned to Seattle, Wash. for the primary time in virtually 9 years. The final time the U.S. performed in Seattle used to be July 27, 2017, at CenturyLink Box (now Lumen Box) to open the inaugural Match of International locations, shedding 1-0 to Australia. This time, Lumen Box boasted a crowd that set the file for greatest for a standalone girls’s football fit in Seattle. The former file used to be 34,130 for Megan Rapinoe’s farewell recreation. The fit had an added twist because it used to be the primary for the US on grass at Lumen Box, with a brand new pitch having been laid down in preparation for the 2026 FIFA Global Cup fits.
• Claire Hutton (twenty years previous) used to be the youngest captain to start out a fit with the arm band since 2001. The USWNT has simplest saved captain stats since 1999, however since that point, there have been simplest 3 circumstances the place a participant began a fit with the captain’s arm band and used to be more youthful than Hutton is now: Cat Whitehill used to be 19 years previous on March 13, 2001 vs. Portugal; Aleisha Cramer used to be 18 years previous on March 15, 2001 vs. Sweden and Cramer used to be nonetheless 18 years previous on March 17 vs. Norway.
• This night used to be Tierna Davidson’s first fit for the USA since Feb. 26, 2025, the overall fit of the 2025 SheBelieves Cup additionally vs. Japan. This used to be her first fit in 412 days.
• This night’s attendance of 36,128 used to be the nineteenth greatest total crowd in USWNT historical past at house, but it surely used to be the 8th greatest non-Global Cup, non-Olympics, stand-alone crowd. This night used to be additionally the most important ever girls’s carrying match in Seattle.
• America is now 33W-3L-8D all-time towards Japan.
• The U.S. hasn’t ever gained a fit at Lumen Box.

– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –

Fit: United States vs. Japan
Date: April 14, 2026
Pageant: Pleasant
Venue: Lumen Box, Seattle, Wash.
Attendance: 36,128
Kickoff: 7 p.m. PT / 10 p.m. ET
Climate: 48 levels and wet

Lineups:
USA: 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce; 3-Avery Patterson, 6-Emily Sams, 14-Emily Sonnett (12-Tierna Davidson, 65), 5-Lilly Reale (22-Gisele Thompson, 65); 15-Claire Hutton (Capt.), 7-Lily Yohannes (10-Lindsey Tons, 71), 13-Olivia Moultrie (11-Sophia Wilson, 65); 8-Jaedyn Shaw (26-Jameese Joseph, 79), 9-Best friend Sentnor, 19-Emma Sears (2-Trinity Rodman, 65)

Substitutes no longer used: 1-Claudia Dickey, 4-Naomi Girma, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Sam Coffey, 20-Michelle Cooper, 23-Emily Fox

No longer dressing: 18-Jane Campbell, 21-Alyssa Thompson, 25-Kennedy Wesley

Head Trainer: Emma Hayes

JPN: 23-Akane Okuma; 2-Risa Shimizu (14-Yui Hasegawa, 79), 3-Moeka Minami 4-Saki Kumagai, 21-Miyabi Moriya (13-Hikaru Kitagawa, 46); 17-Maika Hamano (15-Aoba Fujino, 59), 18-Honoka Hayashi (19-Momoko Tanikawa, 79), 10-Fuka Nagano (7-Hinata Miyazawa, 68), 22-Remina Chiba (16-Yuzuki Yamamoto, 59); 24-Maya Hijikata (20-Manaka Matsukubo, 46), 11-Mina Tanaka (9-Riko Ueki, 68)

Substitutes no longer used: 1-Ayaka Yamashita; 6-Toko Koga, 12-Chika Hirao

Head trainer: Michihisa Kano 

Stats Abstract: USA / JPN
Photographs: 12 / 9
Photographs on Function: 5 / 5
Saves: 4 / 5
Nook Kicks: 3 / 2
Fouls: 3 / 13
Offside: 3 / 4

Officers:

Ref: Janeishka Caban (PUR)

AR1: Lourdes Noriega (HON)

AR2: Santa Medina (DOM)

Fourth: Sandra Benitez (SLV)