Avery Patterson USWNT defender Emily Fox is one of one. She's won an Olympic gold medal and, as of a few weeks ago, the UEFA Champions League, and she simply cannot be imitated. When it became clear that Hayes would rest Fox against China to help her recover from her long club season with Arsenal, USWNT fans cringed. Turns out, they shouldn't have. 22-year-old Avery Patterson stepped up in Fox's absence and gave something better than an Emily Fox impersonation: she gave herself. Patterson is a fast, intelligent attacking full back, and she was at the center of many of the USWNT's best line-breaking moves. Cat Macario The USWNT has been without its Triple Espresso attack of Mallory Swanson, Sophia Wilson and Trinity Rodman for every match it's played in 2025. While it'll be great to see them back fully fit in the future—Swanson and Wilson are pregnant, while Rodman is recovering from a long-term back injury—their absence has been a blessing in disguise for the USWNT. It's forced Hayes to dig deep into her attacking bench in a way that previous coaches never needed to. That digging has unearthed some diamonds in the rough (Ally Sentnor, Michelle Cooper), but it's also reinvigorated USWNT stalwart Cat Macario. The 25-year-old striker missed most of last year, including the Olympics, due to a gruesome knee injury, and many fans wondered if she'd be the same player once she returned. She isn't: she's better. Macario's hold-up play has always been world-class, but her performance against China shows that she's starting to build real attacking chemistry with her USWNT teammates, too. She was unstoppable when linking up with Alyssa Thompson and Michelle Cooper. China simply couldn't take them. Lo'eau LaBonta It's been a wild ride for Lo'eau LaBonta. The one-time national champion with Stanford has been an NWSL mainstay for years and currently captains the Kansas City Current, but her impressive career has lacked one thing: a USWNT cap. Not anymore. LaBonta came on as a substitute in the 70th minute to earn her first-ever appearance with the national team. At 32, LaBonta is now the oldest USWNT debutante in history, and her story proves that it's never, ever too late. "She’s been consistent in everything that she has done," coach Hayes said of LaBonta's call-up. "This is the right moment to do it.”