'Plays well beyond her years' - Claire Hutton is the 19-year-old commanding the USWNT midfield one day, and soaking up family time in New York's Capital Region the next

Growing up in the Capital Region outside of Albany in upstate New York, Hutton discovered her love for soccer at just four years old - and by age nine, she was taking field with the Alleycats, a youth club in Albany, regularly training with older and often boys’ teams.

As a seventh-grader at Bethlehem High School, she helped guide the girls’ varsity team to a state championship appearance and earned all-state honors . By eighth grade, she shattered records with 36 goals and 19 assists in one season - leading to repeated Section II championships and being named New York State Player of the Year. Hutton eventually joined highly regarded ECNL club, World Class FC.

A pivotal chapter in Hutton’s development was her mentorship under former USWNT defender Betsy Drambour, who coached her from age nine onward. After wrapping up a tournament with the Allycats, Drambour took the trip to Washington D.C. last week to watch Hutton play at Audi Field.

“It was a surreal moment,” Drambour told the Times Union. “More powerful than the excitement of the goal itself. It was like, ‘She really did it.’ A moment of validation. A breakthrough.”

After the game, Hutton's smile was from ear-to-ear, as she spoke about her family in the crowd.

"Looking around, seeing red, white and blue, just to play for this country, to play in the week of Fourth of July, it means a lot," Hutton said, hair slicked back but also flying everywhere after a 80-plus minutes of work. "So it's exciting to play on the East Coast. I'm from New York, so just having friends and family in the stands was incredible."

How did that feel?

"Oh my gosh, I don't know. I get to go see my entire family tomorrow," she said. "So I'm excited. I get to hang out with them."

A very typical response from an atypical 19-year-old - score a goal for the USWNT and then casually talk about hanging with the family the next day to celebrate. Hutton's goal was far from a classic teenage finish - she leaped into the air, jumping over and above two Canadian players, to head the ball into the back of the net.

Lavelle's ball was, of course, perfectly placed just into the box. But the work rate, the aerial ability from Hutton was something many USWNT fans haven't seen since the Abby Wambach days

"Shout out to Claire. She jumped just so high and like, kind of levitated for a second," Lavelle said.

Hayes has expressed the importance of club time and time again. She has reiterated how she watches those games and there needs to be a clear expectation that a strong performance at the club level could mean an opportunity to represent the USWNT. She has proved that to be the case, calling up 25 NWSL players for the most recent trio of games, and giving a total of 27 players a cap in her time in the U.S.

"I'm all about the whole ecosystem," Hayes said. "And if players who dream and aspire to be at this level are fortunate enough to get the opportunity to to play at this level, whether it's one cap, whether it's 100 caps, I think it indirectly has an impact on the league, because players feel like, if I do do well at club, I'm going to get an opportunity here."

Hutton has been on Hayes' radar, and - in her time with both the under-20 USYNT and Kansas City Current - has clearly shown how high her ceiling is.

Hutton is in her second season professionally with the Current, and has been a key piece to the midfield. In the past two seasons the Current have remained at the top of the table, and this season in particular are miles above the rest of the teams in the NWSL standing. KC is coached by Vlatko Andonovski, who knows a thing or two about the national team - he coached the USWNT fron 2019-23, including in the World Cup.

Hutton credits her time with the Current as a helpful in preparing her for these big moments she's experiencing on the USWNT stage.

"At Kansas City, we have such a great environment that Vlatko creates and just that team camaraderie there, so you can see it translated as well to international play," she said. "I'm excited to be back. I'm excited to be back with my team in Kansas City and finish the season out hopefully win a championship."

Hutton is getting to learn from one of the best, in real-time. Hutton has been playing alongside Coffey for the USWNT. Coffey and Hutton are very similar. They were conventionally trained to play the six. They are both physical, disciplined, and tend to hold back to scan the field and distribute, as opposed to make bold runs into the attack. Hayes having them play a double pivot pulls them out of their typical spots and challenges them to play higher up the pitch.

"She's is a top player," Hayes said of Hutton. "Sam, what a great role model for Claire and someone to grow alongside. So I think the both of them, put in exceptional performances and I'm really, really happy with both of them."

The relationship between the two players sprouted quickly.

"We have trust in each other," Hutton said. "We have trust in different people having the ball. And I think that just goes to show that the way Emma is creating the team culture in the chemistry between us is unmatched."

Trust is the name of the game, with Hayes saying, "I feel like everybody is not just trusting the process, but they're carrying out all the things we ask them to do. And know everybody showed themselves so so well."

The USWNT will take a brief break until the fall, and then it'll be another cycle preparing for the 2027 World Cup. Hutton will soon return to her Current team and work to bring Kansas City an NWSL Championship.

Her focus remains, on growing, evolving, and soaking up all of the experiences that come her way.

"Hopefully I get to see all of them come October," Claire said of her USWNT teammates. "But, only time will tell."