'Much better in all phases of the field' - Emma Hayes empowers youthful lineup, and stars Olivia Moultrie and Lily Yohannes respond: Winners and losers in USWNT rebound win

It's easy to forget, at times, that Moultrie is still just 20. It seems like she's been around for years. Yet she's still the fourth-youngest person on this USWNT roster, one that still only has a few caps to her name. She also now has two USWNT braces on her resume.

Moultrie made her mark almost immediately as she followed Lavelle's lead from Thursday by scoring within the first minute of the match. That quickly went out the window with a Portugal equalizer. No worries, though, because Moultrie popped up once again in the 10th minute to restore the USWNT's lead. 

"Honestly, my reaction to both goals was pure adrenaline," Moultrie said. "I don't even know what I was thinking. I couldn't even think about a celebration."

Moultrie was rightfully excited. This was another statement performance from a player who has made a habit of this recently. She's now scored three braces within the last three weeks. Her first USWNT goals, meanwhile, came in a brace last February, too.

Now, six years after she was first introduced as American soccer's next rising star, Moultrie is growing into a role as a USWNT regular. Based on Sunday, she may also be a USWNT game-changer, too.

"I was talking to Emma about it, and just feeling the trust in both club and country and allowing all the work I’ve put in to just showcase itself," Moultrie said. "People are like, 'Have you changed anything recently?' Am I’m like, 'No, not really.' I’m just trying to stay consistent with what I’ve been told by my coaches and staff, and do the work, do the film, talk to my teammates.

"And honestly, just try to do the right thing and stay patient, especially in my positioning, which has been a big thing with me and Emma."

Things happen, particularly in international soccer. You can't keep clean sheets every game, particularly against good teams. These last two games, though, have been headlined by some pretty frustrating goals conceded by the USWNT.

There's an obvious missing piece behind that, it's worth mentioning. If the currently injured Naomi Girma were in the XI, things would surely be different. She is that level of player and that vital of a defensive leader. It's worth wondering what these games would have looked like if she were in the starting XI. Several players have been fighting to be her partner when she does return. So far, though, there hasn't been a standout.

Emily Sonnett is the incumbent but, for the second consecutive game, she was beaten to a header. Tara McKeown, Emily Sams and Jordyn Bugg, meanwhile, are all relatively new. It was Bugg who got the nod on Sunday and, while she was very good on the ball, she didn't go so far as to really dominate in a way that would vault her into contention.

You know those highlights of charity games featuring everyday players taking on ex-pros? It's always easy to spot the ex-pro. They're bigger, stronger and smarter than everyone else on the field. They run the game despite never needing to go past a slight jog. It's all so easy.

That was what Yohannes looked like on Sunday. She was in a different class than everyone else on the field, and it was so easy to see. Yohannes set the tempo throughout the game, demanding the ball and making the right decisions Portugal, no matter what they did, could not get anywhere near her. It was so calm and, seemingly, so effortless.

But don't forget, that's not easy. Credit to those around her, too. Teammates constantly made themselves available, while Claire Hutton, her teenage partner in midfield, seemed like the perfect foil for Yoahnnes in the center of the park.

"We changed something positionally for Lily," Hayes said. "Like Claire Hutton, she plays beyond her years. She has no fear to get on the ball with pressure, solve pressure, she can switch balls out, she can thread balls in behind."

Thompson didn't play poorly in either game. Her performances, though, have left something be desired, particularly for those waiting to see her take a huge leap into this team's starting XI. The Chelsea winger's performance in the first Portugal match was largely defined by poor decision-making, as she was never able to play the final ball needed to create a goal.

On Sunday, she had even fewer decisions to make as Thompson didn't seem as involved. That happens, of course, but it's frustrating that, in roughly 160 minutes, Thompson wasn't able to really make Portugal sweat. She will do that to other teams, though.

Her speed remains elite, which you can't teach. You can, however, teach a player to be more composed in the final-third. That will come in time, and you've already seen her take some leaps in that regard. Thompson is so talented, which is why it's fair to expect her to be the star of the show in these types of games.

Alyssa Naeher's road to this moment was special. She wasn't anointed early. She wasn't necessarily expected to ever be a game-changing goalkeeper. She waited and waited and waited and, ultimately, got her chance. Once that happened, she never looked back.

By the time her USWNT career wrapped last winter, it was clear that this moment was coming, though. On Sunday, in her home state of Connecticut, Naeher got her flowers, having done just about everything she could during her time to earn them. From her tenure as the go-to backup to her run as a reliable starter, Naeher cemented legend status and was rightfully recognized for it during pregame.

With 69 clean sheets in 115 appearances, Naeher was as good as anyone who has worn the gloves for this team. She's both a World Cup and Olympic champion, headlining a resume that is as strong as nearly anyone else this program has ever seen.

“Hard to say anything other than the penalty against England as the favorite,” Naeher said when asked about her most memorable moment. “Not just the save, but the moment. You talk about the perseverance of a career, and I think that save was a culmination of all the work it took to get to that point.”

So, too, was this moment.

As a coach, you need to be decisive, no matter what's thrown at you. The moment you aren't is often the beginning of the end. You see it all the time in soccer. So the thing that makes Hayes so great is that there is no questioning or indecision.

Even with the previous loss, Hayes didn't panic, she empowered. The U.S. has lost three games this year, but have now won all three games that immediately followed. That's called responding. Sunday's win was, perhaps, the most impressive, simply due to the way Hayes went about doing it.

She got there by trusting her young players, and by throwing them into the fire, knowing they needed to perform.

"I wanted to see the progress from Brazil, from Japan, for this group, and I saw it tonight," Hayes said. "We just have to keep investing in that."

The more the young stars grow up, the more likely that is to happen. The player pool is deep but, largely, inexperienced. This was a meaningful moment, a test to see how the least experienced of this group would fare. Hayes deserved credit for trusting them.