'There's only one Rose Lavelle' - After helping define an era, the USWNT veteran is crucial as Emma Hayes ushers in a new one

Since the Olympics, the USWNT has dealt with a number of major absences. The "Triple Espresso" attacking core of Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman have been almost entirely out since announcing themselves to the world in that gold medal run. Naomi Girma has missed significant time, robbing the U.S. of its defensive leader.

And Alyssa Naeher retired from international play, kickstarting a USWNT goalkeeping competition.

For much of the year, Lavelle was missing, too. After undergoing ankle surgery in December, Lavelle missed the first seven games of 2025, a run that included USWNT losses to Japan and Brazil in the spring. She returned with a bang, netting and assisting in the 4-0 rout of Ireland on June 26. After making a cameo in her hometown of Cincinnati in another blowout of the Irish team,  Lavelle then started against Canada on July 2 as Hayes seemed content to ease her back into the fold.

"We're all delighted for Rose because there's only one Rose Lavelle," Hayes said over the summer. "There really is, both on and off the field, as a character, as a football player, as a human being. [It's] been a tough injury to recover from, but she's such a professional, also a perfectionist.

"I think Rose is a special player, I always have. I did before I took this job, but now I work with her and I've been able to put her in positions where she can thrive even more, giving her the right structure, and I'm looking forward to many more of those moments."

Those moments are, ultimately, what have come to define Lavelle's career. It's what put her on the world's stage at the 2019 World Cup, at which she won the competition's Bronze Ball. In truth, though, those moments haven't happened quite as often in recent years.  She struggled with a knee injury at the 2023 World Cup, limiting her impact, and was then overshadowed by the younger goalscorers at last summer's Olympics. She featured in every match, but then did not appear in the final.

This week seems something of a reminder, then, of what those Lavelle moments can look like.

With just a few minutes left in their NWSL regular season, Gotham FC needed a goal. They'd assembled something of a superteam in recent years, yes, but the Bats knew they needed at least a point in their regular season finale against Racing Louisville if they wanted into this season's playoffs. And, in that moment, Lavelle stepped up as only she does.

Given a set piece just outside of the box, Lavelle made the most of it. With her side down 2-1 and desperately needing a goal, the midfielder provided it, turning a dead-ball situation into one of those moments of magic that can, ultimately, define a season. It did that for Gotham, who are now into the playoffs.

"I think the profile of Rose Lavelle is probably the most rare to find when it's a player that can basically do everything at such a high level," Gotham FC head coach Juan Carlos Amoros said earlier this season. "And then on top of that she does the special things on the ball that create - it's why we all watch the sport.

"Obviously, you want to see goals, but those actions that she produces and how she understands the game is something very different to everyone else and that's what makes her special."

That free kick was on Sunday. On Thursday, Lavelle didn't have to wait until the game's final moments to make her mark. She did it instantly. Although it should be acknowledged that she was almost certainly offside on her finish, the goal just 33 seconds into the match it was another example of what Lavelle adds to the team: game-defining moments.

Unfortunately for her, it didn't ultimately define Thursday's game. The U.S. shut off after that opening goal, never really getting back in the game after conceding in the first half.

"I think it felt like a good, fun start," Lavelle said. "I think we needed to keep on that momentum. Unfortunately, we weren't able to. But I think it's always good to get an early goal. I think it helps set the tone. But I don't think we were able to really keep up with it after that."

It was a bitter defeat for the USWNT, but also a valuable one that sets the team's leaders, including Lavelle, up for a chance to guide the group's younger stars.

It's easy to forget just how inexperienced this current USWNT group is. Of the 26 players on the roster, 18 have 12 or fewer caps. Only four have played in multiple major tournaments. Only three are over the age of 30. Lavelle is one, alongside Lindsey Heaps and Emily Sonnett. Their leadership, particularly coming out of a loss, is vital.

"You can't compete to win without experience. You cannot. Some of that experience is not just in the things you see on the pitch, it's the sort of things you do not see," Hayes said earlier this week. "I think about Lindsey. Since I've come to this country, what an unbelievable leader she's been, in terms of driving standards, I would say, alongside Emily Sonnet, alongside our Rose in different ways.

"And not just upholding standards, but actually bringing people into it, so people belong, so they feel valued. And also adapt with the changes that come with the differences in generations, to be able to meet them where they're at. I always say to our less experienced players, 'Look up to these people.'"

For anyone who has followed Lavelle's career, it is difficult to grasp her status as a USWNT vet. She burst onto the scene so spectacularly during that 2019 run, cementing her place as a rising star next to legends such as Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, Julie Ertz and Alex Morgan.

She's cemented her place among them already but, at 30, she's now heading towards the place in her career where those players were at that 2019 tournament. She's no longer the hot prospect, but the experienced leader, one who, ultimately, will have a big part to play going forward.

Lavelle said it after the match: she's looking forward to Sunday's rematch, as the USWNT and Portugal will meet again in East Hartford, Connecticut. It'll be a chance to bounce back, and an opportunity for this evolving group to show how they respond to adversity.

"That's the lucky part about this: we have another opportunity to go out, be better and play more as a team and get on the same page," Lavelle said. "I think we're excited for that opportunity to grow over these next three days and talk about what went right and what went wrong."

What went wrong, in Hayes' eyes, was clear: the team's play was too individualistic. As Portugal continued to put pressure on the U.S., players tried to break through by themselves, not as a unit. It led to a disjointed performance, one that Hayes is eager to see her team learn from.

"We didn’t look like a team the whole evening, on both sides of the ball," the USWNT boss said. "We didn’t press together, we didn’t possess together, it felt like a yard off in our brain. I could see that.”

Unsurprisingly, as a veteran leader, Lavelle agreed.

"I think we've got to play more together," the midfielder said. "I think we need to find better spacing for everybody to get on the ball. Again, credit to them, they're a great team. But we need to be better in a lot of areas and make little adjustments."

Only Hayes knows whether or not Lavelle will get that opportunity on Sunday. Rotation is surely coming, and that was guaranteed even before Thursday's performance. With a game on Sunday and then another on Wednesday, Hayes may look to change things up.

Going forward, though, expect to see more of Lavelle. The U.S. continues to grow as a unit, finding young, exciting players to fill gaps and, in some cases, seize roles previously held by veterans. As long as Lavelle keeps providing moments of magic, though, she'll remain a key part as she helps usher in a new era after being so vital to defining the previous one.