A reason to dance: USWNT Winners and Losers as Trinity Rodman shines, newcomers impress in rout against Chile

You can take your pick here because, by and large, every new face had something to be legitimately excited about. Joseph had a goal. Ayo Oke had an assist on her USWNT debut. Riley Jackson had sequences where she controlled the center of the park in her debut alongside three-cap Sam Meza and seven-cap Croix Bethune. Hayes threw a lot of new faces into the mix on this one. They all delivered.

"I want competition, I want players to feel uncomfortable. That, for me, is so important in this period where they go 'Hang on, I got so and so left or right of me. I have to keep raising the bar.' Because that is what it takes to be the best," Hayes said of the competitive spirit of this January camp. 

Tuesday's XI was the least-experienced USWNT group since 2001, averaging just 5.2 caps per player. Yazmeen Ryan had the most caps in the XI with 16, more than the six fewest capped players combined. In total, 32 players have now earned debuts in Hayes' first 32 matches. These debutants were as good as any that preceded them. Yes, there are caveats with the opposition and, yes, there were notable absences. It's clear, though, that the player pool is only getting deeper as more players take their chance to show quality.

As always, it's up to Hayes to make the tough decisions down the line. For now, though, it's worth celebrating the players gaining valuable USWNT experience in their first few caps.

She'll feel like a winner solely because she got Hayes to dance. After trying so hard to get the manager involved after scoring this past weekend, it was mission accomplished on Tuesday. 

These are the types of challenges Rodman is setting up now. Scoring is so expected that all eyes are on how she reacts when she does it. Will it be a new dance? Who will join her? What kind of magic can she make with the ball at her feet?

There was plenty on Tuesday. Given just a few minutes to work, it took Rodman just five minutes to dismantle Chile and get the USWNT's fifth goal. Her joy was easy to see, as was Hayes' as she somewhat begrudgingly celebrated with the forward. That's what Rodman is: a star. Even when she isn't in the XI, she's a star that shines, too, making the game more fun along the way.

"Trin, you can hear it in the reception she got when she came on. She brings a joy, not just throughout her play, but for our fans. She's an exceptional football player, but she's also a fantastic person." 

It was the 60th minute and Chile were 4-0 down. The USWNT were preparing for their sixth corner of the game and, as the players on the field were preparing for that specific set piece, there was movement near the USWNT bench. In came Trinity Rodman, Claire Hutton, and Olivia Moultire, who headlined the incoming five-player group. What in the world might Chile have thought about that?

A hopeless feeling, no doubt. Chile were getting thoroughly thrashed by the least experienced USWNT in a generation. One could only imagine how bad this would have been if some of the bigger stars were available. In every sense, Chile were outclassed, and there was no hiding it at any point during a friendly that felt more like a USWNT training session.

It was perhaps a good lesson for Chile. There are surely things both sides can take out of this. Those things are certainly harder to take given the result, which was never going to go in Chile's favor.

The USWNT attack is crowded. There are veterans aplenty and young stars seemingly on the way. At 24, Sears is in something of a middle ground. She's older than players like Ally Sentnor and Alyssa Thompson and far less experienced than players like Rodman, Sophia Wilson, or Mallory Swanson. None of that matters, though, when you can impact games, and Sears has been doing that.

After scoring against Paraguay, Sears popped up with a goal and an assist on Tuesday. With that goal, she's now at six in 14 caps. It's a pretty damn good record, all things considered.

It is, perhaps, the type of record that can keep her in the mix as the player pool gets whittled down. Over the last four months or so, Sears has shown she's as good as any of them as she fights for a bigger role in the years to come.

Sams isn't going to get many goals. In 66 NWSL games, she has a grand total of one. She sure found a way to contribute on that end on Tuesday, though, really making the difference in a different part of the field than usual.

The defender scored her first international goal in the 33rd minute, becoming the third player to find the back of the net for the first time in a USWNT shirt. It came on a day when she wore the captain's armband and, while her joy was seemingly muted, her teammates' was emphatic. Then, to take things to another level, it was her long through ball that played through Sears on her goal, allowing the U.S. to make it four just moments before halftime.

This isn't something to be expected, and Sams will likely be the first to admit that it won't happen often. It's something that made it all the more special, though, as the USWNT's captain on the night was really able to make this game a special one.