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USWNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Trinity Rodman, Sophia Wilson Are Back on Track

The Portland Thorns forward scored her first goal since the birth of her first child and her first in the NWSL for 540 days.
Theo Lloyd-Hughes|
Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson scored her first goal of the season in a win over Angel City this weekend.
Portland Thorns forward Sophia Wilson scored her first goal of the season in a win over Angel City this weekend. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Welcome back to your weekly feature from Sports Illustrated that analyzes the women’s soccer weekend from a U.S. women’s national team perspective. If you missed the last edition, check it out here.

This was the first weekend of action in the women’s game after the FIFA international window that saw the U.S. women’s national team win two matches and lose once against Japan.

It seems like some of the USWNT stars have taken their form and confidence from that window and channeled it into their club teams. Meanwhile, some off-the-beaten-track bubble players are heading in opposite directions when it comes to grabbing the attention of USWNT manager Emma Hayes.

With the next USWNT roster not due until June, let’s take a look at the players who saw their stock rise and fall this past weekend.

USWNT Stock Up

Sophia Wilson

Welcome back to goalscoring, Sophia Wilson. The 25-year-old Portland Thorns forward scored the game-winner in a 2–1 win over Angel City on Sunday. It was Wilson’s first goal since returning to soccer after the birth of her daughter in July 2025. It had been 540 days since Wilson’s last strike, coincidentally also against Angel City in November 2024.

Wilson’s usage and minute counts had been creeping up week by week. After being given a lot of game time for the USWNT against Japan, she returned looking particularly sharp in NWSL action. She went the full 90 minutes in Los Angeles, had more shots than any other player (four), tested the keeper three times and turned 0.27 expected goals (xG) into 0.67 xG on target.

The pinpoint shooting that Wilson is known for was on full show with her brilliant strike in the 90th minute. The way Wilson uses her shoulders and body language to make Angel City defender Sarah Gorden worry about her right foot, before then knocking the ball onto her left and smashing the shot home, is sublime forward play.

Ashley Sanchez

Is it too late for Ashley Sanchez to get back into the USWNT picture? The North Carolina Courage midfielder hasn’t been called up since 2023, but is playing some of the best soccer of her career right now.

The 27-year-old is up to four goals in 2026 after another game-winning strike in the 1-0 win for the Courage on the road to the Houston Dash. Since signing for the Courage in 2024, Sanchez has scored 12 goals, and seven of those have been game-winners.

On her goal, a transitional quick attack down the pitch, Sanchez squares up Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell well to hide her shot selection. In the end, Sanchez hits a low strike to the far post just out of reach of Campbell. Smooth as you like, everything is clicking for Sanchez right now..

Trinity Rodman

The streak is over. After starting 2026 without a goal or an assist, Trinity Rodman announced herself with a goal and an assist in the Washington Spirit’s 4-0 win over the KC Current.

Things haven’t looked easy for Rodman this year and she hasn’t looked 100%. But she was back to her best on Friday night. As a creator, she excelled, blazing down the left wing and sending in the cross for Leicy Santos to open the scoring and then almost having a second assist on a similar play that ended with Sofia Cantore hitting a shot from close range.

Rodman’s first NWSL goal of 2026 wasn’t anything special. She capitalized on a dreadful spill from Kansas City goalkeeper Lorena on a corner kick. But those sorts of heads-up finishes are what the best strikers in the world need to do regularly. Rodman was clinical when she needed to be and showed exciting dribbling throughout.

USWNT Stock Down

Ally Sentnor

It is now five scoreless matches in a row for Kansas City Current starting center forward Ally Sentnor. The position change, to being a more central line-leading forward in Kansas City, hasn’t looked comfortable.

In the Current’s 4–0 road loss to the Washington Spirit, Sentnor played the full 90 minutes, had three shots and created one chance. All those attempts came after the Current were already down by multiple goals. The best attempt saw the 22-year-old hit the crossbar from a free kick outside the box.

There was a moment where Sentnor thought she had pulled a goal back for the Current, only for her short-range tap-in to be ruled out for offside. Sentnor was a good chunk of yardage ahead of the last defender. Another sign that she is still learning how to be that player who makes sharp movements in the box at the right time.

Lindsey Heaps

The USWNT captain was involved in the match-losing error that handed Arsenal a 2–1 win over OL Lyonnes in the first leg of the UEFA Women’s Champions League semifinals.

Heaps overhit a pass pack to Ingrid Engen, which forced goalkeeper Christiane Endler to rush out from goal, collide with Engen and hand Olivia Smith an open goal to fire Arsenal ahead in the 83rd minute.

“It’s frustrating, it’s difficult to get that result here,” a visibly agitated Heaps told CBS on Sunday. “There’s a lot we can take away, get the details right and prevent those little things from happening. Again, it’s a lot of our mistakes and things that we can do better.”

Both of Arsenal’s goals came from Lyon errors, with Endler and Engen contributing to the disaster on both occasions. Heaps was not the worst offender, but will wish she could have done better than creating a goal for the opposition. Of course, the 31-year-old didn’t offer much going forward either. Heaps finished with zero shots and no chances created, with not a single touch in the Arsenal box.

Sofia Huerta

It has been a promising start to 2026 for Seattle Reign right back Sofia Huerta. The 33-year-old has 32 caps for the USWNT but none since 2023. While she might not be on the list for any upcoming roster, she is an experienced bubble player to keep an eye on.

Unfortunately for Huerta, her form plummeted over the weekend as both she and the Reign put in their worst performance of the season in a 3–0 loss to the Utah Royals. Huerta was at fault for Cloé Lacasse’s goal just before halftime, which put the Royals up 3–0 and all but sealed defeat for the home team.

After the Reign turns over the ball in midfield, Huerta is slow to react and reset her position. Once the Royals get the ball, Huerta should have raced back to cover the right side of the Seattle defense. Instead, she hesitated and got drawn to the ball rather than tracking Lacasse. Huerta lunged at the pass from Ana Tejada but couldn’t connect, leaving Lacasse with a huge space to run into the box and score.

If Huerta had communicated her decision-making, then perhaps Reign center back Emily Mason could have come across. But Mason has to keep an eye on Mina Tanaka, so the Reign players have to make these decisions at a rapid pace—there were just six seconds between the turnover and the ball hitting the back of the net.

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Theo Lloyd-Hughes
THEO LLOYD-HUGHES

Theo Lloyd-Hughes is a writer for Sports Illustrated Soccer based in the Southern United States. Originally from England, he can often be found in a press box across the NWSL or at international matches featuring the USWNT and other Concacaf nations.

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