USWNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Evelyn Shores Steadies Angel City’s Playoff Charge

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.

Here we go. What’s done is done. This past weekend was the final time players were able to impress manager Emma Hayes before she names her USWNT roster for the upcoming friendlies against reigning World Cup champions Spain on Oct. 10 and Oct. 13.

Tuesday will reveal the names of the 26 players that get the international call. Let’s take a look at which stars saw their stocks rise and fall this past weekend.

Stock Up

Evelyn Shores

On a six-match undefeated streak, with five wins in that run, Angel City are the NWSL's most in-form team. Their best result in that streak came this past weekend with a gritty, rainy 1–0 road win against the Washington Spirit.

So much of Angel City’s impressive surge into the playoff spots in the second half of the season has been built on the exemplary work of their defense. In particular, left fullback Evelyn Shores. ACFC have three clean sheets in this undefeated streak, and all three have come on the road.

Shores had one of her best games of the season, shutting out the Spirit. Matched up against the mercurial winger Rosemonde Kouassi, the 21-year-old Angel City defender was put to work and had more defensive contributions (12) than any other player in the match.

On the attacking side, Shores was a vital outlet up the flank. No player had more touches than Shores in Angel City’s 1-0 win (90), and she also created the most chances (three).

Shores has yet to receive a senior USWNT call-up. Thus far, Hayes has left her to develop in the U-23 squad. Facing an intimidating opponent like Spain may not be the right time for a debutant, but on quality of play, Shores deserves a chance.

Michelle Cooper

Michelle Cooper to Haley Hopkins secures the equalizer for KC 👏 pic.twitter.com/jWaKOzPlI0
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 26, 2026

In a do-or-die match against the Denver Summit, with huge playoff implications on the line, Michelle Cooper again showcased her excellent knack for executing a simple pass, assisting Haley Hopkins in the first half.

At the time, the KC Current were trailing the Summit 1–0. Hopkins’s goal knotted the match and sparked a sensational comeback that saw the Current exit as 4–1 victors. The win meant that KC leapfrogged Denver in the NWSL standings and into the playoff spots.

As the forward has done this season when fit and available, Cooper read the Denver backline’s offside trap, timed her run to perfection and burst into the space, before teeing up Hopkins. While we haven’t seen enough of Cooper’s shooting skills this season, her timing and chance creation has been top tier. She should definitely be on the next USWNT roster.

Alyssa Thompson

Alyssa Thompson. The derby winner. 😮‍💨🎯#CFCW pic.twitter.com/vjrMGQTV8f
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) September 27, 2026

What a way to get your first goal of the new Women’s Super League (WSL) season. Alyssa Thompson came up big in the first half of Chelsea’s 1–0 derby win over Arsenal this past weekend. The American winger monitored the play and then reacted quickest to a rebound to score the game-winner from close range at Stamford Bridge.

With the lead intact, Thompson’s best work in the second half was tracking back, pressing and hurrying Arsenal on the ball.

She is close to being elevated to an automatic starter for the USWNT, and her form with Chelsea is essential to maintaining that development.

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Stock Down

Mal Swanson

swanson sitting on the pitch — Mal Swanson may not receive Emma Hayes’s call. | Elsa/NWSL/Getty Images

Time will tell if Mal Swanson is fit enough for this upcoming international window. After sitting out for a month, the Chicago Stars forward made her return with a 45-minute outing in her team’s 3–1 road defeat to Gotham FC. Already eliminated from playoff contention, the last-place Stars have little to play for.

Swanson started and was substituted out at halftime, with the score at 1–0 Gotham. The 28-year-old struggled to generate anything, as Gotham dominated proceedings. She didn’t attempt a single shot and created just one chance as the play mostly passed her by.

Hayes is a big fan of Swanson and will likely want to keep her in the group, especially against elite opposition; however, there are many other forwards making a strong case to get on the roster.

Emma Sears

Another team eliminated from the playoffs, Racing Louisville made it six-straight defeats after a 2–0 home loss to the San Diego Wave this past weekend. Winger Emma Sears was benched to start, before coming on for a 24-minute cameo when Racing already trailed by two.

One can’t fault Sears for trying, racking up 20 touches in her brief outing. Despite not taking any shots, she won four of five duels and created one big chance for teenager Audrey McKeen, who crashed the ball off the post.

Louisville feels close to a reset in the offseason, which could see Sears’s future at a different club in the NWSL. 2026 has been a year of hot-and-cold performances for the 25-year-old. She has five goals in her last 18 NWSL games, but those goals came in a three-game stretch. On either side is a nine-match and an active six-match goalless streak.

Naomi Girma

Another week of soccer, another week of Naomi Girma sitting on the bench for Chelsea. Four matches into the WSL season, the 26-year-old has yet to take the pitch for the London club. Chelsea’s 1–0 win over Arsenal even saw manager Sonia Bompastor push Lucy Bronze into a less-preferred central defensive role rather than give Girma her first league minutes of the season. She’s active on the roster, but a lingering calf issue casts a shadow.

When fit, Girma remains the first-choice center back for the USWNT and arguably one of the most important American players in the world right now. But without any serious club minutes against top opponents so far this season, is Hayes going to trust her with a significant role against a Spanish powerhouse?

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