USWNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Jordynn Dudley’s Biggest Moment Yet

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.

Right now, the pressure couldn’t be higher. There is just one more weekend left for players to impress USWNT manager Emma Hayes before she releases the next roster for the team’s friendlies against Spain on Oct. 10 and Oct.13.

After those Spain friendlies, attention will turn to qualifying for the 2027 Women’s World Cup during the November/December window. Hayes has likely locked in a lot of key stars for her roster already, but with the likes of Cat Macario and Olivia Moultrie now out for the rest of the year, there are still big position battles to be had.

Let’s take a look at which players saw their stocks rise and fall this past weekend.

Stock Up

Jordynn Dudley

Jordynn Dudley finds the net 2 times for Gotham FC as they put a stamp on their 15th win of the season.#GFCvsNC recap presented by @Nationwide pic.twitter.com/XbTkwtNqMB
— National Women’s Soccer League (@NWSL) September 20, 2026

Gotham FC forward Jordynn Dudley has been a sleeper pick to pop up in Stock Up, Stock Down all season; however, this past weekend, in Gotham’s 2–1 road win over the North Carolina Courage, Dudley grabbed the spotlight with her best individual performance of the season.

Dudley scored the first brace of her NWSL career, which included a 90th-minute game-winner. Her second goal was some textbook target forward play, wreaking havoc on a cross; however, her first was the real showstopper. Dudley displayed neat passing and explosive movement before dribbling past three defenders and blasting the ball past the goalkeeper.

While Dudley’s bottom-line numbers of five goals and three assists in her rookie NWSL season are good, it is her abilities to beat players on the wing, press opponents and win duels that will make her a likely call-up for Hayes in the near future. This October could be too soon, but some opportunity in 2027 feels certain.

Jenna Nighswonger

The long journey back to the USWNT got a boost this week for Jenna Nighswonger. Since leaving Arsenal and re-joining the NWSL last month, the Bay FC fullback got her second win and second clean sheet for the club in a 2–0 victory over Racing Louisville. Nighswonger played the full 90 minutes and created the most chances of any player on the pitch (five). She connected on four of seven crosses, which included a wonderful floated pass that resulted in a header hitting the crossbar. Defensively, she won six of eight total duels and four tackles.

This next USWNT squad in October will likely come too soon for Nighswonger. After so few minutes played in the first half of 2026, she is still working her way back into contention; however, with more performances like this, she could get the call in the near future and end an 18-month window away from the national team.

Trinity Rodman

Trinity Rodman slots it in early 💰

Watch NOW on ESPN and the ESPN App 🍿 pic.twitter.com/VT5u2DLat9
— espnW (@espnW) September 20, 2026

Plenty of players get a boost when they take on teams from the bottom of the standings, and Trinity Rodman against the Chicago Stars in the NWSL was no different. The Washington Spirit forward picked up a goal and an assist in a 3–0 win over the Stars at a rainy Martin Field in Illinois. She could have had even more goal contributions too, had Sofia Cantore’s shot in the first half been a few inches lower and not cracked the crossbar.

What makes Rodman such an elite threat is her all-around game in different phases. Against Chicago, she displayed an array of shot types and pass types, as well as her ability to exploit different running lanes. Rodman’s opening goal was a quintessential striker’s run to beat the offside trap, stand up the goalkeeper and finish with a tempered dink. Her assist was vintage wing play, though. She took space out wide and floated one up into the danger zone.

Stock Down

Jameese Joseph

Sometimes, a player’s opportunity to impress is taken out of their hands. Jameese Joseph couldn’t do much this weekend because she was substituted off in the 12th minute of the Utah Royals’ 3–0 loss to Angel City. The Utah forward was sacrificed from the starting XI to make way for a defender after an early red card was shown to Paige Cronin.

Joseph has been doing everything she can to try to battle her way into the next USWNT roster, including receiving a $750,000 move from the Chicago Stars to Utah. The season continues to get away from her, though, and her chances of making the October friendlies against Spain are dwindling. Joseph has just one goal in 21 NWSL matches this season.

Mia Fishel

25-year-old center forward Mia Fishel made a big splash when she signed for the Seattle Reign in the summer of 2025. Over one year and 32 matches later, Fishel has scored just three goals and struggled to make the impact that she once showed at her previous clubs: Chelsea in England and UANL Tigres in Mexico.

Fishel’s latest blank came in a 2–1 defeat on the road to the Denver Summit, where she toiled away for 53 minutes without attempting a shot or creating a chance before being replaced by Maddie Mercado with the scoreline 2–0 to Denver. The Reign would pull a goal back less than two minutes after Fishel left the pitch to add salt to the wound.

Lilly Reale

MESSIAH BRIGHT'S FIRST OF THE YEAR! 🤩

Is this the match winner for @HoustonDash?! 👀

Catch the match LIVE on @CBSSportsNet 📺 pic.twitter.com/4RFmm93JqN
— W Golazo (@WGolazo) September 20, 2026

The Boston Legacy fullback sat on the bench for 82 minutes before getting an opportunity in Sunday’s 2–1 defeat to the Houston Dash. The score was 1–1 when Reale entered the match; however, just three minutes later, her opponents were ahead, thanks to a Messiah Bright strike. Although the goal wasn’t directly Reale’s fault, the Legacy defender could only watch from a few yards away as teammate Deja Davis got beaten in the air from close range and then failed to clear the rebound.

That’s now back-to-back games without a start for Reale, who, to be fair, shined when she came off the bench in the 3–0 upset win over the Washington Spirit last week. Defensively, there are a lot of questions surrounding Boston, but despite being a highly-rated midseason signing, Reale has struggled to gain a foothold with her new team.

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