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USWNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Trinity Byars’s Debut Can’t Be Far Off Now

The San Diego Wave forward didn’t see the field against Spain but returned to the NWSL with another trademark fast-break goal.
Theo Lloyd-Hughes|
San Diego Wave forward Trinity Byars (right) celebrated her 11th goal of the season.
San Diego Wave forward Trinity Byars (right) celebrated her 11th goal of the season. | Matt Kelley/NWSL/Getty 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.

Last week, the USWNT players returned to their clubs licking their wounds after going winless across two friendlies with Spain. But disappointment can provoke a response. Lessons were certainly learned during the international break. There is work to be done for Emma Hayes and her team, and that means opportunities for hopeful players.

Several will be vying for a roster spot when the USWNT regroups for the World Cup qualifiers, which get underway on November 27. With league action back, let’s look at which American players saw their stocks rise and fall this past weekend.

Stock Up

Trinity Byars

Sometimes, it is the work we don’t see that can show a player’s growth. After receiving her first-ever senior USWNT call-up this month, Trinity Byars did not lose any confidence after not making her international debut against Spain. The San Diego Wave forward was at her clinical best in their 2–1 win over the NC Courage on Saturday.

Byars is turning the one-on-one with the goalkeeper on a fast break into her special move. This was her 11th goal of the season in her 13th start, and it may be one of her most technical. The timing and execution of the lob was exquisite. She is counting the seconds in her head, keeping tabs on both the chasing defender and the charging goalkeeper. Composure and superb shot selection combined. One touch, goal.

Sophia Wilson remains the first-choice center forward for the USWNT, but Byars is rising through the ranks as a likely deputy or change-of-pace option off the bench. Even if, for now, she has yet to put a single USWNT cap to her name.

Gisele Thompson

A double-assist game for Angel City’s Gisele Thompson will have many moving the wide player up the depth chart on the USWNT and even into a starting role. The 20-year-old was excellent on the right wing for Angel City in their 3–2 win over the Denver Summit on Saturday. Her star just continues to rise and rise.

Thompson showcased her playmaking ability, as she set up Angel City’s equalizer in the 39th minute before creating the winning goal just four minutes later.

The first assist was a simple weighted pass into the right area to set Taylor Suarez off and running toward goal. The second assist was all about patience, as Thompson was part of a slick team move that shifted the ball left and right before teeing up Ally Sentnor from outside the box.

Even in the one Angel City goal that she didn’t assist, Thompson had a crucial forward pass to push the ball out of the defense and into the attack. To top it all off, she finished with a 92% pass completion.

Karlie Lema

From one winger with two assists this weekend, to another. Although Karlie Lema is a little bit of a way off the senior USWNT right now, her brilliant play in Bay FC’s 2–2 against the Portland Thorns will have caught some eyes.

Lema is a stretch player who keeps opposing defenders honest by not allowing too much space in behind. If she does get room to run, then she’s lethal in transition. These attributes were on display as Lema skillfully dribbled beyond onrushing Portland goalkeeper McKenzie Arnold, kept the ball in bounds and slid the ball across for an easy open-goal finish for Caroline Conti. Her second assist of the day, to put Bay up 2–1, was more about neat one-touch combination play with teammate Kennedy Fuller.

Bay’s most threatening outlet on the day, Lema finished the game with three chances created, two of those big chances, as well as a couple of shots of her own. A rare flawless outing, Lema had a 100% pass completion on 18 passes.

Stock Down

Jordan Silkowitz

Bay FC goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz linked up with the USWNT last week for the friendlies against Spain but didn’t see the field. After a brilliant first two-thirds of the 2026 season, her form is starting to drop off, and this weekend’s 2–2 draw with the Portland Thorns was one of her most frustrating games yet.

In the dying moments, with Bay leading 2–1, Silkowitz was beaten at her near post by a low, drilled shot from Caiya Hanks. The post-shot expected goals (PSxG) of Hanks’s equalizer was just 0.38. Morgan Weaver's opening goal was a belter from outside the box that, despite being further from goal, was a more difficult save for Silkowitz, with Opta stats showing 0.62 PSxG. In the end, Bay couldn’t hold on for the win, with Silkowitz making three saves from five total shots.

Jameese Joseph

Forward Jameese Joseph’s slow start to life with the Utah Royals continued over the weekend in her team’s 2–0 defeat at home to the KC Current. Joseph has yet to start a match since making the switch from the Chicago Stars and was handed a 28-minute cameo this time around.

From a position standpoint, Joseph fluctuates between being a winger and a center forward. Right now, she can’t beat out Kiana Palicios for the central role, so her minutes are coming in the wide areas. This will hurt her chances with the USWNT, as the talent competition is so fierce.

Joseph finished the weekend with just 13 touches, zero chances created, two dribbles completed and one shot on target.

Jaedyn Shaw

Gotham FC attacking midfielder Jaedyn Shaw was an unused substitute as her team fell 1–0 to the Washington Spirit in a crucial rivalry match that could decide the destination of the NWSL Shield this season. She has been working her way back to fitness after a knock in training forced her to pull out of the USWNT U-23 squad last week.

During the match, Shaw could be seen warming up and eager to make an impact as Gotham went in search of an equalizer in the final 20 minutes. But in the end, Gotham manager Juan Carlos Amoros revealed that he was reluctant to push Shaw into a game when she was not quite 100% fit.

Shaw is having the best NWSL regular season of her career so far, with 10 goals and five assists in 24 matches. What she has left to give down the stretch and particularly in the playoffs will decide whether or not she can return to the USWNT for World Cup qualifiers after missing the Spain friendlies.

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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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