The USWNT recently played two friendlies against Chile in their last brush up before their World Cup Qualifying in October, and some familiar college players took the stage for the Stars and Stripes. Tierna Davidson started both games for the Yankees, and newcomer Hailie Mace earned her second cap for the United States during the first of two games.

Davidson had been phenomenal for both of the two friendlies, however she scored her first goal for her country in the first game against Chile. She scored in the 8th minutes with a header off of a corner kick to put the United States in action, of what would be a 3-0 win against their opponents. Mace later came into the first game, getting some good touches on the ball and having a great work rate off of it as well. These players were the only college students called up for the Stars and Stripes, but they played well enough that I wouldn’t be surprised to see more call up’s in the future.

Davidson also started in the second game- now becoming a regular for the United States backline- and looked strong throughout their performance of a 4-0 win. Davidson also recorded an assist for the night, with a great pass to Tobin Heath who promptly buried the chance. In the two games against Chile, the United States conceded 0 goals and only allowed the Chileans to fire off a handful of shots, with the help of Davidson in the backline.

With the United States Qualifying starting next month, they’ll definitely call on Davidson to help strengthen their back line, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if head coach Jill Ellis calls on some college forwards and midfielders to help give the United States an extra boost of speed, along with the talent that these younger stars can bring.

Tierna Davidson- defender. Scorer. Anchor. Game winner. What more could anyone want in a player? Although Davidson is only 19 years old, she’s proven herself talented enough to start with the U.S Women’s National Team- being one of the youngest starters on the field for the stars and stripes. Going into her junior year of college, Davidson has the She Believes Cup, the Tournament of Nations, and an NCAA Championship under her belt. So the question is, just how good is this young player?

Davidson has proven herself to be a solid center back for her college club- the Stanford Cardinals- helping them win an NCAA Championship last year. She played and started 25 games in the year- along with finding the back of the net 3 times and setting up her teammates 6 times. Stanford looked almost unstoppable last year, thanks to the help of Davidson securing multiple clean sheets. Stanford has come off strong again this year, winning their first game of the season 5-0, with Davidson getting on the score sheet. Stanford are the favorites to win the Championship again this year, and if they’re thinking about getting to the final again they’ll definitely need Davidson to perform like she did the previous year.

On the club side, Davidson has been phenomenal and groundbreaking. But on the National Team side? Even better. Being only 19 years old, head coach Jill Ellis has favored Davidson to start for the Yankees against some big name opponents- Brazil, England, Germany, France, etc. Davidson has been strong for the backline- playing all 270 minutes of the She Believes Cup, and playing most of the Tournament of Nations. During these two tournaments, the United States only conceded 5 goals through 6 games. Davidson had proven herself strong with her college team, but she’s also proven to be able to perform consistently on a National Team level. With the transition period that the USWNT finds themselves in, Davidson will be a key player in the defense for their next wave of newcomers.  

The new college soccer season may have just started, but Davidson has already proven that she has the talent, the mindset, and the ambition to lead the Stanford Cardinals to another trophy for their cabinet.