04/15/26 12:33:00
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04/15 00:32 CDT Maika Hamano scores to give Japan 1-0 win over USWNT
Maika Hamano scores to give Japan 1-0 win over USWNT
By ANDREW DESTIN
AP Sports Writer
SEATTLE (AP) --- Maika Hamano scored and Japan beat the U.S. women's national
team 1-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night to snap the Americans' 10-game winning
streak.
The loss was the first for the U.S. since Oct. 23, 2025, a 2-1 setback to
Portugal, and marked the first time the Americans lost in a shutout in 42
games. The U.S. had won 10 straight matches for the first time since 2023 after
its 2-1 victory against Japan on Saturday.
Coach Emma Hayes did not regret the team scheduling a three-game series with
Japan.
"If we would have picked a lesser opponent and I would have sat here and said,
?What a great night, we won by multiple scorelines,'" Hayes said, "I'm sure I'd
feel good and fill your columns with lots of things that further enhance the
reputation of the team. But, I don't believe in it."
Before Saturday, Japan had won the last meeting with the United States 2-1 in
the 2025 SheBelieves Cup final.
Hamano fooled Lilly Reale, and then booted a left-footed shot over goalkeeper
Phallon Tullis-Joyce's outstretched left hand in the 27th minute.
"Tough one," Tullis-Joyce said. "Japan's very technical."
Hayes made sweeping changes to the lineup she had used on Saturday in San Jose,
resting players including Sophia Wilson and Trinity Rodman, who started in the
previous game. Hayes defended her decision to deploy a younger lineup on
Tuesday.
"I think if I play solely to win, we maybe don't change a lot in these games,"
Hayes said. "We play the vast majority of seniors, whether it's sprinkle in a
few more seniors, sprinkle in a few. But, that's not where I'm at. And, I don't
regret those decisions."
Wilson and Rodman entered as substitutes in the 65th minute, as did Tierna
Davidson and Gisele Thompson. Davidson had not played for the United States
since February 2025, after tearing her ACL in a match with Gotham FC last March.
Wilson played for the second straight match after the birth of her daughter.
She had not played for the U.S. since October 2024.
Tuesday marked the first time the U.S. women's national team played on the new
grass that has been installed at Lumen Field for this summer's World Cup. The
women's team had not been to Lumen since 2017 because of the stadium's
artificial turf.
"I didn't notice it at all," said Lindsey Heaps, "so that means it was a good
thing."
The announced crowd was 36,128 for the game, which broke the record for a
standalone women's match in Seattle. Megan Rapinoe's retirement match with the
Seattle Reign in 2023 drew 34,130 fans.
The finale of the three-game series between the U.S. and Japan is slated for
Friday in Commerce City, Colorado.
"They're a world-class team," Hayes said. "I think when you win the first one,
inevitably, the second one becomes that challenge. They are a top side, so we
have to give them a lot of credit. So, game on for the third game."
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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