Starting XI & Lineup Notes

USA Women’s National Team vs. JAPAN
Scheduled For: April 14, Seattle, Wash.
Available On: TNT, truTV and HBO Max for English commentary, and Universo and Peacock for Spanish
Radio Coverage: Westwood One in English
Official Kickoff: 7:07 p.m. PT

The **2026 USWNT Media Guide** has been released and is available for viewing and download. This comprehensive guide encompasses the full history and statistical data for the USWNT, along with detailed biographies of the technical staff and career highlights of key players in the current pool. It also provides insights into the USA’s Youth Women’s National Teams and other important information regarding U.S. Soccer.

USA STARTING XI: 24-Phallon Tullis-Joyce, 3-Avery Patterson, 5-Lilly Reale, 6-Emily Sams, 7-Lily Yohannes, 8-Jaedyn Shaw, 9-Ally Sentnor, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 14-Emily Sonnett, 15-Claire Hutton (Capt.), 19-Emma Sears

Players Available from the Bench: 1-Claudia Dickey, 2-Trinity Rodman, 4-Naomi Girma, 10-Lindsey Heaps, 11-Sophia Wilson, 12-Tierna Davidson, 16-Rose Lavelle, 17-Sam Coffey, 20-Michelle Cooper, 22-Gisele Thompson, 23-Emily Fox, 26-Jameese Joseph

Not active for this match: 18-Jane Campbell, 21-Alyssa Thompson, 25-Kennedy Wesley

USWNT Starting XI Cap Totals (Including this fixture): Tullis-Joyce (7), Patterson (11), Reale (8), Sams (10), Yohannes (16), Shaw (35), Sentnor (20), Moultrie (16), Sonnett (116), Hutton (16), Sears (19)

Match Insights:

• The average cap count for tonight’s Starting XI is 23.9, which is less than half the average caps of the lineup from the previous match on April 11 in San Jose.
• Emma Hayes continues to make program history by completely altering her Starting XI from the previous match. This marks the fourth time during her tenure she has done so, and only the ninth occasion overall in program history that a coach has swapped out their entire starting lineup for consecutive matches.
• Hayes first implemented a full Starting XI change between the initial two matches of the 2025 SheBelieves Cup. Following the U.S.’s 2-0 victory over Colombia in the SheBelieves opener on February 20, a completely different Starting XI took the field for the 2-1 win against Australia. She also rotated the entire Starting XI between the two matches against Ireland in June of 2025, both of which the U.S. won 4-0. Most recently, she made full lineup changes between the two January Camp matches against Paraguay and Chile, where the U.S. secured 6-0 and 5-0 victories, respectively.
• This fixture represents only the ninth instance across 777 all-time matches that the USWNT’s starting lineup has seen 11 changes in consecutive outings. Furthermore, it is just the fourth time – all under Hayes – that this has occurred within the same event or camp, excluding closed-door friendlies.
• Emily Sonnett stands as the most seasoned player in this lineup. She enters the match with 115 caps, while the remainder of the roster collectively accounts for 148 caps. Jaedyn Shaw, with 34 caps, is the next most experienced player among the roster. Among the starting players, Sonnett is the sole individual who has accumulated on-field minutes in a FIFA Women’s World Cup or an Olympic Games.
• The U.S. makes its return to Seattle, Washington, following a nearly nine-year absence. The match will be held at Lumen Field, the home ground for Seattle Reign FC and Seattle Sounders FC. The last time the U.S. competed in Seattle was on July 27, 2017, at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field), where they lost 1-0 to Australia in the inaugural Tournament of Nations opener. This time, Lumen Field is set to host a record-breaking crowd for a standalone women’s soccer match in Seattle, surpassing the previous record of 34,130 set for Megan Rapinoe’s farewell game. An additional notable aspect of this match is that it will be the first for the USA on a natural grass pitch at Lumen Field, a new playing surface having been installed in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches.
• This will be the third time the USWNT has played at Lumen Field. The USA drew Brazil 1-1 in October 2015, making Lumen Field one of the few soccer venues in the USA where the USWNT has not secured a victory. In 2002, the USWNT played two matches at what was then SAFECO Field, achieving dominant wins over Panama (9-0) and Costa Rica (7-0) during qualifiers for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup (which was relocated to the USA from China PR on short notice due to the SARS epidemic). The USA also played a match in Tacoma, Washington, in 1995, a physically challenging encounter against Brazil on a very compact field at Franklin Pierce High School, which the USA won 3-0.
• Seattle played a pivotal role in the formative years of the U.S. Women’s National Team. The very first USWNT squad in 1985 included Seattle-based head coach Mike Ryan, and over half of the roster (at least eight of 17 players) originated from the Seattle area, including the legendary Michelle Akers, thereby establishing the region as one of the ancestral homes of the USWNT.

EVENT HUB | MATCH PREVIEW

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER NOTES (STARTING XI):

Phallon Tullis-Joyce, 29, is set to earn her seventh cap and starting assignment for the USWNT. Her return to the WNT camp since last autumn was at the 2026 SheBelieves Cup. She registered two clean sheets in her two appearances, both 1-0 victories against Canada and Colombia.

Avery Patterson, 23, will make her 11th appearance and eighth start. Patterson’s most recent outing was also a start, where she played a full 90 minutes in the USA’s 1-0 SheBelieves Cup-clinching win over Colombia on March 7.

Lilly Reale, 22, is slated for her eighth cap and seventh start. The naturally left-footed player’s most recent U.S. appearance was against Argentina in the opening SheBelieves Cup match of 2026. This was Reale’s only match this year so far, having been unavailable for selection during January Camp due to commitments with Gotham FC and subsequently sustaining an injury in that initial SheBelieves Cup contest.

Emily Sams, 26, is poised for her 10th cap and sixth start. Her last start coincided with her most recent cap on January 27 against Chile. In that match, Sams donned the captain’s armband for the first time, netted her first international goal, and recorded her first international assist.

Lily Yohannes, 18, will achieve her 16th cap and eighth start. Yohannes is the youngest player on the roster and the sole teenager participating in this camp.

Jaedyn Shaw, 21, is due for her 35th cap and 15th start. In her most recent start for the U.S., Jaedyn Shaw scored her 10th international goal, making her the fifth youngest player to reach this milestone.

Ally Sentnor, 22, will make her 20th appearance and tenth start. She currently leads the USWNT in scoring this year with three goals, having scored a brace against Paraguay on January 24 and the decisive goal in the 1-0 SheBelieves Cup victory over Canada.

Olivia Moultrie, 20, is on track for her 16th cap and eighth start. The midfielder scored the inaugural goal of the NWSL season when Portland Thorns FC triumphed over the Washington Spirit, kicking off the 2026 campaign.

Emily Sonnett, 32, is slated for her 116th cap and 63rd start. Sonnett’s most recent match for the U.S. was the final 2026 SheBelieves Cup fixture. She has participated in all 11 SheBelieves Cups, thereby holding the record for the most individual SheBelieves Cup tournament wins with eight (matching the U.S. program’s total).

Claire Hutton, 20, will earn her 16th cap and 12th start. On April 11, she entered as a substitute in the 85th minute of the first match against Japan, replacing Lindsey Heaps in the midfield. This marks the first USWNT match of Hutton’s career where she will wear the captain’s armband from the outset, making her the USA’s youngest captain in the modern era of the USWNT.

Emma Sears, 25, is set for her 19th cap and ninth start. The Racing Louisville forward shares the second-highest goal count (2) for the WNT in 2026 with Trinity Rodman and Lindsey Heaps.