The U.S. women’s national team was back in the Philadelphia area on Thursday night, for the first time since April 2022, and 17,297 came out to Subaru Park in Chester to see the team face Portugal.
Despite the U.S. scoring within 33 seconds of the start of the game, the result didn’t go to the script that the crowd was hoping for, with Portugal prevailing, 2-1, against an uncharacteristically disjointed USWNT.
But — before a ball was even kicked last night — the game was a rallying cry for the growing push to bring more professional women’s sports to the area.
‘Let it go’
The game was prefaced with a tribute to former national team star Alex Morgan, on the field where she scored the first of her 123 international goals 15 years ago, against China.
Within the first minute, the U.S. seemed like they were going to rout its opponent when Rose Lavelle scored with the first shot of the game, after Catarina Macário held up the ball at the top of the goal box.
Lavelle nearly scored again in the ninth minute, but goalkeeper Inês Pereira’s save took much of the venom off the shot and it bounced into the post.
Lackluster and disconnected play from a U.S. side that clearly hadn’t played together in over 100 days allowed Portugal the chance to gather themselves and make its own chances. This eventually led to the equalizer before halftime, with a header by an unmarked Diana Silva from a corner.
Portugal’s Fátima Pinto took advantage of another poorly defended corner in the 71st minute, shooting the ball past U.S. goalkeeper Joyce-Tullis Phallon.
The U.S. rallied late but couldn’t find an equalizing goal, and suffered its first defeat since April 8, 2025, against Brazil in San Jose, Calif. Coincidentally, that 2-1 defeat also started with a goal within the first minute from the U.S.
“No coach likes conceding on f**ing set pieces ever,” U.S. head coach Emma Hayes said frustratedly after being asked repeatedly why the team was so vulnerable on corners, prompting laughter from the audience.
Hayes said she didn’t recognize the team on the field, and it “felt like a team in preseason” because of the 113 days apart, even with the training days leading up to the match.
“Sometimes you need a kick up the backside like that,” she said.
The U.S. will get a pretty immediate chance at revenge against Portugal on Sunday, when the two teams meet again at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Conn., at 4 p.m. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who played college soccer for Penn State, will be celebrated in her home state of Connecticut before that game.
Haye’s mantra afterwards was “Let it go,” quoting Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Benjamin Northey — not Elsa from “Frozen.”
“We got another one in a few days, Thanks goodness,” Hayes said. “Because it gives us an opportunity to rectify the performance. Not the result, the performance.”
‘Why stop at basketball?’
Before the game, 15-year-olds Alexa Mucci, Marlee Malizia and Sam Marsini did a meet-and-greet with former USWNT player Julie Ertz outside the stadium, accompanied by Sam’s mother, Janine. For Mucci and Malizia, it was their first time seeing the women’s national team live.
“I would say it’s really exciting seeing this in real time and seeing all my favorite players on the field,” Mucci said.
All agreed that they would like to see more chances to watch the USWNT around Philly, and if there was a National Women’s Soccer League team representing the city, they would attend.
“There’s not enough chances for the girls — boys too — to see this level of soccer in the area. It’s great we have the [Philadelphia] Union. Yeah, fantastic on the men’s side, but it’d be really great to have the women here also,” said Janine Marsini.
The NWSL recently hosted a game at Subaru Park, on Oct. 1, a goalless draw between Gotham FC and the Washington Spirit. Both teams enjoy some local support due to their proximity to Philly. For the Philadelphia Union, though, the Major League Soccer counterparts in New York and D.C. are longtime rivals.
Philly’s efforts to bring more professional women’s sport to the area has seen a surge (coincidentally, the name of the city’s women’s pro ultimate frisbee team) over the past couple years, and 2025 has borne major fruit from the efforts.
In June, the WNBA announced that Philadelphia would get an expansion franchise in 2030, slated to play in the same new arena as the Sixers. Earlier this month, the popular 3v3 professional women’s basketball league, Unrivaled Basketball, revealed it would tip off its second season with a tour stop at Xfinity Mobile Arena in January.
Off the fields and courts, Marsha’s — the city’s first-ever women’s sports bar — opened its doors on South Street, offering a welcoming space for women’s sports and the LGBTQ+ community. The group Watch Party PHL, founded by firefighter Jen Leary, is also planning to have a permanent women’s sports hub in the city, after over a year of hosting viewings around town.
Both the Philadelphia Sisters and Watch Party PHL were recognized by the city for their efforts to make Philly’s sports more inclusive. Ahead of Thursday night’s soccer game, both said they are thrilled with all the recent success, but they are far from finished.
“We realized that the momentum was so big around women’s sports, the whole ecosystem around women’s sports is just booming. And we’re like, ‘Why stop at basketball?’ ” said Alex Sykes, who with her wife Wanda Sykes and lawyer Ashley Lunkheimer helped to bring the WNBA franchise to the city, as the Philadelphia Sisters.
The USWNT’s visit to Chester included a Wednesday soccer coaching clinic for around 100 girls from the area and a chance to watch the national team train.
“Every kid should have the opportunity to dream big. And so, whether it’s volleyball or tennis or soccer or rugby, you want to have a chance to say, ‘I can see myself achieve this. I can learn to be a leader. I can learn to be with a group and succeed and work hard and learn discipline,’ ” Lunkheimer said. “All the things that sports teach you that will make you better in life later no matter what. Why would we not want to offer all the same opportunities?”
Ahead of the match, groups gathered at Lot E of the stadium, the usual home of the Union’s Sons of Ben supporters group, and marched towards the stadium together chanting things like, “Get up, get down; Philly is a women’s sports town.”
“I think this is a great opportunity to show the NWSL that the WNBA made the right decision, and that Philly deserves an NWSL team,” Leary said. “And that’s part of the reason that we’re doing these fan activation events tonight is to show that there is support and excitement for a team and um just like the WNBA team that we will support them if they give us the opportunity.”
Leary revealed that Watch Party PHL’s plans to have a permanent women’s sports hub in the city are still on course for a Spring 2026 opening, with a location identified but not yet secured.
Soccer fans will get another chance to to watch a national team soon, with the men’s team coming to Chester for a friendly against Paraguay on Saturday, Nov. 15, at 5 p.m. Meanwhile, the Union begins its playoff run on Sunday, having already earned the Supporters Shield this season.
But for women’s soccer, it’s unclear when top-level action will return to the area.
Thursday was a strong case for sooner, rather than later.