U.S. women's national team falls to Japan in friendly at Lumen Field

The return of the U.S. women's national team to Seattle for the first time in nearly a decade saw a 10-game win streak come to an end for the Americans.

It also saw a pretty strong debut for the grass field to be used during the FIFA Men's World Cup later this year.

The U.S. women saw their 10-game win streak come to an end after a 1-0 loss to Japan on Tuesday night at Lumen Field, the first shutout loss for the Americans in 42 matches. The U.S. used a lineup of younger players that was void of many of their regular starters for the first hour of the match and the arrival of standouts like Sophia Wilson, Trinity Rodman and Lindsey Heaps for the final 20 minutes couldn't generate a goal for the Americans.

I'm a developer of players, and they need to go through these things," U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. "It'll get us one step closer to where we are, but we cannot always simply play just for the result. But yes, we don't like to lose."

The return of the U.S. women for the first time since 2017 was made possible by the grass field that was installed at Lumen Field and received its first test. Installation of the field started in late February and continued through the past couple of weeks when the sod was laid on top of the 12 to 14 inches of base materials that were brought in and placed on top of the existing artificial surface in the stadium.

For the first night, the grass appeared to hold up quite well on the surface, especially considering the miserable conditions. The return of the U.S. women after nine years was welcomed by a quintessential Seattle night with times of sideways rain, blustery breezes and temperatures that felt more like winter than the middle of April.

"It was good. I think, especially the fact that it's one of those more long-term grass lays, I think they've done a good job with it," U.S. defender Tierna Davidson said. "Hopefully it will hold up over the summer and will serve really well for the World Cup."

Those less-than-optimal conditions didn't dissuade fans from showing up as the majority of the lower bowl of the stadium was filled along with a healthy number of fans sitting under cover on the east side in the upper deck. The announced crowd of 36,128 was the largest for a stand-alone women's soccer match ever in Seattle, topping the 34,130 for Megan Rapinoe's farewell match in 2023.

"The crowd was elite. It was really, really great," midfielder Olivia Moultrie said. "The atmosphere was awesome. People really showed out in the rain."

The lone goal of the match came from Japan's Maika Hamano in the 27th minute when she cut back and unleashed a left-footed shot that U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce couldn't keep out of the net.

Hayes changed the entire starting lineup from the first match against Japan on Saturday in San Jose, Calif. Rather than sprinkling in some of the primary starters expected to be key parts of the World Cup roster next season, Hayes went with a lineup primarily filled with youth.

Aside from veteran defender Emily Sonnett, no other U.S. player had made more than 35 appearances for the national team. Midfielder Claire Hutton wore the captain's armband at age 20 - the youngest U.S. captain for a match since 2001.

But that meant the big names on the roster for this international window - Rodman, Wilson, Heaps, Rose Lavelle, Sam Coffey and Reign FC goalkeeper Claudia Dickey - were all out of the starting lineup.

The absence of those standouts showed in the first 45 minutes of play, which was choppy and lacked quality chances on goal for the U.S. The best opportunities came in the 34th minute when Emma Sears' left-footed shot was pushed wide by Japan goalkeeper Akane Okuma, and the 40th minute when Lilly Reale's header off a corner kick twisted wide of the post.

Wilson, Rodman and Heaps all came on in the second half and dramatically changed the dynamic of the U.S. attack. The best scoring chance for the U.S. came when Wilson's initial shot in the penalty area was blocked, fell to Heaps and she backheeled a pass to Jaedyn Shaw, only to see it get deflected wide.

But that was as close as the U.S. would get to a goal on the night.

"It's a very technical, savvy team in the final third. I still thought we gained momentum, even in the last minutes there, and we got opportunities," Heaps said. "But again, it's a good team that you're facing up against three times in a row, so credit to them. But I still think we could have gotten a (draw) out of it.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 11:32 PM.