The United States women's soccer team's 3-0 victory over China at Allianz Field on Saturday marked a year, minus a day, since coach Emma Hayes took to the sidelines for her first game with the four-time Women's World Cup champions.

It also marked 361 days since the team played Hayes' second game in charge at Allianz last June, a 3-0 victory over South Korea, prepping for the Paris Olympics.

In the whirlwind span since, Hayes led a young American squad to a gold medal in France. There, the Englishwoman had the chance to sit down and swap experiences with Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, who was leading the U.S. women's basketball team to its 10th gold medal.

On Tuesday, the pair connected again at the Lynx's home victory over Seattle. Hayes and a group of U.S. players crowded into the WNBA team's locker room at Target Center postgame to watch Reeve speak to the team.

"That was an awesome experience to watch another coach, high-level coach, in action," Hayes said. And also, in the stands, "I jumped so high to grab [a] T-shirt."

Hayes faced a different challenge in the national team's fourth trip to Allianz — no longer racing against the clock of prepping for the Olympics, but instead using summer friendlies to puzzle out the long-term runway ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

That meant, on Saturday, the U.S. could introduce a few new faces, work regular stars back from injury and test out new combinations of familiar veterans.

In the 28th minute, one of those new faces helped the Americans break through China's unusually-high defensive back line. Michelle Cooper, a 22-year-old forward playing in her fifth game with the national team, slotted a pass from the right side of the field into the 6-yard box. After Alyssa Thompson's initial shot was blocked, Cat Macario tapped the ball across the goal line.

Macario's game-opener was her 11th international goal, and her third in 2025 following a two-year journey coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which forced her to miss the Paris Olympics.

"What I've been trying to achieve the most since January, it's just to find some consistency," said Macario, who overlapped with Hayes when Hayes coached Chelsea. "Even if I don't have my best game, per se, then [Hayes] knows that I can contribute to the team in different ways."

For instance — teeing up midfielder Sam Coffey's goal seven minutes later. Thompson cut up the right sideline and found Macario near the penalty spot, who laid off the ball for Coffey's bending finish.

Captain Lindsey Heaps (née Horan) added a third goal in the 54th minute, flicking on a pass to Cooper, who dashed up that same right touchline and served another cross to Heaps' head.

"We're still a young team in making those connections," Cooper said. "But it's good to know that only a couple camps in, we're able to hit these passes, hit the runs in behind."

In the 70th minute, 32-year-old midfielder Lo'eau LaBonta made history, subbing on and becoming the oldest player to debut for the U.S. national team — bucking the team's recent youth shift. Hayes said she has been scouting for new players in film of every National Women's Soccer League match, where LaBonta captains the league-leading Kansas City Current.

"My quote has been, 'Be stubborn in the most positive way possible,' " LaBonta said. "Look where I am now, 32, getting my first call-up."

Phallon Tullis-Joyce recorded her second, if quiet, shutout, in as many appearances for the United States, facing only two shots on goal. The 28-year-old Manchester United goalkeeper — who doubles as a marine biologist and excitedly said she made multiple trips down to "gawk" at the Mississippi River during the week — is part of Hayes' wide pool of potential successors to retired No. 1 Alyssa Naeher in net.

Several U.S. regulars missed this friendly, and will also miss the team's next game against Jamaica in St. Louis on Tuesday. Forwards Sophia Wilson and Mallory Swanson are both pregnant, and Trinity Rodman (back) and Rose Lavelle (ankle) are working back from injuries — though center back Naomi Girma featured for the United States for the first time in 2025, coming back from a calf injury.