Hayes says Lavelle one of the best she has coached after USWNT thrash New Zealand
Rose Lavelle was among the scorers as the United States crushed New Zealand, earning lofty praise from former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes.
Emma Hayes described Rose Lavelle as one of the best players she has ever coached after the Gotham FC midfielder captained the United States to a 6-0 rout of New Zealand.
With regular USWNT skipper Lindsey Heaps starting on the bench, Lavelle took the armband for Wednesday's friendly in Kansas City, and she marked the occasion with a goal.
Lavelle, who also scored in a 2-1 defeat to Portugal last week, hooked a volley into the top-right corner from the edge of the box after 44 minutes, putting the USA 3-0 up.
Emma Sears and Catarina Macario were already on the scoresheet by then, and in the second half, Sears completed her hat-trick while Chelsea's Macario clinched her brace.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Hayes said: "Rose Lavelle is one of the best players I've ever coached.
"It's everything about her, her graceful play between the lines, the way she connects from back to front...
"I think she's not just accomplished and polished, but she's got all the qualities to break down the best teams.
"I mean that goal, the way she scored that with the ball popping up, not many players score that goal."
Sears, meanwhile, scored the first hat-trick for the USWNT since Sophia Wilson against Uzbekistan on April 9, 2022.
That 1,299-day wait for a treble was the longest in the team's history, and Sears – who had never previously scored a professional hat-trick – was relieved to have made her mark.
"I knew since my first call-up to the national team, it was an opportunity that I really needed to make the most of," Sears said.
"I think a lot of the advice I’ve received since coming back to soccer is to really trust the process and just remember and stay with what I’m good at and bring that into this environment.
"As I've also heard from some of the more experienced players on this team, in international games, you only get a few opportunities to use in each game, so to show what you're really great at is super important."
