ST. PAUL, Minn. — Naomi Girma returned to the national team and Lo'eau LaBonta became the oldest player to make her international debut for the U.S. in a 3-0 win over China on Saturday.
Catarina Macario, Sam Coffey and Lindsey Heaps scored while goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce got her second shutout in as many appearances.
LaBonta, the 32-year-old midfielder for the Kansas City Current in the National Women's Soccer League, came on as a second-half substitute.
''When they called my name, I was sitting being the best cheerleader I could be on the bench, I was like, 'This is amazing. I've never been field view watching the national team.' It was so cool," LaBonta said after the match. "And they were like, `Lo, go.' And I was like, go where? All right, let's go!''
The match also marked Girma's first appearance for the national team this year. The 24-year-old defender has been nursing injuries but recently returned to help Chelsea win the Women's Super League title and the FA Cup.
Girma commanded a record $1.1 transfer fee when she moved from the San Diego Wave to Chelsea earlier this year.
''We've missed her. We really have,'' U.S. coach Emma Hayes said. ''Just in terms of the way we controlled the game, her in the deeper spaces making decisions — when to play forward, when not to — just rebuilding the connections again because if you think about the last time Naomi was here, there's been a lot of changes. But she said she was so happy to be back. She didn't realize how much she'd missed it until she drove up in the bus and saw the fans. But she's a world class player and you could see that.''
Tullis-Joyce, who plays for Manchester United, started in goal in just her second U.S. appearance as Hayes looks to replace Alyssa Naeher, who retired from the national team last year.
