USWNT's Jaedyn Shaw makes history before record friendly crowd - ESPN

Jaedyn Shaw, 19, became the first United States women's national team player to score a goal in each of her first five starts with a goal on Saturday, and the U.S. defeated Japan, 2-1 to advance to Tuesday's final of the SheBelieves Cup.

Shaw started as the No. 10 on Saturday and was a focal point of the Americans' attack. She scored 21 minutes into the match, striking a shot from outside the 18-yard box that froze Japan goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita.

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«I just want to point out, not only did she score a brilliant goal, and not only was she part of a lot of very effective build-ups, but she did a great job defensively,» U.S. interim coach Twila Kilgore said about Shaw in a postgame news conference. «And this is an area where she has accepted a challenge and is continuing to grow and makes a massive difference for our team.»

Not only is Shaw the first USWNT player in program history to score in her first five starts, she is only the 13th in U.S. history to score in five straight games, and the youngest to do so.

A crowd of 50,644 fans turned up at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, a record for a friendly match for the U.S. women and the largest crowd for the team in any home match since the 1999 World Cup final.

Forward Mallory Swanson made her return to the field for the U.S. 354 days after tearing her left patella tendon, an injury that forced her to miss the 2023 World Cup. Swanson was active on the left wing throughout her 78 minutes of play. She was denied a goal early in the game by Miyabi Moriya's goal-line clearance.

«In front of goal, for me personally, I was a little excited,» Swanson told TNT postgame. "[I have to] get those jitters out of the way and move