USWNT starts Emma Hayes era with 4-0 win over South Korea

COMMERCE CITY, Colorado —The Emma Hayes era is off to a winning start after the United States women's national team cruised to a 4-0 victory vs. Korea Republic in a friendly on Saturday afternoon at Dicks Sporting Goods Park.

There was a lot to see in Hayes' debut match on the American sideline: for one, both Mallory Swanson and Tierna Davidson scored a brace apiece in front of a sold out crowd of 19,010 fans. It was Swanson's ninth and tenth goals in her last nine matches, while Davidson scored the second and third goals of her international career.

The U.S. looked confident and comfortable, a glimpse into how the team is quickly adapting to life under its new head coach. Hayes tried some new things, including starting a forward line that consisted of Swanson, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, with Catarina Macario trailing as the No. 10 in the lineup. She used all of her subs, which included getting Crystal Dunn out on the wing. She also gave Sam Staab her first senior national team cap.

"I think I've visualized this moment so many times over the past few months," Hayes said.

Here are takeaways from the match:

Play of the game

And the first goal of Hayes' tenure goes to … Swanson.

In the 34th minute, Naomi Girma settled a pass from Davidson just past midfield. Girma took a few touches and found Smith at the top of the box, who held off a defender and fed a sprinting Swanson, who one-touched her shot past Korean goalkeeper Kim Jung-mi. 

Swanson, who grew up just outside of Denver, was playing in front of a bunch of family and friends and let out all the emotions after scoring, throwing her arms wide with a massive smile. This was her first goal for the USWNT since returning from a knee injury that held her out of last