In the absence of Mallory Swanson

USWNT World Cup hopes were dealt a devastating blow Saturday, when Mal Swanson tore her patella tendon. Notes on the impact of Mal's absence, with quotes from Vlatko Andonovski.

Family, friends, colleagues, casuals, and the coffee lady at Wawa all seem to have one question these days: can the US Women win the World Cup?

Emphatically, I tell them: “Can they? Yes. Absolutely they can. And they might. BUT…”

Like any team on the precipice of history (three World Cups in a row is no small feat) the pieces need to align at just the right time. And last Saturday afternoon in Texas, an irreplaceable piece was thrown off the track, at precisely the wrong moment. 

In the 40th minute of a friendly against Ireland, the most in form American goal-scorer of 2023 left the field on a stretcher. As her hands formed a heart above her- held toward her teammates and fans chanting her name- Mallory Swanson was carried off the field of competition. 

Most likely, she won’t return soon. 

Addressing the media from Missouri this morning, Vlatko Andonovski confirmed again the patella tendon tear. Per U.S. Soccer, Mallory herself will confirm the recovery timeline, as well as the extent and specifics of the injury. There has not yet been a surgery. 

But it doesn’t sound good. Brief, amateur digs into this type of injury indicate recovery requires 6 months at minimum. 

“Mallory wants us to move on”, Vlatko told us. 

The moment the air went out

If you watched the game, and heaven forbid replayed the injury, you’d have seen the immediate cry for help on Mallory’s face. You’d have seen her call for help with her hand. And you may have sensed the physical pain, met by a clarity of loss apparent. It was a loss that seemed to say, I’m missing the World Cup.  

The last American I watched suffer an injury that evinced such simultaneous pain and awareness ahead of a World Cup was Miles Robinson, who ruptured his achilles last year. There’s something specific in the way both Mal and Miles went down and reacted. It spoke immediately of serious injury, and an awareness of what that meant for their World Cup journey. 

Speaking to the media today, Vlatko did not confirm in so many *official* words that Mallory Swanson would definitely miss the World Cup. It seems they are leaving that confirmation to Mal. Though, hoping otherwise seems unlikely. Vlatko’s words indicate a team moving on, by necessity, and with Swanson’s explicit blessing: 

“So Mal is doing good. She's, she's doing... Honestly, she's doing better than I thought. And she's stronger than me. Let's put it that way. I had a chance to talk to her. I had a really good conversation, and even before we knew what the injury was, when she was walking out she had this big smile on her face and said, "Coach, I'm fine, I'll be good." And then when I talked to her after that, she was really good. And she was very thankful for all the support that she got from the staff and from players and outside of the environment. She said that all she wants is for the team to be successful and that she's gonna be our biggest supporter. So very, very good mindset, very good mentality. And she has things planned right away, in terms of the timeline of how everything is gonna play out for her, from the rehab and medical side of it. So, she's in a good place, as good as she can be at this moment. And we're, you know, we're going to miss her. But at the same time, like I said, Mal... Mal wants us to move on and be successful and do right for her.”

The impact

Unfortunately, I watched it a few times. The initial look on Mal’s face, the way she went down, and the heart she formed above her head replay constantly as I think about it. 

But the other image burned in my brain is Rose Lavelle. Immediately, she was on the ground behind Swanson, holding Mal by the shoulders as the initial moment led to the ensuing minutes, and the professionals that stretchered her off labored over her.

Nearby, Lindsey Horan stood over them with her face in her hands, perceivably crying. 

Much is understood about the logistical blow of Mallory’s absence. Her red hot form is in large, quantifiable parts what took this team from dismal fall friendlies to a promising, spring ascendance. Now, she’s sidelined from the equation. 

But let’s save a pause for the emotional blow of seeing a worst nightmare visit your friend and teammate. I feel, primarily, a sadness for the loss that is entirely Mallory’s. But I feel sorrow as well for Rose and Lindsey– and everyone else, including Vlatko. 

On the emotional impact of Mal’s absence (as well as the resilient, play through hard times nature of this team) Vlatko had a lot to say this morning: 

“It was a tough moment for the team. No matter who gets injured, it is a tough moment. Because it's players' careers, players' futures are impacted. And the team is impacted. You know, Mal is arguably one of the best players in the world. And it was unfortunate what happened. But I think that the team is doing well, and they do galvanize and bond around unfortunate things like this. So that's one thing. Another thing is, Mal is... I mean I'm sure you know this, and you can tell, that she's a very lovable person. Like she always has a smile on her face. And even in the toughest moments, she's with a smile on her face. She leaves the stadium with injury, with… you know, a smile. And it's not easy, but that's who she is. She's not like that in one place, and different the other place. That's how she is in the environment, that's how she is in the trainings, in tough moments. That's how she is when she's happy. And that rubs off on the rest of the team. So everybody loves her in the environment. But at the same time, we all understand that we have a job to do. The best day is now. And we got to prepare for the World Cup. We got to prepare and we've got to do our job. And if there's a team that has a group of players ready to step in, in the moment, that's this team.”

The large, quantifiable parts

Last fall, much ado was made about three consecutive losses to England, Spain, and then Germany. 

… For what it’s worth, Swanson didn’t play in the England and Spain friendlies. And neither did Alex Morgan. And for that matter, neither did Cat Macario. Swanson pulled out due to family obligations, Alex Morgan was injured, and Macario remains in recovery from a torn ACL. 

But those three consecutive losses were more than the US had suffered in a row since 1993 (yes, you read that correctly). That string of straight loss- against their toughest competition- felt like a negative premonition of how they might fare in the World Cup. 

Things slowly turned a corner in New Jersey. Playing Germany for a second time, the squad came from behind to pull off a victory. Swanson scored the go-ahead goal that evening- minutes after NWSL MVP Sophia Smith- in a match that ended 2-1, goals from Smith and Swanson. 

Until Saturday, Swanson scored in every single US game since that evening. And the US hasn’t lost since she started to. 

Her fortuitous form included goals in six straight games since mid-November. That includes seven goals across five games played in a World Cup year. Had she been afforded the opportunity, Mal was on track to break her personal record for national team goals in a calendar year by end of April. Had she scored Saturday, she’d have surpassed Christen Press’ 6-game goal streak from 2019-2020, with whom she is now tied for 4th longest goal streak in USWNT history. Swanson is the first player under 30 to reach a 6-game goal streak since Alex Morgan did, more than a decade ago, in 2012.    

Mallory’s injury cuts off that streak from reaching its full potential— robbing all of us, but nobody more than Swanson, of an arc that bent toward history. 

When thinking about the team turnaround, it’s also worth noting, emphasizing, and underlining, that Swanson’s recent goals often broke through a game state that the US were not otherwise dominating. Against Japan and Brazil at the SheBelieves Cup, in particular, it seemed just as likely goals would come from the other direction, were it not for the Americans’ ability to conjure goals from thin air. And most often, it was Mallory Swanson conjuring them.

Now, the US look forward with three months to prepare, only one (confirmed) friendly left to play, and their most reliable goal scorer indefinitely missing from the roster. 

Moving on

The time to move on will be immediate, because they have to. 

Undoubtedly, this devastating loss could mean opportunity— opportunity for another player, vying for a position. 

18-year-old Alyssa Thompson was called in to replace Swanson. Having made history a few times already this year, the youngest ever #1 NWSL draft pick could perhaps work her way into the World Cup. The goals have started to come easy with Angel City. If she keeps the pace, it could be hard to nix her speed and precision.

Vlatko told media today that Thompson is here because she is handy breaking down a low block, like Ireland’s. He added the following, on her skillset: 

“She's an exciting player. She has abilities to turn in small areas that not many players have, and not just turn, but she accelerates with the ball and runs at defenses with confidence. I almost want to say sometimes, for an 18 year old, it's borderline arrogant when she goes at you. But she can eliminate players on a dribble and we've seen her score some good goals as well.”

More likely, it’s Trinity Rodman who can now seal her World Cup future. Already a Rookie of the year and Ballon D’or winner, Rodman places high in goal contributions for the national team. Only Swanson, Lavelle, and Morgan surpass Rodman for goal contributions in 2023. Notably, all three of Rodman’s are in the assist category. Trinity did have chances against Ireland on Saturday, but didn’t finish them. She’ll need to prove she can be clinical with her opportunities to make her inclusion a no brainer. 

Lynn Williams is also in the race for a role that’s cemented. The NWSL goal-scoring great is finally healthy, tearing into her club season at Gotham with a tenacious familiarity. I mean, how can you keep a player that self-fashions a sling, then keeps playing off your roster?

The left wing legend, Megan Rapinoe (absent with injury) is thought to be a lock if healthy. Though I suppose that can’t be assumed as a given. With Thompson, Williams and Rodman (not to mention Midge Purce, left off this roster) all healthy, there are thankfully options to fill in if Rapinoe’s not 100. 

All of that being said, with so much of the American goal count revolving around Swanson on the left wing, her absence poses new and unexpected questions. Replacing her could mean a revisit to the depth chart of players around her, and beyond the forwards. Vlatko: 

“The depth chart will probably change a little bit for unfortunate reasons. And we'll see who's going where, who's going to be slotted where. Even though we have a pretty good idea of where the players are at, and their abilities, we're still going to have to look a little bit deeper. Because no one expected what happened in the last game. And we're gonna have to go back and rewatch lots of games and lots of training to see who fits where, and how these players are going to help us in different moments to be successful.”

The question hanging over this whole year: “can the US women actually win another World Cup??!” remains pressing.

Tragically, unexpectedly, the US will need to find a way to answer it in the cavernous absence of Mallory Swanson.