At 32, LaBonta Finally Gets Her Chance With USWNT, As Does Dickey

By Michael Lewis

Say this about Emma Hayes:

The U.S. Women’s National Team head coach is an equal opportunity employer.

No age discrimination here, as she will give younger and experienced players a chance to take their shots at making the team.

On Tuesday, she called two players into camp who are on opposite sides of the age spectrum and who have never played for the national squad. Hayes summoned 25-year-old goalkeeper Claudia Dickey of Seattle Reign FC, and 32-year-old Lo’eau LaBonta, who captains the Kansas City Current.

LaBonta’s all-up is one of those feel-good stories we need every once in a while. If LaBonta plays in the upcoming friendlies against China PR on May 31 or vs. Jamaica on June 3, she will become the oldest player to debut for the USWNT program in its 40-year history.

In some respects, her story is not unlike Vancouver Whitecaps forward Brian White, who was called into the U.S. Men’s National Team only two weeks prior to his 28th birthday in 2024. He has not let up filling the net in Major League Soccer and Concacaf Champions Cup and is under consideration to represent the U.S. at the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Playing with joy and passion

LaBonta had to wait a bit longer, but she is a major reason the Current (7-2-0, 21 points) is sitting atop the National Women’s Soccer League standings, with a four-point lead over the San Diego Wave (5-2-2, 17). She has scored three goals and assisted once in nine appearances, playing every minute (810) as the team leader.

The 5-foot-1 midfielder also reminds us that you don’t have to be a big player to make a big impact on the game.

And it certainly helps LaBonta plays the game with so much joy and passion.

“Soccer is a game at the end of the day,” she told The Independent of Kansas City on March 22. “And games are supposed to be fun.”

So, it’s not surprising that LaBonta has forged a never-say-die history in her career. After winning playing at Stanford University and helping the team capture the 2011 NCAA Division I women’s tournament, she was taken by Sky Blue FC (now Gotham FC) in the 2015 NWSL College Draft. She played six games but was waived that July to make room for players returning from the Women’s World Cup.

“I didn’t want to just end it there, so I trained even harder and then got on Kansas City’s roster,” LaBonta told The Independent.

Undeterred, LaBonta played 22 matches with FC Kansas City in 2016-17, performed on loan with the Western Sydney Wanderers from 2017-19 before returning to the states. She played 42 times for the Utah Royals from 2018-20 before joining the expansion Current in 2021. Since then, LaBonta has become an influential player, connecting for 17 goals in 85 appearances.

Deserved call-up

She has converted 12 penalty kicks, good for third on the NWSL all-time list. She also has liked to fake a hamstring injury during those PK celebrations (there’s that joy). And she has been named to the NWSL Best XI of the Week 10 times.

In 2021, she and husband, former Sporting Kansas City standout and Honduran international midfielder Roger Espinoza were named Honorary All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches.

“She’s deserving of the call-up,” Hayes said during a Zoom press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “She’s been consistent in everything that she has done. And I think with the volume of young players or less experienced players we’re bringing in, I think we have to get that balance right. And obviously, with the 23s [Under-23 team] program and two fantastic games in Germany, it’s an opportunity for us to use that for less-developed players that are strong candidates for the ’27 pool and look at someone like Lo’eau. She’s a super player … This is the right moment to do it.”

Hayes was referring to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted by Brazil.

Two years out from that competition, it is uncertain whether LaBonta will be on that squad, because of her age. But given her background, she likely will make much of her opportunity and have fun doing it as well.

In the running

Dickey also will have an opportunity to demonstrate to Hayes and her coaching staff in camp. Hayes is trying to find a keeper to replace Alyssa Naeher, who has retired from international competition. Naeher backstopped the USA to the 2019 Women’s World Cup crown and to a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

Hayes has been impressed with Dickey, who earned the Reign’s starting job last year. She has conceded only seven goals in nine matches for a 0.78 this season, while registering three clean sheets. Last year, he had a 1.36 GAA over 19 contests.

“I mean, the data don’t lie. Claudia Dickey is probably the best performing goalkeeper in the NWSL this season,” she said. “I’ve seen a different level in her game this year. If you think about last camp, players only played a couple of games. It’s really hard to make those decisions on players based on previous seasons form, but I think Seattle in general is a much-improved team.”

The U.S. head coach indicated that Dickey got the nod over Angel City FC goalie Angelina Anderson, who is 24.

“But with Claudia, I think she’s got that extra years’ experience, particularly over someone like Angelina Anderson,” she said. “I spoke a lot with [Reign head coach] Laura Harvey about her and the things that she’s pushing her on, the things that we’re both looking to see from her.”

Hayes added that Dickey could have played with the Under-23 team in Germany

“That would have been another step for her, but we felt her form and the quality she’s demonstrating, she’s tracking in the right direction,” Hayes said. “I think she’s someone who deserves to be in this position.”

In search of a starting keeper

The three goalkeepers in camp will have combined for four international appearances.

That included two women who had varied results against Brazil. Manchester United’s Phallon Tullis-Joyce was impressive in her USMNT debut in a 2-0 win on April 5, while Utah Royals’ Mandy McGlynn, who has three caps. guarded the goal in a 2-1 defeat three days later.

“Fallon’s had a wonderful season for Manchester United,” Hayes of Tullis-Joyce, who was on the losing end of Chelsea’s 3-0 win in the Women’s FA Cup final last weekend. “The last few games, she’s had to play the top teams in England, and you start to get to see the challenges that come with that. But overall, I think it has been a great season for Fallon.

“I think Mandy has great potential, a great upside. I said it before in the Brazil game, while I didn’t think in the first half, she necessarily executed the right decisions. What impressed me was her ability to bounce back. I thought mentally, she stood strong. We all know they don’t have the international experience, say, of Alyssa Naeher. But that’s what this is about. We are creating exposures for a less developed group of goalkeepers that a lot of them have under five caps. We’ve got to start building that.”

Regardless of who is in the net for China PR or Jamaica, she will be under close scrutiny.

Hayes, who took over the coaching reins a year ago, said that she doesn’t want to get caught holding tryouts for a new keeper again.

“I’ve inherited that challenge. I didn’t make that challenge,” she said. “You’ve had a goalkeeper in Alyssa Naeher that played a lot of minutes. No one else played a lot of minutes. You can’t cut a corner on that stuff. Unfortunately, it will take a little bit of time. First of all, if you look at the pool of players at the top end, most senior players, Fallon being one of them, I think for me, she’s leading in that area at this moment in time, in her age category.

“But I also realized that from Dickey to Angelina Anderson, in particular, to Mandy McGlynn, they’re players that have to keep building their experiences as well. What I don’t want to do is develop a goalkeeper for ’27 and then we’re in exactly the same position again. I want to ensure that from ’27 to ’28 to ’31 that we get the development pathways right for the goalkeepers, so that it is a lot more seamless than it is for me.

“You have to be prepared to be patient with it, because these players haven’t played at this level for very long. I think it will be up and down for them, which is why we want to give them all the support we can.”

Hayes said that she would like to have a starter sorted out by the end of June.