Swanson leads 'fearless' substitutes as USWNT rallies for draw vs. No. 1 Spain

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  Jeff KassoufOct 13, 2026, 11:44 PM ET

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  Jeff Kassouf covers women's soccer for ESPN, focusing on the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, he founded The Equalizer, a women's soccer news outlet, and he previously won a Sports Emmy at NBC Sports and Olympics.

CHESTER, Penn. -- United States women's national team head coach Emma Hayes praised the "fearlessness" of her second-half subs on Tuesday after her team turned around a two-goal deficit at halftime to draw World Cup champions Spain, 2-2 at Subaru Park.

Hayes made five changes around the hour mark and another three with 10 minutes left to play. Forward Ashley Sanchez had gotten a goal back for the U.S. just after halftime, and Mallory Swanson -- who came off the bench in the first wave of substitutions -- struck the equalizer in the 86th minute.

"They were fearless," Hayes said of the group in the second half. "[We] need that sometimes. Sometimes it's easier when you're coming into a game like that, too. Job's really clear and you've got nothing to lose. So, I really admired the fearlessness of the performance of the second half."

Swanson had not scored for the United States since her gold medal-winning strike at the Olympics in August 2024. She was on maternity leave throughout 2025 and only returned to the field for the United States for the first time on.

"I'm just honestly super grateful," a smiling Swanson said after the match. Defender Kate Del Fava and midfielder Pietra Tordin each made their United States debuts when they came off the bench in the 80th minute.

Del Fava played the long ball to Michelle Cooper -- another reserve who Hayes praised -- that led to Swanson's goal.

She added: "The strength is in the size of our pack."

Hayes shifted the team to a 3-5-2 formation in the second half, with Cooper and Alyssa Thompson eventually coming on as wingbacks.

"Emma just said the game's not over, and we just need to come on and change the game as subs," Thompson said of the instructions she received. "We know what we want to do and we need to be aggressive."

The U.S. conceded goals five minutes apart around the half-hour mark, going down 2-0 to Spain early for the second time in three days.

Two-time Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas scored Spain's first goal on a tap-in after a series of defensive rotation breakdowns from the U.S.

Salma Paralluelo made it 2-0 five minutes later after U.S. goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce mishit a clearance and gave the ball to Spain in a dangerous area.

But Sanchez, who earned the start on Tuesday despite Hayes saying last week that she would come off the bench in both games, scored for the U.S. four minutes after halftime. It was her first international goal since 2022 after going nearly two years without a call-up.

Swanson, Cooper, Thompson, Lily Yohannes and Jaelin Howell all came into the match around the hour mark. Del Fava, Tordin and Emma Sears entered the game in the 80th minute. (Spain and the U.S. agreed to eight substitutions each for the friendly.)

Yohannes nearly scored the game-winner in stoppage time, but Spain goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez stretched low to push the ball out for a corner kick.

"We then got momentum," Hayes said. "Sometimes [it's] difficult to make them [subs] all at the same time, but they came in at the right moment, they impacted the game and, from memory of the game, I think we probably could have won it at the end."