Catarina Macario, Sentnor Impress USWNT Fans in SheBelieves Cup Win vs. Colombia

The United States Women's National Team started 2025 off with a win.

The Americans defeated Colombia 2-0 in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup on Thursday at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. It was the first game for both sides of the 10th annual edition of the tournament, and Catarina Macario and Ally Sentnor found the back of the net for the team playing on its home soil.

It was business as usual for the USWNT, which has won seven of the previous nine SheBelieves Cups and each of the last five.

This year's tournament also features Japan and Australia, and the teams will face each other over the course of a six-game, three-matchday format. Whichever side accumulates the most points (three for a win, one for a tie) will be the champion.

Macario and Sentnor made sure the Americans earned three points right out of the gates. While they were the goal scorers, 17-year-old Lily Yohannes also stood out in the middle of the field with her precision passing and ability to control the pace.

There was no shortage of social-media reaction for the overall performance:

Historically, the USWNT has enjoyed nothing but success against Colombia considering it entered play with an 11-0-2 record in 13 matchups. However, Colombia is trending in the right direction with appearances in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.

What's more, many of the household names who have defined recent eras of American soccer were not on the field for Thursday's contest.

But that didn't stop Macario from setting the tone in the early going with her first international goal since 2022. Yazmeen Ryan set Macario up with a centering pass in the box, and the forward buried it to open the scoring in the first half.

Ryan and Macario got credit in the box score with the assist and goal, but it was the perfectly placed long pass from Yohannes that started the scoring opportunity.

The scoring wasn't done, as Sentnor dribbled through multiple defenders and unleashed a rocket from outside the box to give the Americans some breathing room in the second half.

It was a deserved second for the victors, as they controlled the majority of possession throughout the game and cut off any chance at a comeback with their strong defense and midfield play.

As a result, they head into Sunday's game against Australia with plenty of momentum as they look to take another step toward winning another edition of the SheBelieves Cup.