Midfielder Riley Jackson passes to defender Hal Hershfelt.  Anusha Singh / Daily Nexus

Following the United States women’s national soccer team’s match versus Chile, the Daily Nexus Sports team interviewed three players from USWNT in the mixed zone — Emma Sears, Trinity Rodman and Emily Sams. The U.S women’s national soccer team (USWNT) players revealed how essential building and maintaining their chemistry was throughout the match, and how that ultimately led to the team’s striking success. While the scoreboard showed a commanding 5-0 win for the USWNT over Chile on Tuesday night, much of the postgame conversation centered less on the goals and more on the growing connections within a young and evolving squad.

For forward Sears, the match was another step in a process that’s still unfolding. 

“I think that obviously chemistry is very real on a team, and for us to have not gotten a lot of minutes playing together, I think that’s something that we honestly just kind of embraced for the game tonight,” Sears said. “I thought that once the game got going, we started to build the connections better across the field and that ultimately helped us win.”

With newer combinations of players seeing extended minutes together, Sears described the group as learning on the fly, building trust through live game situations rather than relying solely on practices and training sessions. 

That sense of growth extended beyond the field and into the atmosphere within Harder Stadium, where a lively Santa Barbara crowd responded to each attacking moment. Forward Rodman noted how the energy was noticeable, even as players worked to stay composed.

“There’s like a balance of not getting too excited because you guys are excited,” Rodman said with a smile, describing the dynamic between the team and the fans. 

For a young roster, managing that emotional balance is part of the learning curve, and this game showed that the fresh faces are ready for whatever is thrown at them. Rodman’s comment reflected a team feeding off the crowd’s enthusiasm while maintaining the focus required to execute over and over again. Rodman was, as usual, a fan favorite of the night, and the entire stadium roared when she finally stepped onto the field in minute 64. Each time she touched the ball, everyone held their breath in anticipation for what she would do — and she did not disappoint.

Defender Sams also pointed to the environment as a factor in the team’s rhythm throughout the night.

“It is awesome to get the crowd behind us when something good happens and you hear the oohs and the ahhs,” Sams said. “It makes it a lot of fun because we know we are doing something good here.”

Sams’ description highlighted a group growing more confident together, not just in their play, but also in how they responded to the moment. The young squad’s energy, paired with visible communication and support between teammates, emphasized a theme echoed across the mixed zone: The team is still fresh, but the connections are forming fast.

As the U.S. continues to integrate younger players and new combinations, performances like Tuesday’s offer more than just a result. They provide a setting for relationships to develop in real time, something players say is becoming increasingly evident each time they step on the field together.