The USWNT put together a pretty feel good 3-0 win over the People’s Republic of China on Saturday at Allianz Field in Minnesota.

There was a lot to like about the performance in St. Paul. The return of vice-captain Naomi Girma. Further development of the relationship between Alyssa Thompson, Michelle Cooper, and Catarina Macario. The starting midfield trio worked pretty well together. A Sam Coffey goal. A long overdue Lo’eau LaBonta debut. A solid 90 minutes from Avery Patterson at right outside back. Newly minted Champions League winner Emily Fox got some well-deserved rest.

The Chinese side allowed for a pretty open game by playing a pretty high defensive line. This left space open behind them for the wingers to play and runners to get in behind. Unfortunately for them, it left them having to defend for their lives for most of the game. They only had something that could be called momentum for probably the first 5-10 minutes of the game where they were causing a bit of midfield disruption. Other than that, China wasn’t really able to generate much sustained offense with most of their chances coming from a couple of breakthrough moments that got snuffed out by either Girma or goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

I thought most players had a pretty good game today. The US felt like they were in control for pretty much the entire match. It has been really special to see Macario come back into the national team and make such a big impact, especially in the absence of Sophia Wilson, Mallory Swanson, and Trinity Rodman. The burgeoning chemistry between her, Thompson, and Cooper makes me feel less concerned about their absences and excited for the possibilities when they return. Thompson made her mark on this game even though she didn’t score herself. She was given the assist on the opening goal, she had a “hockey assist” on the second, and she drew all of the attention of the defenders in the box to allow Lindsey Heaps to drop in behind and put away the final goal.

Perhaps what was most exciting about this game, though, was the debut of Lo’eau LaBonta, an NWSL veteran and leader whose consistently great form in the league never seemed to draw the national team’s attention, until now. In the 69th minute, she subbed in for the young Lily Yohannes and held it down in the midfield for the rest of the game alongside Coffey.

This week I read a great post from Views From the Street Car where they presented The Case Against Overvaluing Analytics when analyzing the beautiful game due its complexity and variability. One of the reasons I started Two Left Feet was to deepen my soccer knowledge and understanding of the sport. One of the components of that was learning more about the underlying numbers that were discussed so frequently on some of my favorite podcasts. Slowly but surely I have been working on understanding things like xG and g+ and trying to read passing and heat maps. I really loved this post, though, because it was a reminder that learning to read the game isn’t just looking at statistics and advanced analytics. I wanted to make good on the author’s call to action by trying to pay special attention to the USWNT midfield whether they had the ball or not.

Perhaps the biggest question mark for the USWNT in its transition from the Andonovski Era into the Hayes Era has been the midfield. With players like Julie Ertz and Sam Mewis retiring, who plays at the 6 and 8? Is there a way for Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Heaps to both be effective when they’re on the field together? How long will the Korbin Albert experiment last? What will Hayes do with the overabundance of attacking midfielders in the pool?

Against China, the midfield of Coffey, Yohannes, and Heaps looked possibly the most fluid, stable, and effective I’ve seen since I started watching the team in any sort of attentive way. They seemed to know their roles and triggers inside out. Coffey and Yohannes worked well in the double pivot together to break up play on defense and create passing outlets on offense. They did well to be constantly scanning for open spaces to drift into and dangerous spaces that might be opening up to plug. At times they would alternate dropping into the backline to send Crystal Dunn or Avery Patterson up the wing into the attack (more often Patterson). This very organized movement between the double pivot allowed Heaps to float around wherever she pleased and get higher up into the attack. She looked pretty good with this level of freedom and the structure behind her along with a helping hand from Thompson kept the press effective even if she was roaming. The midfield really worked on Saturday with two players in the group scoring goals and the sequence that led to the Coffey goal having started with a long ball from Yohannes. Needless to say, I didn’t hate it. It actually looked pretty good.

Once substitutions came on in all areas of the park, this level of organization and structure broke down. In the Hayes Era, it has often felt like a time where newer players just get time to manage their nerves. Sometimes someone scores, often they do not. Things look a little more chaotic and less polished but it’s to be expected. It seemed like LaBonta, Coffey, and Moultrie were still trying to execute a similar plan to Yohannes, Coffey, and Heaps but again, it just didn’t look as clean but it continued to work for the most part.

Overall, a good performance from the USWNT. On Tuesday they face a different opponent, Jamaica, in St. Louis where they will honor recently-retired USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn in her hometown.