The future of the USWNT builds on strong Seattle-based roots

You can’t tell the story of the United States Women’s National Team without Seattle and Reign FC. And on Tuesday, April 14, the Stars & Stripes will return to the Emerald City for an international friendly against Japan at Lumen Field.

The USWNT is the most dominant force in the history of international soccer.  Dating all the way back to the 1985ers – the first-ever USWNT to compete in an international tournament – the roots of the program run deep in our city. Headlined by American soccer icon Michelle Akers and seven other Washington residents, that team traveled to Italy to compete in the Mundalito, which was a precursor to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Fast forward 41 years, and the program has become synonymous with success, winning four World Cups and five Olympic Golds. And since 2013, the team has been headlined by stars like Megan Rapinoe, Hope Solo and Rose Lavelle – all of whom hold deep ties to Seattle Reign FC.

Ahead of the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, a new era of players is breaking into the team under Head Coach Emma Hayes. While NWSL teams collectively are fueling that progress, Reign FC is leading the way.

“We’ve got a lot of the youth national team pipeline in Seattle Reign,” said Reign FC Chief Business Officer Maya Mendoza-Exstrom. “It’s pretty cool to be able to say ‘I saw Sally Menti, Sam Meza, Sam Meza, Maddie Dahlien, Jordyn Bugg, or Claudia Dickey, play [for the Reign]’, and next year any of them [could be] playing in Brazil in the World Cup representing the U.S. Women’s National Team.”

In 2026 alone, five Reign players have been called up to the USWNT senior team. While Claudia Dickey, Jordyn Bugg and Sam Meza broke into the fold last season, Maddie Dahlien and Sally Menti made their U.S. debuts in January – a recognition of their breakout performances in 2025 and future potential on the global stage.

Headlining the group of rising stars for club and country is Dickey. The Reign shot-stopper has earned nine caps for the U.S., posting seven shutouts. A finalist for 2025 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, she has reached new heights in the early stages of this season. Dickey is second in the league for saves (20), fourth in goals-against average (0.8) and has two shutouts under her belt, all while breaking Reign club records for most career shutouts (previously held by Phallon Tullis-Joyce) and career saves (previously held by Hope Solo).

Bugg, 19, is one of the highest-ceiling prospects to emerge in recent USWNT history. The teenage center back was a finalist for 2025 NWSL Defender of the Year, notching 26 starts, 37 interceptions, 26 tackles and three goals in her first full season as a professional. A stalwart in the youth national team program, Bugg made her debut with the full U.S. Women’s National Team last year and already has six caps to her name.

Meza earned her first cap last year after bursting into the Reign starting lineup and establishing herself as a two-way force in midfield, leading all of NWSL with 106 tackles.

Menti enjoyed a meteoric ascent in 2025. The Seattle native started the year as a preseason trialist with her hometown team before earning a short-term contract. After impressing in her initial opportunities, Menti earned a multi-year extension and cemented her status as one of the top young talents in NWSL. She was able to parlay her performances at club level into call-up to the USWNT’s January camp.

Dahlien also earned her first cap in 2026 after finishing as a finalist for 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year. The electric young winger posted four goals and four assists in her first season as a professional, quickly catching the attention of Emma Hayes and the USWNT staff.

Not far behind is Reign FC’s exciting quartet of U.S. Youth National Team stars – Ainsley McCammon, Emeri Adames, Sofia Cedeño and Evan O’Steen.

McCammon, 18, is recently became the youngest player in club history to record an assist and has gotten plenty of minutes in a loaded midfield group with the likes of Menti and Meza as well as club legend Jess Fishlock and Welsh international Angharad James-Turner. Adames, 20, finished last season as the club’s joint-leading scorer and tied the NWSL record for most goals scored by a teenager with six.

Cedeño, 19, and O’Steen, 18, have both been staples of the U.S. Youth National Team system in recent years, and have shown plenty glimpses of their elite potential in their first year with the club.

Fans can come watch the U.S. Women’s National Team play at Lumen Field on April 14th. But if you want to see the future of the USWNT program, come to Lumen Field on a Reign FC matchday.