When it comes to USWNT, the names that first strike are Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. But the next generation is now ready to take over and is rising up. The likes of Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman, and Alyssa Thompson are making a name for themselves. But the one forward that has caught the eye of US soccer fans is 24-year-old Mallory Pugh Swanson.

Swanson made a debut for USWNT in 2016 when she was 17. Since then, she hasn’t looked back. The Chicago Red Stars forward is the backbone of the team’s attack. However, the star striker had rough patches in her career a few years back. She also struggled with injuries and, at one point in time, wasn’t making it to the USWNT roster. Let us take a look at the journey of Mallory Swanson.

Swanson was an integral part of the team after making her debut for the USWNT until 2019. She won the FIFA World Cup in 2019, CONCACAF Women’s Championship in 2018, and the She Believes Cup in 2016 and 2018 by then. Meanwhile, inconsistencies due to injuries kept her out for a sizeable chunk of 2020 and 2021. She didn’t give up and made a brilliant comeback.

Mallory Swanson missed out on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Swanson became the youngest USWNT player to feature in the Olympics qualifying squad and the youngest US player to score in 2016. However, things turned out when the next Olympics arrived. She missed out on the roster for the 202 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021, due to the Covid pandemic.

USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski told Swanson she won’t make it to the Olympics qualifying squad in January 2020. The player was stunned by the decision. Washington Spirit traded her in the NWSL draft to the Sky Blue FC in January 2020. But that stint didn’t go well, as she just made a single appearance for the club in 2020. It was because of the hip injury. 

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Swanson just made a single appearance for the national team in 2020 in a She Believes Cup game. The injuries and inconsistencies kept the striker out of the squad until September 2021, meaning she missed the Tokyo Olympics. 

USWNT star took the time out due to injuries to rediscover herself

“Not going to the Olympics was devastating and everything for me, but I feel like it was exactly what I needed,” Swanson once told Just Women’s Sport. It was a massive setback for the striker. But she didn’t just sit back and shift her focus on getting back to the team.

Swanson started working on her physical and mental fitness. She also took the opportunity to improve the technical and tactical side of the game. USWNT forward worked intensively with her sports psychologist, rediscovering a mindset of staying present and having fun.

The injuries and the Covid pandemic bringing games to halt in 2020 came as a blessing for the forward. She worked hard on the above-mentioned aspects to start her comeback journey in late 2021. 

2021: Comeback for Mallory Swanson started

After making just a single appearance for Sky Blue FC in 2020, the franchise traded the player to Chicago Red Stars in the 2021 draft. The move came as a turning point in her career. The time she took to rediscover her form bore fruits. She came second in the 2021 NWSL MVP players list.

Swanson made overall 28 appearances for the Stars in the season, scoring six goals. Andonovski recalled Swanson for the friendlies against Paraguay in September 2021. She stamped her authority in the first game against Paraguay, providing three assists on her return after over a year. Swanson also made it to the roster for the friendlies against South Korea in October 2021. The year 2020 proved to be a stepping stone for the Stars forward.

Mallory Swanson had a sensational She Believes Cup 2022 and 2023

Mallory Swanson was on the USWNT scene again after tough 2020 and 2021. Those were the years where she wasn’t able to cross 12 appearances for USWNT compared to the last four years. The year 2022 was like returning to normal for Swanson. She won the She Believes Cup and CONCACAF Women’s Championship in 2022. 

2022 was the best year of her career so far with USWNT. She scored seven goals and assisted seven more in 15 appearances. She finished the top scorer in last year’s She Believes Cup. Then came 2023 and Swanson started it with a bang. 

The striker picked up her goal-scoring form against New Zealand in two friendlies in January this year. She scored three goals in those games. She kept her scoring streak in the 2023 She Believes Cup scoring in all three games. Swanson scored four goals and finished top scorer second year in a row in the tournament and was named the MVP after winning it in the 2022 edition. 

Swanson has seven goals in six appearances this year, the tally she had in the whole of 2022. She also scored five games in a row this year. Swanson is living the hype she has got. Her performances gave faith to the US soccer fans for the upcoming World Cup. But tragedy struck recently. Mallory Swanson got injured horribly against Ireland, crashing her hopes of making it to the 2023 World Cup. 

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Swanson has undergone surgery on the injured tendons of the patella and has started the rehabilitation program. She will definitely come back again with a bang, the way she did in 2021. Let us pray for the speedy recovery of the forward.

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What are your thoughts on the career of Mallory Swanson? Can she break the record of Abby Wambach?