U.S. women’s national team defender Tierna Davidson suffered a torn ACL in her left knee while competing for NJ/NY Gotham FC in NWSL play on Friday, adding a new wrinkle to USWNT head coach Emma Hayes’ plans to expand the player pool and build a new core group in the buildup to the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Davidson came off in the 44th minute of Friday’s game at the Houston Dash with a non-contact injury in her left knee. She was able to walk off the pitch with limited help but was in tears and received a hug from Gotham’s goalkeeper coach and Davidson’s former teammate Michelle Betos before heading straight down the tunnel.
The injury is a big blow to Gotham, who have used a strong defense as the foundation of their style of play under head coach Juan Carlos Amoros. Davidson started each of Gotham’s three games this season at center back next to Emily Sonnett, her club and country teammate, though Mandy Freeman could fill the role after coming on in Davidson’s place on Friday.
Davidson previously tore her ACL in her right knee in 2022 during a training session with her club at the time, the Chicago Stars. She missed the entirety of the 2022 NWSL season with that injury and returned for the 2023 campaign but missed the USWNT’s 2023 Women’s World Cup roster before fully returning to the group after the conclusion of that tournament. She earned a starting role alongside Naomi Girma in time for the 2024 Olympic Games, where they won gold.
USWNT to explore defensive depth
Though a long-term injury is never ideal, Davidson’s injury comes at a period in time that Hayes was already going to use for experimentation. The head coach has intentionally used the post-Olympics period to expand the player pool and introduce new tactical ideas, something that she will likely do for the remainder of 2025.
Onlookers will get a taste of Hayes’ new ideas as soon as Saturday, when the USWNT play Brazil in the first of a two-game series this month. The head coach is without both of her starting center backs from the Olympics, with Girma nursing a short-term injury that kept her out of this international window. She does have a handful of options available to her – Sonnett is the veteran choice of the group, though less-experienced picks like Alana Cook, Tara McKeown and Emily Sams are also in camp.
Cook was part of the 2023 World Cup squad but could earn her first minutes for the national team since Hayes took over last year, while the others have more recent experiences with the USWNT. Sonnett and McKeown started two of the USWNT’s three SheBelieves Cup matches in February, while Sams partnered with Davidson in the other match. Additionally, Sonnett filled in for Davidson during the Olympics when the latter dealt with a minor injury.
Girma and Davidson, who will both still be under 30 years old by the 2027 World Cup, remain the presumed starters for that tournament, barring fitness, and at the very least, this period of experimentation will allow Hayes to figure out who is next in line.
Davidson joins a long list of veteran USWNT players who will miss a considerable amount of time since the Olympics. Only 10 members from Hayes’ gold medal-winning team are in camp this month, and the head coach has not been able to work with full groups since they returned from Paris.
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