Cat Macario gives USWNT a jolt vs. China in Triple Espresso's absence | OneFootball

Who knew the U.S. Women's National Team would be just fine with its Triple Espresso?

The absence of Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson and Trinity Rodman left this current U.S. women's national team camp without its three best attackers. You would never know it with the way Cat Macario filled in as the centerpiece of the attack in a 3-0 win over China on Saturday.

Macario was an influential figure in all three of the U.S. goals. She opened the scoring in the 29th minute with an easy but scrappy finish right in front of the goal. Seven minutes later, she played a simple but perfect pass to Sam Coffey, who put the U.S. up 2-0 with a world-class strike. After halftime, it was Macario's header near midfield that helped spring a counterattack that ended with Lindsey Heaps heading the ball into the back of the net.

Macario was subbed out of the game in the 70th minute before she could do any more damage. But 70 minutes was more than enough to leave her mark on the game.

Saturday's game is further evidence that Macario is on her way back from the ACL tear that kept her out of the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics. With a goal and an assist against China, Macario now has three goals and an assist in her last five matches with the USWNT. That gives Macario four goal contributions in the nine goals the USWNT has scored in those five games, even though she didn't play 90 minutes in any of those matches.

Not perfect, yet

Of course, it wasn't a perfect performance by Macario. With China playing higher than expected, Macario struggled to get her timing right when trying to run behind the back line, leading to her being called offside multiple times. The fact that it took Macario and company nearly 30 minutes to score the first goal with China playing so open was also a little disappointing. However, once the first goal went in, the USWNT hit its stride, with Macario being the centerpiece of the attack.

Despite being the star of the game, Macario wasn't even playing her best position. With Alyssa Thompson and Michelle Cooper playing on the wings, Macario was positioned as the No. 9 striker on the field. Her best performances often come as an attacking midfielder in a deeper role. In fact, there were times when Macario dropped deeper than the USWNT to collect the ball and jumpstart the attack. She wasn't always playing like a typical striker, but Macario made sure she made an impact.

Macario is almost there

The kicker with Macario is that she still isn't at her best. USWNT coach Emma Hayes knows that it could be another year until Macario is back to her highest level, even after scoring 11 goals for Chelsea this past season in the WSL and scoring three goals in her last five international matches.

"Have we seen the best of Catarina Macario? Absolutely not," Hayes said after the U.S. split a pair of April friendlies with Brazil.

Moving forward, Macario should continue to be the primary striker for the USWNT. It may not be her best position, and she may not be fully recovered from her ACL injury, but that hasn't mattered. She's still finding ways to score goals and leave her mark on matches. With Swanson, Wilson, and Rodman away from the team, there's little doubt that Macario has become the focal point of the USWNT attack.