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Welcome back to your weekly column from Sports Illustrated that breaks down the women's soccer weekend through a U.S. women's national team lens.
We are now just two weeks out from the next USA squad announcement ahead of the upcoming friendlies against Spain in October. Unfortunately, the injury list continues to grow after a grueling season, and individual availability is just as important as current form heading into the next international window.
For those who are healthy and in good form, the door is wide open. Michelle Cooper is one such player who, after entering 2025 off the back of fitness concerns, has repeatedly demonstrated that she is a dependable dribbling and passing threat.
Let's take a look at who saw their stock rise and fall this past weekend.
Stock Up
Michelle Cooper
10th goal of the season for Temwa Chawinga 🙌
🎥 @NWSLpic.twitter.com/a12RWKB4pU
Sometimes composure is all that separates a good play from a great one. Charging down the flank means nothing if you can't keep your cool and thread the ball into a teammate's path. That's precisely what Michelle Cooper executed so effectively in KC Current's 2-2 draw against the Orlando Pride.
Cooper registered an assist on a counterattacking run, delivering a splitting pass to Temwa Chawinga in the second half. This came after she had produced a sharp cutback to Debinha in the first half, with the Brazilian striking the crossbar despite being left unmarked. She wrapped up the match with four chances created, including one big chance.
With three goals and an assist across her last six matches, Cooper is hitting her stride at the sharp end of the season. While competition on the wing for the USWNT is fierce — with Yazmeen Ryan, Emma Sears and Mal Swanson all in contention — Cooper looks to be doing everything necessary to establish herself as a creative wide option capable of dribbling forward, pressing, and supplying strikers.
Lindsey Heaps
Lindsey Heaps' first goal for her hometown club 🥹 pic.twitter.com/khf7cM4JDC
The long wait is finally over for Lindsey Heaps in Denver colors. The USWNT captain netted her first goal for the Summit in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Angel City this past weekend. Heaps showed sharp instincts by pouncing on a powerful Yazmeen Ryan effort that rattled the crossbar and dropped into a packed penalty area, requiring a composed first-time finish with her laces to find the back of the net.
Heaps has found it difficult to make a consistent impact with the USWNT over the past year. In a midfield packed with emerging talent, play can become labored when she attempts to progress through the thirds. As a box presence, however, Heaps offers more obvious value. This instinctive close-range finish served as a timely reminder of that quality.
Jordyn Bugg
The Seattle Reign have now recorded three straight clean sheets, with defender Jordyn Bugg completing the full 90 minutes in each. The most recent was a typically disciplined 2-0 home victory over Bay FC. Bugg and her backline conceded just four shots and 13 touches inside the Seattle box.
Bugg won 4 of 7 duels, contributed a block, three clearances, six recoveries and two interceptions. The aspect of her game that Emma Hayes may be monitoring most closely is her composure and confidence on the ball. Completing 47 of 53 passes — including 6 of 8 long balls — this was a standout display that will not go unnoticed.
• Can USWNT Star Rose Lavelle Actually Win the Ballon d'Or?
Stock Down
Mandy McGlynn
Utah Royals goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn found herself on the bench this past weekend as the Royals claimed a 1-0 road victory over the Houston Dash. Mia Justus was selected ahead of her and the young goalkeeper was barely tested, keeping a clean sheet as the home side failed to register a single goal.
McGlynn has endured a difficult 2026 campaign, ranking 13th in goals prevented at -1.2, and the situation unfolding at the Royals could reflect her standing with the USWNT, where her position as third-choice goalkeeper now appears very much up for grabs.
Tara Rudd
Amanda Gutierres took it herself for this goal 🤯 pic.twitter.com/lpXixUO0UK
The Washington Spirit center-back endured a nightmare afternoon in her side's 3-0 home defeat to the Boston Legacy. Tara Rudd was dispossessed on the halfway line by Amanda Gutierres, who then audaciously fired a stunning effort from 45 yards into the net. Rudd then failed to prevent Gutierres from latching onto a cut-back pass across the box for Boston's third goal.
Directly contributing to a goal conceded is always a painful experience. Rudd remains a genuine contender for a place in the USWNT's defensive setup. However, this was an afternoon where her positioning and ball control fell well short of the required standard.
Cat Macario
The San Diego Wave forward's 2026 season is officially done. On Monday, the club confirmed that Cat Macario had been placed on the season-ending injury list following a minor knee procedure. The announcement came after Macario had already missed the previous six months since joining from Chelsea due to a persistent heel problem.
With Macario now confirmed to miss her NWSL debut until 2027, the key question becomes when she will return to the USWNT fold. The earliest realistic return could come in the January friendlies, the SheBelieves Cup in February, or possibly not until the April window. Regardless of the timeline, the hope remains that Macario can get fully fit and ready for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.
Theo Lloyd-Hughes is a writer for Sports Illustrated Soccer based in the Southern United States. Originally from England, he can frequently be found in press boxes across the NWSL or at international fixtures involving the USWNT and other Concacaf nations.