How defender Emily Sonnett quietly became the USWNT’s most consistent leader
· Yahoo Sports
Emily Sonnett takes nothing for granted.
Not winning a World Cup, two Olympic medals or three National Women’s Soccer League Championships. Not a single one of her 113 appearances with the U.S. women’s national team. The 32-year-old Gotham FC defender approaches every opportunity with the same level of care and gratitude.
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“I would never think I’m a shoo-in,” Sonnett said during a recent interview with The Athletic. “I always have to be performing and be consistently performing.”
This, she said, may sound “so cliché,” but there is nothing cliché about Sonnett, who, despite her sometimes-quiet profile, has become one of the most respected players in the NWSL and a critical piece to U.S. head coach Emma Hayes’ national team puzzle.
Sonnett is set to feature in her 11th SheBelieves Cup in March. She has been called up to every edition of the annual tournament since it was founded in 2016, and boasts seven titles. “I love SheBelieves, apparently,” Sonnett said, with a laugh, “and it loves me.”
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This year’s edition will serve as the first major test for Hayes and the U.S. women’s national team as they prepare for 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying. It is the most experienced U.S. roster the former Chelsea manager has put together in over a year. For Sonnett, the tournament serves as a tangible reminder of her progression.
When she was first called up for SheBelieves by then-head coach Jill Ellis, Sonnett was 22 and had just been selected as the first overall pick of the 2016 NWSL College Draft from the University of Virginia. She went on to play a full 90 minutes for the U.S. in the opening match against England, helping the team eventually win it all.
“When I think of SheBelieves, my early years were definitely the ‘learning years for Emily Sonnett,’” she said. “I might have been a part of it, but I spent a lot of those early SheBelieves (asking), ‘How am I developing?’”
Sonnett debuted in the NWSL with the Portland Thorns a few weeks later. She ended the 2016 season as one of three finalists for NWSL Rookie of the Year. A first NWSL crown followed in 2017 with the Thorns, and then a second with the Washington Spirit in 2021. Her third was won after a thrilling postseason run with Gotham FC last year.
The experienced defender’s versatility makes her a triple threat, with experience as a center back, full back and defensive midfielder. For the national team, her role has evolved. She was on the fringes throughout 2017 but earned a spot on the 2019 World Cup winning team and is now a USWNT regular and leader for Hayes.
“Everyone’s journey is different,’ Sonnet said. “Being able to now get over that hump to where I’m consistently getting called in, and I’m performing at a higher level than what I was, is something that I’m really happy about (and) I take a lot of pride in.
“The earlier development phase for me was difficult. It took me a little bit longer to get there. I have so many best friends who have been integrated (with the team) for such a long time, like Rose (Lavelle), Mal (Swanson), Lindsey (Heaps). So, to be able to get over that hump and be more of an on-field presence with leadership and that veteran (group) has been a rewarding feeling.”
The USWNT is on the cusp of meshing that veteran contingent with up-and-coming stars.
Hayes spent the last year reimagining her player pool, carving out a pipeline for Under-23s into the senior team. It felt like a radical approach because it simply had never been done. But it was a logical solution that created an environment where players were rewarded for their consistency and work ethic. Players like Sonnett, who is meticulous in analyzing her individual progress, thrived.
Hayes has repeatedly praised Sonnett’s quiet leadership, describing her as someone who leads by example and performance on the pitch. Seattle Reign center back Jordyn Bugg, 19, has been told to spend time with Sonnett during national team camps, though she recently had to leave the SheBelieves Cup camp early due to a hamstring injury. Hayes recently said fellow defender Emily Sams, who wore the U.S. armband for the first time in January, reminded her of a young Sonnett because of her quiet leadership.
“It’s probably the first time I’ve been in that position with the national team,” Sonnet said. “I’m so appreciative that she (Hayes) sees those qualities in me and I can be an extension, in terms of leadership (on the team).
“I love learning from my teammates, but being able to learn from Emma has been incredibly useful: how she leads, how she wants the veterans to be integrated with younger players, how we want to be operating so we’re all getting the best out of each other.”
Somewhere along the way, Sonnett realized she was good at soccer. It may have been between ballet classes or after winning a foot race, but she realized soccer kept her and her twin sister, Emma, the most entertained. Eventually, she realized the sport could help fund her college education, so she kept chasing the dream.
Sonnett is a lifelong student. She loves to learn, even picking up tennis recently for a new challenge. She started working with a personal analyst outside of NWSL and national team environments “five or six years ago, to really understand what my strengths and weaknesses are” and to understand how her play translates between both settings.
“I do a lot of self-reflection,” Sonnett said. “Everything’s so data-driven now, but data gives you a story and there’s always context. Maybe I’m running way too much and there’s ways to be more efficient.”
Sonnett was not yet a starter on the national team when she began this additional introspection. “That was a big step to really understand my weaknesses and where I am against the other best center backs in the world, or in just this league, and to really hone in on how I can best prep in the off-season, and then what am I doing in-season?
“That’s helped me. If you looked at Sonnett year 1, 2, 3 and 4, and then (when I started doing it) this way, my consistency among categories has gone up.”
Sonnett has, as Gotham teammate Jaelin Howell has shared, an “insane recovery routine” on game days. She admits, “I’m activating everything” – and it’s much more than using those resistance bands popular among athletes. She has Therabody recovery boots, which provide leg compression therapy. She uses red light therapy. A lot of “water submerging.”
“Ten years ago, I didn’t even pre-activate,” Sonnett said, with a laugh. “Jaelin got a taste of what I do to take care of my body, and it’s a lot.”
Sonnett sees herself as a player who leads by example and a player that her teammates can lean on. She takes pride in keeping the environment competitive. She asks herself, “How am I bringing my best self to training and big games? How am I making sure, every day, the team has a little bit of grit and competitiveness?”
That tracks with what Sonnett’s teammates at Gotham say.
“She is an incredible leader. She fights for us behind the scenes and makes sure that we’re all on the same page,” 21-year-old Gotham and USWNT midfielder Jaedyn Shaw told The Athletic. “Even the way that she plays, she brings so much intensity and leadership and organization from the back line that helps all of us know exactly where we need to be. It’s been great to have her as that voice behind me on the field.”
Lilly Reale, the 2025 NWSL Rookie of the Year, started her freshman season by filling an unexpected hole in Gotham’s backline after defender and club captain Tierna Davidson suffered a season-ending knee injury in April.
The 22-year-old had the perfect partner in Sonnett, at Gotham and with the U.S. The pair, alongside club teammates Lavelle and Shaw, were called up for the SheBelieves Cup.
Sonnett is “so competitive on the field, but also just a really good friend off the field to have, and someone who really cares about the people that she surrounds herself with,” Reale said. “She’s just been someone I’ve leaned into. A number of people have. I don’t think everyone always sees that side of her.
“She’s someone who sets the bar and raises the bar, at the same time.”
Reale’s favorite Sonnett memory remains her full-body block in the NWSL Championship against the Spirit last year. The central defender followed the ball as it glided across Gotham’s box. When Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune backheeled a pass to striker Leicy Santos in sight of goal, Sonnett jumped up and spun around, contorting her body in just the right way to block Santos.
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“She’s just someone who is really fun to watch on the ball, as well,” Reale said. “She knows exactly how to manipulate players. I always just laugh because she swivels her hips a lot to get by people, and just fake them out.”
When you ask Sonnett what her goals for 2026 are, she takes a moment to reflect. “To be focused on my club environment, to perform well, to then get called up.”
She also references the advice passed down to her by the players who came before her. “Never take any camp for granted,” they all said. That includes this SheBelieves window. Some recently-retired players advised her to slow down and soak it all in.
“I’m really cherishing the friendship moments, being able to grab coffee when you’re on the road, and just making sure that those moments are still real,” she said. “I’m not there yet, at retirement, but there’s not a lot of years left. So, being able to really understand that I am playing soccer for a living, it’s amazing.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Gotham FC, NWSL, Women's Soccer
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