How Lynn Williams got a second chance at the Olympics: ‘If I’m called, I’ll be ready’

Lynn Williams learned Thursday night that she was promoted to the USWNT’s 18-player Olympic roster.

With midfielder Cat Macario forced to withdraw due to ongoing inflammation in her right knee, head coach Emma Hayes included Williams in the forward pool heading to France after two send-off friendly matches this week. Orlando Pride defender Emily Sams becomes one of four substitutes along with goalkeeper Jen Campbell and midfielders Hal Hershfeldt and Croix Bethune.

While Williams was not an identical replacement for Macario, Hayes said nothing has changed in his approach to the roster. “I always saw it as 22 (18 players and four substitutes) with rule changes and so on. Nothing changes,” she said. “The change is that, without Kat, I have to think of some different permutations for the team, which I have already considered. Now is the time for us to look in that direction.

Williams, 31, had to manage her sympathy for Macario with her excitement at being part of the roster.

“Obviously, it’s devastating for Kat,” the Gotham Forward told reporters Friday. “As a player, you never want to see something like this. We’ve all been in that situation before with injuries, but there’s also the specificity of being knocked down. So I feel for him, but two things could be true. I am very sad for him and I have sympathy for him and I am also very excited.

According to the head coach, it actually took Hayes a full 30 minutes to tell Williams because they were having such a “great conversation”.

“We were having a great conversation about the difference between Millennials and Generation Z and how they use the heart emoji,” Hayes points out. “It’s not my thing, but we had a very good conversation.”

“He talked for 30 minutes before he told me the news, and then he told me the news, then we had another 30 minutes to talk and get to know him,” Williams said, laughing. About how two different generations used their hands to show hearts.

Both agreed on the simple fact that they get along well.

“I’m a straight-laced person and she’s a straight-laced person,” Hayes said. “We have been really honest from the beginning. He’s been such a joy to be around. I told her this last night: She seems really calm… I think because she’s been here before, she’s calm and can handle whatever’s out there.’

Williams appreciates that despite being one of the veterans of the USWNT and NWSL, Hayes is trying to find any little tidbit she can to challenge her and help push her forward — but also that She is still working to get to know the players more personally. The level, what makes them tick, why they want to be on this team.

Although the news may have been unexpected and forced due to injury, Williams being promoted to full Olympian is nothing new. Originally an alternate for the Tokyo Olympics, she became eligible to play after tournament rules were changed to expand the roster to 22 players due to COVID-19.

“I’ve been in this position before,” Williams said. “I’ve been in this position almost my entire career. So if I get called up, I’m excited for the opportunity, ready and willing and will do whatever this team needs.”

That essentially sums up how her first Olympic experience went. Williams earned only 16 minutes of playing time during the group stage before starting the team’s quarterfinal against the Netherlands. He played a major role in that victory, providing an assist and a goal before the match was ultimately decided by penalties.

This summer, at least, she’ll finally experience the Olympics with fans in the stands. “Tokyo was weird. It was an experience,” he said before pausing for a second. “I don’t even know how to sum it up in an interview. “I’m just excited for the fans, I’m excited to see what the whole Olympics is about.”

Williams provides Hayes with a different perspective on the situation going forward. While Macario was likely to start as the team’s number 10, either Crystal Dunn or Jaidyn Shaw could step into that position as additional options behind Rose Lavelle, giving Hayes some cover to bring in another attacker. So to receive. Williams has a good reputation as a defensive-minded forward, but is also comfortable dribbling in defence. Adding in his previous tournament experience makes the decision even stronger.

Williams has taken a position of being prepared for such calls and accepting her role – even if it is very awkward at times – with the USWNT.

“I am a veteran now. I’ve been through this many times,” she said. “Using that veteran quality and experience and helping the team in any way I can, but also knowing that they trust me to know that if I’m called upon, I’ll be ready.

“It has a message for people who are not always going to be superstars. You cannot have a team of 22 superstars. You have to have people with different values ​​and different characteristics, and this is one of mine.”

Even though Williams missed the call-up this spring, she remained busy in the NWSL. She was talking to reporters in the aisle perhaps 100 yards from the spot where she broke the NWSL’s all-time scoring record this spring.

“I told Emma last night: ‘I’m a very stubborn person,'” Williams said.

Her path to this moment was a combination of not taking ‘no’ for an answer and a willingness to not put herself first when the call came. She said, “So I am always ready to take up any position in this team.”

As for Hayes, she expects — and wants — Williams to remind her that he’s there to make her life harder as a head coach. “I got a six-year-old kid,” Hayes joked, “There’s no way he can make it harder than that. I’m looking forward to the challenge, but I told him (his experience) for sure.” ) has also challenged him to raise his standards, and I know we’re both excited to work together.

(Top photo: John Todd/ISI Photo/Getty Images)