A Pivotal Year for Pugh

2020 wouldn’t end without another surprise. On December 29, it was announced that Mallory Pugh and fellow Sky Blue FC teammate Sarah Woldmoe were heading to the Chicago Red Stars in exchange for a combination of draft picks, allocation money, and slots for international players. In Chicago, Pugh will join several USWNT players that lifted the World Cup with her in 2019, such as Julie Ertz, Tierna Davidson, and Alyssa Naeher.

Even though Chicago fans are likely happy to have such a notable young talent on their team, from a holistic standpoint, this is a serious wake-up call for Mallory Pugh. 2020 was arguably the worst year of Pugh’s career, from being traded twice, to injuries, to being left off of the USWNT roster for the Olympic qualifiers in early 2020. Pugh is just getting back to full strength at the turn of the year and has been invited to the January 2021 USWNT training camp, where head coach Vlatko Andonovski will evaluate the American player pool for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. 

While FIFA World Cup rosters allow 23 players, Olympic rosters only allow 18 players, proving Pugh has an uphill battle just to make it on the plane to Tokyo. To make matters worse for Pugh, players like Kristie Mewis and Midge Purce had standout years with club and country, which has only intensified the battle for an Olympic roster spot. There is no doubt that Mallory Pugh is one of the world’s most astounding young talents; she was an Olympian by 18, a FIFA World Cup Champion by 21, and has racked up 18 international goals since her senior team debut. However, after a period of regression, we are hopeful that Pugh’s move to Chicago and the mounting Olympic momentum will earn her back her National Team spot.