Mallory Swanson hopes opening win at Olympics is the first of many

After all that Mallory Swanson went through last year, she’s grateful to be in France for the Olympics. She also plans to shake things up for the U.S. team.

So far she’s on track: She scored two goals in the Americans’ Olympic opener, a 3-0 victory over Zambia.

Swanson was the team’s leading scorer with seven goals in six games to start last year when she injured her knee in a friendly match against Ireland in the run-up to the Women’s World Cup. The injury to her patella tendon required surgery and a long recovery process. It also kept her off the World Cup roster.

As the team drove to the stadium in Nice for the Zambia game, the 26-year-old Swanson reflected on her recovery.

“To be a part of this group and have all these girls and coaches and staff around me, supporting me and just to be able to support each other to try to achieve something — I’m just super grateful now,” she said ahead of the team’s game against Germany on Sunday in Marseille.

The U.S. staff was cautious with Swanson’s recovery. She trained with the team — but did not play — earlier this year during the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup. She returned to the team on the field at the SheBelieves Cup in April.

Swanson has a key role in the U.S. attack under new coach Emma Hayes, the former Chelsea manager who replaced Vlatko Andonovski after the Americans’ disappointing finish at the World Cup.

Swanson is part of a dynamic group of forwards, with Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman. The trio have formed good chemistry.

“We’re all really starting to come around to the way Emma has wanted us to play, the principles,” Swanson said. “It’s been really enjoyable, just being able to learn different things and trying to apply them. … The group that we have is super special.”

Rodman, making her Olympic debut, scored the other goal in the shutout of Zambia.

“We’re more than what everybody thinks. We’re not just an athletic team with fast forwards. We’re so much more than that,” Rodman said. “We need to believe deep down that we can break down teams. If that’s passing it up and laying it off and moving off of each other, there’s so much more depth that we can bring. And I think living and breathing that on the field is going to help us improve.”

Swanson made her debut in 2016. She was on the U.S. roster for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and played in the 2019 Women’s World Cup, going by her maiden name, Pugh. But Andonovski passed her over for the Tokyo Games, citing injuries and inconsistent play.

From Littleton, Colorado, Swanson originally committed to UCLA but never played in a game for the Bruins. Instead, she joined the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League, becoming among the first players to eschew college to turn pro.

Swanson, who is married to Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, currently plays for the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars.

After Sunday’s game, the fifth-ranked Americans conclude Group B against Australia on Wednesday, also in Marseille. Germany beat Australia 3-0 in their opener.

Because the top two teams in each of three groups advance to the knockout round, the United States is already in good shape.

The U.S. squandered scoring chances, but it was nonetheless a team win and a personal triumph for Swanson, whose two goals were just some 70 seconds apart in the first half.

Swanson now has 36 goals in 95 national team appearances.

“It’s a good start,” Swanson said. “But there’s little things within that game, within the play, that we just need to fine-tune.”

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Reporting by The Associated Press.