It was a movie-perfect goal.
A lot has happened in the five years since.
In 2021, Lavelle and the squad brought home a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics.
In 2022, the USWNT finallywon equal pay.
In 2024, Lavelle and her teammates find themselves in an unfamiliar position.
Theyre heading into the Paris Olympics as underdogs.
We didn’t shy away from those conversations about what went wrong.
Whats the most valuable life lesson youve learned from the vets?
Theres a big one.
My first camp was Abby Wambachs last camp before she retired.
That was such a good lesson to hear.
Being in this environment, it’s always going to be hard.
It just becomes a new key in of hard as you evolve and grow.
Thats such good general life advice, too.
It doesn’t get easier, but you get better at handling it.
How do you balance that?
Some people are born for those kinds of roles; it comes naturally to them.
The USWNT is in the midst of a generational shift.
How are you thinking about that transition?
I got the best of both worlds.
Playing with [the veterans] for so many years set me and my age cohort up for success.
It’s weird to think that I’m in this [veteran] position now.
So many women around the world were galvanized by your fight for equal pay.
How has your career changed now that you have it?
The obvious one is that Im making more money, which is nice.
It allows you to commit more to your craft.
Paris will be the first Olympics in history to have anequal number of men and women athletes competing.
Oh my gosh, OK.
I love Olympic gymnastics.
It’s so fun to watch, so obviously I would love to meet Simone Biles.
I also love Coco Gauff.
She’s such an amazing athlete.
It feels like womens sports is finally getting its moment.
The hype is everywhere.
You just signed your first-ever beauty partnership with Olay to launch the brands new cleansing melts.
What does this partnership mean to you?
I have to be much more on top of my skin care and feeling really clean.
Thecleansing meltsare so easy to travel with.
So theyll be in your carry-on on the way to Paris?
Yes, theyre really tiny.
It’s something I can pop in my purse before I go to practice.
The USWNT has had a bumpy run since the 2023 World Cup.
How has that impacted your mentality going into the Olympics this summer?
Just this year, we’ve faced a lot of adversity and I think the response has been amazing.
That’s exactly what you want to see heading into a major tournament.
We’ve learned and gone through a lot in the past year.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
