NorCal native Megan Rapinoe doesn’t play in send-off match for USWNT

SAN JOSE — It seemed like it was set up to be the perfect moment for Megan Rapinoe to hit a major milestone with the U.S. women’s national team.

Sitting one appearance short of 200, one day after she announced 2023 would be her last season, playing a match in Northern California — at San Jose’s PayPal Park, which she admitted was “the closest I’ll ever get” to playing in her hometown of Redding – for perhaps the final time.

But on Sunday, the 38-year-old Rapinoe didn’t so much as even warm up for the U.S. during the 2-0 win over Wales on Sunday.

Rapinoe wasn’t made available to the media for comment, but USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski said the decision to not play Rapinoe was because of injury concerns.

“We didn’t want to risk anything, we didn’t want to rush anything. There was no need for it in a friendly game,” Andonovski said. “We have a really good squad, we knew that we had the quality that we need to overcome the challenges that are ahead of us and we wanted to give Megan a few extra days to prepare.”

That extra time, then, came at the expense of the sold-out crowd of 18,000 in San Jose, who seemed to cheer for Rapinoe louder than anyone whenever they got the chance.

When fans crammed in underneath PayPal Park’s raised pathway from the locker room to the field before the match, Rapinoe’s walkout for training got the loudest ovation of any player. And during the team ceremony to introduce each player after, Rapinoe’s cheers were only matched by those for Rodman and Crystal Dunn.

PayPal has an elevated walkway for players taking the pitch. By far the loudest cheer here came when Megan Rapinoe crossed over to head on out.

She’d be making her 200th appearance for the @USWNT if she plays today, a day after announcing this season is her last. pic.twitter.com/i59SgSONf9

— Alex Simon (@AlexSimonSports) July 9, 2023

Rapinoe’s #15 U.S. jersey was one of the most popular throughout the crowd, and several fans had Nike’s “I want to be like Megan Rapinoe when I grow up” t-shirt on, too.

Erin Boudreau, a 25-year-old from Gilroy, wore a hat that had Rapinoe’s silhouette of her famous celebration from the 2019 World Cup, arms spread out wide. After watching Rapinoe play for the NWSL’s OL Reign when she lived in Tacoma, Boudreau knew this match was important to attend with her mom Kim even before Saturday’s announcement.

“It’s cool to get to see her play one last time in person,” Boudreau said. “She’s just an icon in women’s soccer, with all her activism. Especially for me, as a queer fan, to see an athlete at that level. Her and Sue Bird, everyone talks about them in Seattle as royalty.”

Rapinoe walks out to some raucous applause as part of the post-match player introductions. pic.twitter.com/6NDqrLK2JX

— Alex Simon (@AlexSimonSports) July 9, 2023

Santa Rosa resident Laura Revilla also cited Rapinoe’s activism as a major reason why she was wearing her jersey. But there is more than that to the fandom, too.

“She’s just fun. She’s entertaining,” Revilla said. “She’s a great entertainer in every sense.”

That entertainment can be in the form of on-field celebrations, like her now famous one, or in her audacious play — her two goals directly off of corner kicks, known as “Olimpico” goals, during the Olympics stand out, as well as her 2019 Golden Boot and Golden Ball-winning efforts in France to win the U.S. its second-straight World Cup (six goals, three assists).

But Rapinoe can still bring that showmanship even without playing. Her only time off the bench during the match was to celebrate both of the American goals, waving around a white towel while doing so. And when her number was called during the post-match ceremony, she flapped her hand like a tail and danced her way out to midfield.

But after the young stars who are set to shine in Rapinoe’s position surely looked up to the task, it’s fair to wonder whether we’ll see Rapinoe on the pitch at all in New Zealand and Australia.

21-year-old Trinity Rodman became the youngest woman to score a brace for the U.S. women’s national team with two goals after subbing on at the start of the second half.

She was set up by 22-year-old Sophia Smith on the first goal, who took Lynn Williams’ through-ball up the left and drew the keeper out before making the pass to Rodman for an effective empty-netter.

18-year-old Alyssa Thompson got the start up front and dazzled with her electric speed, comfort with the ball on her feet and durability as Wales tried to play her physically.

Thompson and Smith started on the outside, with Alex Morgan in the middle. Morgan was the most recent USWNT player to hit the 200-appearance mark, becoming the 13th American woman to do so last November in a match against Germany. US Soccer didn’t do a ceremony for the 200-mark then, rather waiting until February’s SheBelieves Cup.

With Rapinoe set to be the 14th to hit 200 caps, they could have done both here, in front of Rapinoe’s 40 family and friends that came down from Redding — something that Rapinoe said made it “very special” to have this match so close to home.

But not all moments are meant to be.