USWNT boss Emma Hayes sets high expectations for Lindsey Heaps upon NWSL return

Heaps will be joining the Denver Summit this summer once her OL Lyonnes contract ends -Credit:Eakin Howard/USSF/Getty Images

“I think she will bring a level of professionalism with years of being a top pro,” she added. “Lindsey's no passenger ever; she's so ultra competitive, she will want to drive that team as a leader in the way that she does every day.

“She lives and breathes those behaviors, and we've sat down this week in her own 360 meetings to discuss how to get ready for that and what support she needs for that, and I think it will bring another level out of her, and that's what I think we're all excited about, is that this is another challenge in your career, embrace it and let's get everything right.

“Because [Trinity Rodman] always makes fun of me when I say this, I'm like, ‘Come in and raise the roof,’ and Trin always says, ‘There aren't any roofs in the stadiums Emma,’ but you get the point. I think she will lift the league and the sport up in this country by returning home.”

Having already won the Première Ligue four times, and both the UEFA Champions League and the Coupe de France Féminine once a piece, Heaps could yet add one more of each to her impressive trophy cabinet before leaving Europe, with Lyonnes still in contention for the three titles.

Not that 2018 NWSL MVP Heaps needs more silverware to bolster her credentials, given she is also a former NWSL champion, two-time NWSL Shield winner, a 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, and an Olympic gold medalist, among numerous other individual and team accolades collected since turning pro in 2012.

But before Heaps officially returns home to play in front of her parents once again, something Hayes said she is particularly looking forward to, first she may yet play a role in the USWNT’s attempt to clinch their three-game series against Japan.

The USWNT won the opener in San Jose last Saturday, 2-1, thanks to goals from Heaps and Rose Lavelle, before losing the second game on Tuesday in Seattle, 1-0. Heaps came on as a substitute at Lumen Field in the 71st minute, but was unable to help her side cancel out Maika Hamano’s first-half strike.