U.S. women’s national team midfielder Jaedyn Shaw was dragged down by her hair during a 2-0 win over Argentina on Sunday, March 1.
The incident happened late in the first half of the SheBelieves Cup opener for both teams. Shaw got in front of Argentina midfielder Sofía Domínguez, who grabbed the midfielder’s ponytail and dragged her to the ground.
Shaw did not take kindly to the hair pull, kicking out at Domínguez’s knee after she fell to the ground and knocking the 20-year-old down.
Domínguez would end up with a yellow card from the incident, while Shaw went unpunished. There is no VAR in the SheBelieves Cup, and both players may have escaped a larger punishment because of it.
Shaw would go on to score the USWNT’s second goal in a physical affair at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to the hair-pull incident, Olivia Moultrie got into a late confrontation with Argentina’s Aldana Cometti, Lily Reale had to leave the match with an injury, and Trinity Rodman also appeared to suffer a back injury recurrence after a tough challenge late in the game.
USWNT head coach Emma Hayes declined to comment on the hair-pulling incident after the game but said that her team needed to guard against responding to provocation.
‘I’m looking for our emotional control, like when you have to be on the edge when you’re being provoked, but don’t go too far over it,’ Hayes said in her post-game press conference.
‘Provocation is going to happen with different types of opponents. How you handle that, for me, is a testament. Why? Because imagine that is a World Cup, and in a split second, we lose it, boom! Down to 10 players.
‘So we want these opportunities. And if we were seeking perfection, then I might be approaching something differently, but I’m here to develop a whole squad to be ready for these situations.”
The USWNT will close out the SheBelieves Cup with games against Canada in Columbus, Ohio, on March 4 and Colombia on March 7 in Harrison, New Jersey.
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