Mallory Swanson scored her first goal since the 2024 Olympic gold medal match to help the United States earn a 2-2 draw against Spain in a women's international friendly on Tuesday night.
Swanson scored in the 86th minute after Ashley Sanchez had pulled one goal back early in the second half. Spain had taken a 2-0 lead through first-half goals from Alexia Putellas and Salma Paralluelo.
“The mentality of this team has always been that you stay with it. That's what this crest means,” Swanson said after coming on as a substitute in the second half.
The match was the second of two friendlies between the teams. Spain, the 2023 Women's World Cup champions and the world's top-ranked team, won the first match 2-0 in Washington, DC, on Saturday.
Spain has already qualified for next summer's Women's World Cup in Brazil, while the United States used the matches to prepare for World Cup qualifying later this year.
Putellas, a two-time Ballon d'Or winner, marked her 150th appearance for Spain by opening the scoring in the 27th minute. She tapped in a pass from Clara Pinedo at the far post to score her 43rd international goal.
Five minutes later, US goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce misplayed a ball forward, allowing Spain to attack. Putellas set up Paralluelo, whose powerful shot struck the crossbar before going into the net to make it 2-0.
It was the first time since 2011 that the United States had conceded two first-half goals in consecutive matches.
Sanchez reduced the deficit early in the second half with a shot into the far corner. It was her first start for the United States since a match against Argentina on Oct. 30, 2024.
Sanchez has been in strong form for North Carolina Courage in the National Women's Soccer League, scoring a league-leading 20 goals in 27 matches.
Swanson completed the comeback attempt when Michelle Cooper collected a long pass from Kate Del Fava and sent the ball across for Swanson to volley home.
Swanson's previous goal for the United States came in the 1-0 victory over Brazil in the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics. She spent 2025 on maternity leave after giving birth to her daughter.
“One of our big things in the game plan was finding those spaces in the box and being clinical in the box, and you could see that,” Swanson said.
Lily Yohannes nearly scored a late winner for the United States in stoppage time, but Spain goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez made a diving save.
“We always want to win. That's the type of team that we are, and I think if we had 20 more minutes, we definitely probably would have won,” Sanchez said. “But it was good just to get a tie against a team like that and come back from 2-0 down.”
Spain controlled much of the match despite missing several key players. Aitana Bonmati was still recovering from a broken leg, while Vicky Lopez, Mariona Caldentey and goalkeeper Cata Coll were also unavailable because of injuries.
Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, Mallory Swanson's husband, and tennis player Ben Shelton, who is dating US player Trinity Rodman, were among the spectators at Subaru Park.