Olivia Moultrie is no stranger to setting her own timeline. Half a decade ago, her desire to go pro at age 15 helped change NWSL rules, which previously forbade teams from signing players under the age of 18. The ensuing half-decade has seen her go from one of the nation’s top prospects to a proven high-level midfielder, a developmental success with the Portland Thorns.
Today, Moultrie instead finds herself in a race against time. The 2027 World Cup kicks off in just over 300 days, and her recovery from a torn ACL suffered at the start of this month has only just begun. Moultrie may not be among the biggest stars in the United States’ player pool, but her recovery from this injury should be closely monitored. Simply, there are few like-for-like alternatives who operate in possession as tidily and dangerously as she does.
In 1,312 NWSL minutes this season, she notched double-digit goal contributions (five goals and assists apiece) for the first time, playing herself into discussions for major year-end honors as part of a Thorns side that have already equalled last year’s win total (11) with nine matches remaining.
In the short term, her injury is a major setback for a Thorns side aspiring to win their fourth NWSL Championship. Her partnership with Jessie Fleming made for one of the league’s most balanced and dependable engine rooms. Often the most advanced midfielder in a trio with Fleming and either Cassandra Bogere or Nina Nijstad, Moultrie served as the heartbeat of the team in possession, among his most relied-upon players for both line-breaking progression and pure chance creation.
Here we see where Moultrie sits among all NWSL players in some of those key areas; near top of the heap in touches, and among the elite in progressive passes and expected assists.
Her ample professional seasoning at a young age – she has already logged 108 appearances in the NWSL despite being a month shy of 21 – has helped round out her game.
While her breakthrough came across multiple positions, increased playing time has made clear that her best work comes as she helps a team go from the heart of the park and into the final third. Her ability to find open space in the most congested part of the pitch is crucial to bypassing a team that tries to congest the midfield with personnel, while her tendency to glide from touchline to touchline keeps her involved in build-up as Portland and the United States try to find upfield avenues to exploit.
She has also worked to cut out the kinds of fouls that young players can be easily baited into making, dropping from 1.32 fouls committed per 90 minutes in 2024 and 1.17 in 2025 to a mere 0.41 per 90 this year. She has also increased her scoring threat, from 0.18 non-penalty expected goals per 90 (per American Soccer Analysis) last season to 0.29 npxG/90 this year.
The additional creative responsibility she has been given in Portland has helped her round into a dangerous playmaker, adept at upfield progression,chance creation, and forging her own shots.
Simply, she’s become the sort of do-everything midfielder who can work from box to box that the national team has largely missed since Sam Mewis’ abrupt, injury-induced retirement. Moultrie also benefitted from considerable chemistry with projected starter Sam Coffey, having played alongside the now-Man City midfielder in Portland for the majority of their professional careers to date.
ACL injuries have a recovery timeline of 9 to 12 months, which will put her on a crash course to be ready for the World Cup, set to commence on 24 June in Brazil. Even the short end of that recovery timeline would put her back on the pitch a mere month before squads would be due.
There is no clear replacement. Even arguably the world’s deepest player pool lacks a bounty of all-around midfielders, and most alternatives would require some form of adjustment for Emma Hayes’ team.
Perhaps the closest like-for-like would be Lily Yohannes. The 19-year-old has been ever-present since committing her international future to the United States in 2024, earning 20 caps and leaving Ajax for Lyonnes last summer. While the move to a European giant has already accelerated her development and she’s an incredibly deft technician on the ball, she was rotational in her first Première Ligue season. If she’s a regular starter for Jonatan Giráldez when the 2026-27 season kicks off in September, it could make her the best fit to start at her first World Cup.
Another alternative is Claire Hutton, the 20-year-old who like Yohannes has emerged under Hayes, winning 20 caps despite only debuting in February 2025. Hutton predominantly operates as a defensive midfielder for Bay FC, and a partnership with Coffey could lead to an empty bucket scenario which leaves both with a lot of midfield ground to pass through to reach the final third. Nonetheless, her increased responsibilities in possession with Bay have furthered her ability to recirculate possession.
The third obvious alternative is Lindsey Heaps, who left Lyonnes this summer to return to the NWSL with her home-state Denver Summit. The captain is one of the few remaining holdovers from the United States’ most recent World Cup title, but has been in and out of Denver’s lineup with swelling in her knee. When fit, Heaps has fared best under Hayes as a second-striker, and her struggles to thread needles and play into the final third from a withdrawn position set the USWNT back at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
After that tournament’s exit at the last-16, the program’s earliest ouster to date, Hayes was hired to embolden the next generation of players to restore the United States to the pinnacle of women’s soccer. While Moultrie is one of the clearest examples of her coach’s efforts paying off, an ill-timed injury risks leaving her on the outside looking in as the team aims for redemption next summer.
