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eagles.rugby – Switching on for a second Friday Night Lights showdown in Chicago, the USA Women’s Eagles squad is set to take on Canada for their third and final match of the Pacific Four (PAC4) Series. SeatGeek Stadium is the venue and 7:30 p.m. CT is the kickoff. [lead photo: Alex Ho @hoiho_photo]
Thunderstorm delays last week in Kansas City couldn’t slow down the USA Women’s Eagles last week as they put on a bonus-point performance defeating Australia 33-12 in front of an energetic home crowd. Now, rising ahead of the Wallaroos on the World Rugby Rankings to 7th, the USA Women face North American neighbors Canada this Friday night.
Head coach Jack Hanratty and staff have made small adjustments to last week’s opening act, seeing Alivia Leatherman and Abigail Paton move off the bench into the Starting line up while Olivia Woods joins the reserves in line to make her USA debut potentially joining twin sister, Reece in the front row. The dynamic 9-10 duo of youngsters, Paton at scrumhalf with Bella Vogel on her outside at 10 orchestrating proceedings in the center of the pitch shows a strong nod to the pacey style Hanratty and USA Eagles are cultivating.
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Delighted to see the squad take their first International win and drive off the momentum building as the team gels together, Hanratty is well aware that RWC silver medallists, Canada will be a tough upcoming act:
“It’s no secret to us – and especially myself, the style and speed of which Canada want to play. We had and still have targets of a top-3 finish in this year’s PAC4 tournament. To compete with a top-three team in the world, we have to be at our best for 80 minutes. After Sacramento, we knew we had to make improvements in our rugby IQ backing momentum with momentum.”
“In Kansas City, we focused on controlling the controllables and staying connected and focused despite the weather and time delays. We’ve come to Chicago, wanting to take the momentum from not just the performance, but the win, and hone in on our ability to review, recover and execute in back to back performances – like we would need in a Rugby World Cup. We really wanted to earn a win in this campaign and have done that, but this will be another level of test for us to end off a really positive first tour of the 2029 cycle.”
Abigail Patton / Photo: Griff Hastings @gth_images
“Our 19-20-year-old halfback pairing is one of the most common questions I get around the team. We need to build depth in these positions but both Abs and Bella are performing brilliantly at training and in games and deserve the opportunity to take the keys.”
Last year’s USA v CAN fixture in the PAC4 series saw a dramatic performance in Kansas City, where the score leveled 14-all at 65 minutes in, only to see Canada come back with 2 more tries in the final 10. In a subsequent outing ahead of their RWC departure, the Canadians again took the upper hand. Now, with a new perspective and style in their playbook, the USA will be looking to upset the rivalry and defeat the Canadians on their turf.
Limited tickets are still available at https://usa.rugby/pac4. Catch the showdown live on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network.
2026 PAC4 Series Coaches & Staff
Jack Hanratty | Head Coach
Sarah Chobot | Assistant Coach
Lou Meadows | Assistant Coach
Jon Humphreys | Assistant Coach
Tom Clough | Head of Athletic Performance
Anna Unnasch | Athletic Trainer
Janie Kleumpers | Athletic Trainer
Kayla Prokopakis-Campbell | Team Physician
Alana Gattinger | Head of High Performance Operations, 15s
Hannah Reid | Team Manager
Rudy Betancourt | Videographer
Jenni Burke | Media Manager