Albert: Hayes' tough love' helped rebuild bond with USA teammates

MARSEILLE, France -- Korbin Albert's goal on Wednesday night was impressive. The celebration that followed, though, might have been just as meaningful.

Albert's bullet of a strike from about 25 yards out was the difference in the U.S. women's national team's 2-1 victory over Australia, as the 20-year-old Paris Saint-Germain midfielder scored her first international goal in unforgettable fashion.

Nearly all of her teammates then encircled Albert, embracing her and jumping up and down on the field of the Velodrome Stadium. Four months after Albert was criticized -- and subsequently apologized for -- sharing several anti-LGBTQIA+ videos on social media, it was a significant sequence for Albert on multiple levels.

On the goal itself, Albert admitted that "I actually closed my eyes and then I opened them, and I was like, 'Oh my god, it went in.'

She added: "You've always dreamed of having those types of goals, and when you come to this level and you just do that thing that you dreamed about, it just feels very rewarding."

Lindsey Horan, the U.S. captain, was right behind the play and said she was immediately certain -- even if Albert wasn't -- where the ball was headed.

"I think when the ball leaves a foot like that and the spin is on it and the way she hit it, you just knew it was going in the back of the net," Horan said. "I'm so proud of her, such a cool moment for her."

However joyful the group was in that moment, it would be foolish to think that everything [and everyone] that was harmed by Albert's posts is suddenly fixed by a superlative shot, and Hayes made clear that she has told Albert that her growth as a person -- and a teammate -- will be a process.

Still, moments like these -- mixed with genuine off-the-field efforts -- will only help.

"She reminds me a lot of my mom," Albert said of the way Hayes has helped her. "It's really nice just to have her here and just teaching me and guiding me in every way -- personally and on the soccer field. It's really inspiring."

After finishing top of Group B with a perfect nine points, the U.S. will play Japan in the Olympic quarterfinals on Saturday.