Add another medal to Patty Gasso’s belt as head coach of the United States National Team. The Eagles knocked off Japan once again on Monday in a 2-0 win to claim gold at the International Cup in Oklahoma City. This comes off of winning the 2025 World Games, which also saw the Eagles take down Japan.
Montana Fouts was close to untouchable. The AUSL Pitcher of the Year carried a perfect game into the seventh inning until a leadoff single by Yamato Fujita. However, Fouts quickly extinguished the first bit of life Japan’s offense had seen, recording three outs to slam the door. She finished with eight strikeouts. The former Alabama ace, who is no stranger to perfection at Devon Park, put another bow on her great summer and showed great resilience after a rough start against Canada earlier in the week.
The U.S. lineup didn’t need to muster much to support Fouts but did enough in the end. A pair of former Sooners started the game’s first rally. Jayda Coleman and Alyssa Brito collected the first hits against Japan starter Miu Goto. Hannah Flippen then drew a one-out walk to load the bases for Janae Jefferson. She lifted a ball to left field, deep enough to score Coleman from third for a sacrifice fly.
The legendary Yukiko Ueno entered to start the fifth, but the Eagles got to her faster than Goto. Jefferson led off with a double and then came around to score on a Maya Brady single. Brady advanced to third as her hit got by Japan center fielder Ayana Karoji. Ueno limited the Eagles to one run.
Fouts was named the Most Valuable Pitcher of the Tournament, while Brady earned MVP honors. Jefferson was the offensive MVP, and Brito also had a strong tournament as the U.S. defeated the U.S. Elite team, Canada, China, and Australia along the way.
The U.S. Elite Team earned bronze at the event, run-ruling Canada earlier on Monday. The Canadians had a strong showing overall, competing against the U.S. National Team and Japan in highly contested games.
