CHICAGO (May 29, 2018) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis named 24 players to the preliminary roster for two friendly matches in June against China PR. The games will take place on Thursday, June 7 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, Presented by Cutter Insect Repellent (7 p.m. MT / 9 pm ET; FS1, UDN) and Tuesday, June 12 at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland (7 p.m. ET; ESPN2). Ellis will name 18 players to suit up for each of the matches.
These will be the final games before Ellis chooses a 23-player roster for the 2018 Tournament of Nations, featuring the USA, Australia, Brazil and Japan, which will take place from July 26-Aug. 2
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position; Caps/Goals
GOALKEEPERS (4): Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 15/0), Casey Murphy (Montpellier HSC, FRA; 0/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 28/0), Abby Smith (Utah Royals FC; 0/0)
DEFENDERS (6): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 18/0), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 6/0), Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 5/0), Merritt Mathias (NC Courage; 0/0), Margaret Purce (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 137/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 74/6), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 59/15), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 49/5), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 252/100), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 34/7), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 37/6), McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 1/0)
FORWARDS (7): Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 62/23), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 132/18), Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC; 5/0), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 140/85), Christen Press (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, SWE; 98/44), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 135/36), Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC; 130/30)
THEY’RE BACK
The matches mark the return to the roster of four players who have made recoveries from injuries, several who have been out of a U.S. jersey for months. Forward Tobin Heath, the 2016 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, makes a roster for the first time since playing against New Zealand in September of 2017. Midfielder Samantha Mewis, who started every match in 2017, makes her first roster since the two matches against Canada in early November of 2017. Julie Ertz, the 2017 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, played in the first two matches of the year but missed the final two games at the SheBelieves Cup and the Mexico series in early April. Forward Amy Rodriguez has played one game for the USA since October of 2015, that coming in 2017 in a 10-minute stint vs. Russia. She missed all of 2016 due to pregnancy and the birth of her second son and almost all of 2017 due to an ACL injury suffered in the first game of the 2017 NWSL season.
RIVALRY RENEWED
The USA played China in two consecutive world finals in the 1990s, winning 2-1 in the 1996 Olympic gold medal game, the first contested in women’s soccer, and then winning the historic penalty kick shootout that decided the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The USA and China have met 56 times, second behind Canada on the list of most common opponents for the U.S. WNT, but the two historic women’s soccer nations have not played since the final game of 2015, a 1-0 loss in New Orleans in what was legendary striker Abby Wambach’s final game.
That loss at the Superdome, which was the final Victory Tour game during a memorable 2015 for the U.S. Women, ended a 104-match home unbeaten streak dating back to 2004.
BUY TICKETS
Tickets for the match in Utah are on sale through ussoccer.com, by phone at 844-REAL-TIX (844-732-5849) (Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. MT) and at the Rio Tinto Stadium ticket office (open Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.).
Tickets for the game in Cleveland are on sale through ussoccer.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets can also be purchased at the FirstEnergy Stadium ticket office, but only on June 11 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and on the day of the game starting at 9 a.m.
Groups of 20 or more can order for both games directly at ussoccer.com.
DID YOU KNOW…