Lineup Notes: USA Takes on Chile as Press Celebrates 100th Cap at StubHub Center

USA vs. Chile
Date: Aug. 31, 2018 
Venue: StubHub Center; Carson, California 
Broadcast: ESPN2 
Kickoff: 8 p.m. PT

Tonight’s Starting XI vs. Chile: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 22-Emily Sonnett, 12-Tierna Davidson, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 19-Crystal Dunn; 2-Julie Ertz, 9-Lindsey Horan,16-Rose Lavelle; 17-Tobin Heath, 13-Alex Morgan, 23-Christen Press (capt.)

Subs: 3-Samantha Mewis, 6-Morgan Brian, 10-Carli Lloyd, 11-Mallory Pugh, 24-Ashlyn Harris, 25-McCall Zerboni, 26-Hailie Mace

U.S. Team

• Alex Morgan is the only player to start every game so far in 2018.
• The USA is 9-0-2 in 2018, with wins against Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (twice), China PR (twice), Japan, and Brazil; and ties against Australia and France.
• The USA is unbeaten in its last 19 matches (16-0-3). The USA has outscored its opponents 58-17 through that stretch, scoring in all 19 games.
• U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis is using almost the exact same lineup that took the field against Brazil on Aug. 2 to clinch the Tournament of Nations title in Chicago. The only change is Christen Press in for Megan Rapinoe, who is missing these games with a minor rib injury.

Starting Lineup

• Alyssa Naeher will earn her 33rd cap tonight. This will be her ninth cap of 2018 after earning 13 in 2017. She is the fifth goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 30 or more caps. She has 15 career shutouts.
• Emily Sonnett will earn her 21st cap tonight. It will be her seventh start of 2018. Sonnett missed the China PR games in June due to injury. Before her first appearance of this year on Jan. 21, 2018 vs. Denmark off the bench, her most recent cap had come on Oct. 19, 2016 vs. Switzerland.
• Tierna Davidson will earn her 11th start and cap. Davidson is the third teenager since 2013 to earn a first cap for the WNT. Mallory Pugh (17 in 2016) and Lindsey Horan (19 in 2013) are the most recent teenagers to debut for the WNT.
• Becky Sauerbrunn did not play against Japan in the first ToN match as the U.S. medical staff managed her comeback from a minor injury but did play all 90 minutes against Australia and Brazil. She will earn her 142nd cap tonight. Sauerbrunn is in 20th place on the all-time caps list. She is one of 27 female players to play 130 or more times for the USA.
• Crystal Dunn will earn her 68th cap tonight and makes her ninth consecutive start in 2018. She will once again start tonight’s game as an outside back. She has 23 international goals.
• Julie Ertz will earn her 65th cap and has scored 16 international goals, most recently against Brazil on Aug. 2. The 2017 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year got 2018 off to a great start, scoring the game-winner on Jan. 21 vs. Denmark, before the knee injury caused her to miss a few games.
• Lindsey Horan will earn her 55th cap. She has scored six international goals, with her most recent one being the dramatic game-tying goal against Australia in the 90th minute on July 29.
• Rose Lavelle will earn her 12th career cap tonight and make her second consecutive start this year. She has scored three international goals, most recently the crucial game-tying goal vs. Brazil on Aug. 2. Lavelle made her U.S. WNT debut on March 4, 2017 against England – the 14th player to be given a first cap under Ellis.
• Tobin Heath will make her third consecutive start for the U.S. WNT after taking the field against Australia on July 29 and Brazil on Aug. 2. Before taking the field during the Tournament of Nations, Heath’s last start had come on March 7, 2017. She has scored 20 international goals, the most recent one being the tournament-clinching goal against Brazil. Heath will earn cap No. 137 tonight and is in 25th place on the USA’s all-time caps list.
• Alex Morgan comes into the match with 90 goals after scoring her fourth career hat-trick against Japan on July 26, and will earn her 146th cap tonight. At age 29, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA's all-time goal scoring list. She’s scored 17 goals over her last 18 WNT matches. She leads the WNT with 10 goals in 2018.
• Christen Press, who will earn cap No. 104 tonight, will be honored for her 100th cap (which she earned on June 12 vs. China PR) during a pregame ceremony in front of friends of family. The Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. native is in 14th place on the all-time WNT goals list with 44, and with one more goal will tie Julie Foudy for 13th place. She averages 0.43 goals per game and 0.80 goals per every 90 minutes she’s on the field. Press grew up just 21 miles from where the StubHub Center currently sits.
• Not dressing tonight are: Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, defenders Abby Dahlkemper, Kelley O’Hara and Casey Short, and forward Amy Rodriguez.