Lineup Notes: USA vs. England Clash in Orlando for 2018 SheBelieves Cup Title
Facts and figures about the WNT's Starting XI vs. England at the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, Alex Morgan, Orlando, Soccer, soccer games
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USA vs. England
Date: March 7, 2018
Venue: Orlando City Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
Broadcast: ESPNews
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Tonight’s Starting XI vs. England: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 16-Emily Sonnett, 17-Tierna Davidson, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 19-Crystal Dunn; 20-Allie Long, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.), 9-Lindsey Horan; 11-Mallory Pugh, 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Megan Rapinoe
Subs: 2-Casey Short, 3-Andi Sullivan, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Morgan Brian, 8-Julie Ertz, 12-Lynn Williams, 14-Sofia Huerta, 18-Jane Campbell, 22-Taylor Smith, 23-Christen Press, 24-Ashlyn Harris, 26-Savannah McCaskill
- After having only three players (Sauerbrunn, Mewis, Lloyd) start all three SheBelieves games in 2017, the U.S. WNT has had seven start all three in 2018 (Naeher, Dahlkemper, Davidson, Horan, Pugh, Morgan, Rapinoe).
- Five players in the USA’s starting lineup (Dunn, Lloyd, Horan, Pugh and Morgan) started against France at last year’s SheBelieves Cup.
- Just like it in the first three USA matches of 2018, there are two teenagers in the USA's starting XI today, in 19-year-olds Mallory Pugh and Tierna Davidson, both of whom are age-eligible for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Against Denmark in San Diego, the pair combined for two goals and two assists. Before that match in San Diego, the last time two teenagers were in the WNT starting lineup was June 30, 2001 vs. Canada in Toronto. Aleisha Cramer (18) and Cat Whitehill (19) both played the entire game. Both Davidson and Andi Sullivan (who starts tonight on the bench) won the 2017 NCAA College Cup with Stanford in this stadium.
- Captaining the USA today is Carli Lloyd, who will earn cap No. 250. With her start tonight, she becomes the sixth player in U.S. history to earn 250 caps. She is sitting on 98 goals, two away from becoming the sixth player to score 100 or more for the USA, and the first since 2009 when Abby Wambach scored her 100th.
- While she played as a withdrawn forward for many of her minutes (since the knockout round of the 2015 Women's World Cup), she is still the highest scoring midfielder in U.S. history. Lloyd scored 36 international goals between the time she debuted six days before her 23rd birthday, and her 30th birthday. Since turning 30, she has scored 62 goals in just over five and a half years.
- Lloyd earned the 50th assist of her career on Julie Ertz' goal against Brazil on July 30, joining just seven other U.S. players to earn 50 or more assists in their careers. Lloyd is in eighth-place in all-time assists, but with six more, can move into fifth.
- Alyssa Naeher will earn her 27th cap tonight. She has 13 career shutouts, most recently against Germany on March 1, and is the seventh goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 25 or more caps.
- Emily Sonnett will make her first start since Oct. 19, 2016 against Switzerland. She will earn her 15th cap tonight. She returned to the USA roster after finishing her stint in Australia during the NWSL off-season for Sydney FC where she helped lead her team to the Grand Final before falling 2-0 to a Melbourne City. Sonnett had an excellent 2017 NWSL season, anchoring the Portland Thorns back line to a championship and scored several key goals, including a header in the 4-1 NWSL semifinal win against Orlando. She scored four goals during in 2017 (on only six shots on goal), an impressive tally for a center back.
- Abby Dahlkemper makes her 17th career appearance today. The 2017 NWSL Defender of the Year made her debut for the U.S. on Oct. 19, 2016, against Switzerland in Utah, and earned her first start against Norway on June 11, 2017 where she played all 90 minutes to help the U.S. defense claim a shutout in Sandefjord.
- Crystal Dunn will earn her 59th career cap tonight and makes her first start since July 30, 2017 against Brazil. She will start tonight’s game as an outside back, a position she played during the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, and at the beginning of her senior WNT career.
- Davidson is making her fourth consecutive start in as many international appearances. She became the 21st woman to make a WNT debut under Jill Ellis on Jan. 21 in San Diego. She earned her first career assist on that game. The 19-year-old Davidson helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship this past season. She is the third teenager since 2013 to earn a first cap for the U.S. WNT. Mallory Pugh (17 in 2016) and Lindsey Horan (19 in 2013) are the most recent teenagers to debut for the WNT.
- Allie Long has six international goals, her most recent coming on Oct. 22 against Korea Republic. She will earn her 35th cap tonight, after appearing in 14 games for the USA in 2017 and coming on at the end of the Germany game on March 1.
- Lindsey Horan enjoyed a fine 2017, helping the Portland Thorns win the NWSL title by scoring the game-winning goal in the championship. For the WNT, she finished strong, establishing herself in the starting lineup. She will earn her 47th WNT cap today.
- Pugh earns her 33rd cap for the WNT tonight. She leads the WNT in scoring in 2018 after tallying her first career brace against Denmark on Jan. 21 and a goal against France on March 4. She is also making her 25th career start. She is second all-time in starts before the age of 20 behind only Tiffany Roberts (41).
- Alex Morgan comes into the match with 81 goals and will earn her 138th cap tonight. At age 28, she sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA's all-time goal scoring list. She’s scored eight goals over her last 10 WNT matches, with her most recent coming on Jan. 21 against Denmark. Morgan plays her club soccer at this stadium, home to her NWSL team the Orlando Pride.
- Megan Rapinoe makes her 133rd international appearance today. She has 35 career goals after scoring the game-winning goal against Germany on March 1. She has tied April Heinrichs and Sydney Leroux for 15th on the all-time goals list.