Lineup Notes: USA Takes on Chile at Avaya Stadium to Finish Two-Game Set
Facts and figures about tonight's U.S. Women's National Team Starting XI.
USA vs. Chile
Date: Sept. 4, 2018
Venue:
Avaya Stadium; San Jose, California
Broadcast:
ESPN2 & UDN
Kickoff:
7 p.m. PT
Tonight’s Starting XI vs. Chile: 24-Ashlyn Harris; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 12-Tierna Davidson, 14-Casey Short; 2-Julie Ertz, 16-Rose Lavelle, 25-McCall Zerboni; 2-Mallory Pugh, 17-Tobin Heath, 13-Alex Morgan (capt.)
Subs: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 4-Becky Sauerbunn, 6-Morgan Brian, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 9-Lindsey Horan, 10-Carli Lloyd, 19-Crystal Dunn
U.S. Team
- The USA is 10-0-2 in 2018, with wins against Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico (twice), China PR (twice), Japan, Brazil and Chile; and ties against Australia and France.
- The USA is unbeaten in its last 20 matches (17-0-3), and has outscored its opponents 61-17 through that stretch, scoring in all 20 games.
- Defenders Abby Dahlkemper and Tierna Davidson, who will start together in the center of the defense, both grew up in Menlo Park – about 25 minutes from Avaya Stadium -- and attended the same high school – Sacred Heart Preparatory – but not at the same time.
- Forward Alex Morgan is the only player to start every game so far in 2018.
Starting Lineup
- Ashlyn Harris will earn her 17th cap tonight in her second start of 2018. Her most recent start was against China PR on June 12 when she went 90 minutes to earn the win.
- Kelley O’Hara makes her first appearance for the U.S. WNT since March 4, 2018 when she started against France at the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. She will earn her 108th cap tonight in her fourth start and appearance of 2018.
- Abby Dahlkemper started the first match of 2018 against Denmark on Jan. 21 next to debutante Tierna Davidson and the duo also went the full 90 together on March 1 against Germany, March 4 vs. France, March 7 against England. Tonight, it will be the eighth time in 2018 that Dalhkemper and Davidson will combine to anchor the back line. She will earn her 23rd cap tonight.
- Tierna Davidson will earn her 12th start and cap. She scored her first international game vs. Chile on Aug. 31. Davidson has strong ties to the Bay Area, hailing from Menlo Park, Calif., and is currently playing her junior year of college soccer at Stanford University. She helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship in 2017 as a sophomore. 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. She will turn 20-years-old.
- Casey Short returned to the field for the USA on July 26 against Japan, after an injury on March 4 caused her to miss several games for both club and country. Short will earn her 25th cap tonight. She has played mostly left back, but has also played some outside midfield vs. Switzerland last year and played centrally vs. Sweden on June 8 and vs. Brazil on July 30. It will be her 18th overall start.
- Julie Ertz will earn her 66th cap and has scored 16 international goals, most recently against Brazil on Aug. 2.
- McCall Zerboni , who was just a few months shy of her 31st birthday when she debuted on Oct. 22, 2017, became the oldest player to earn a first cap for the U.S. WNT. She will earn her seventh career cap tonight in her second start.
- Rose Lavelle will earn her 13th career cap tonight and make her third consecutive start this year. She has scored three international goals, most recently the game-tying goal vs. Brazil on Aug. 2. Lavelle made her U.S. WNT debut on March 4, 2017 against England – and was the 14th player to be given a first cap under Ellis.
- Tobin Heath will make her fourth consecutive start for the U.S. WNT after taking the field against Australia on July 29, Brazil on Aug. 2, and Chile on Aug. 31. 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. 138 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 147th 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 19 WNT matches. She leads the WNT with 10 goals in 2018.
- Mallory Pugh returns to the starting lineup tonight for the first time since April 8, 2018. She entered the game against Chile on Aug. 31 as a second half substitute, making her first appearance since April 8, and earned her 13th career assist.