Date: Jan. 18, 2021
Venue: Exploria Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
Broadcast: FS1
Broadcast Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
Starting XI vs. Colombia: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 5-Kelley O’Hara, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Capt.), 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 19-Crystal Dunn; 8-Julie Ertz, 3-Samantha Mewis, 9-Lindsey Horan; 15-Megan Rapinoe 10-Carli Lloyd, 6-Lynn Williams
Available Subs: 14-Emily Sonnett, 16-Rose Lavelle, 22-Kristie Mewis, 23-Margaret Purce, 24- Jane Campbell, 25-Sophia Smith, 29-Catarina Macario
Not Dressing: Aubrey Bledsoe, Alana Cook, Tierna Davidson, Emily Fox, Ashlyn Harris, Jaelin Howell, Ali Krieger, Mallory Pugh, Andi Sullivan
Game Notes
U.S. WNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (including this match): Carli Lloyd (295), Becky Sauerbrunn (179), Megan Rapinoe (169), Kelley O’Hara (133), Crystal Dunn (106), Julie Ertz (104), Lindsey Horan (87), Samantha Mewis (69), Alyssa Naeher (65), Abby Dahlkemper (63), Lynn Williams (30)
Monday’s starting lineup has three changes from the USA’s most recent match (Nov. 27, 2020 vs NED): Horan for Lavelle in the midfield, Lloyd for Press up top and Rapinoe for Heath on the wing.
Of the 14 players who played against the Colombia in the 2016 Olympics, six are on Monday’s roster and all are starting: Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara, Lindsey Horan, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Crystal Dunn
Alyssa Naeher has 37 career shutouts and in her four caps in 2020 she did not allow a goal during 630 minutes of action. Naeher has pitched a shutout in each of her last seven appearances for the USA, the longest shutout streak of her international career.
Becky Sauerbrunn, who was announced on Sunday as captain on the USWNT, will earn her 179th cap and enters Monday in 14th place all-time in minutes played for the USA with 13,850. She is just 84 minutes from passing her childhood idol – and long-time USWNT captain – to move into 13th place.
Having led the USA in minutes each of the last two years, Abby Dahlkemper will be making her 63rd international appearance tonight. Including tonight’s match against Colombia, Dahlkemper will have played in 31 of the USA’s 33 matches since the start of 2019 and gone the full 90 minutes in 25 of her last 32 appearances.
Crystal Dunn will make her 106th appearance for the USWNT and was the only player to start all nine matches in 2020. Dunn has scored in two of her previous three games against Colombia, including the game-tying goal in the 41st minute of 2016 meeting between the teams in the Olympic group stage.
Kelley O’Hara is set to earn her 133rd cap for the USWNT and has two goals in her 132 previous caps, one of which was scored in the 2015 World Cup semifinal vs. Germany and the other scored 2016 Olympic Qualifying.
Julie Ertz will be making her 104th appearance for the USA. Ertz earned her 100th cap on March 5 vs. England at Exploria Stadium in the first match of the 2020 SheBelieves Cup and has 20 international goals, the 29th American female to hit that mark.
Voted the 2020 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, Samantha Mewis is set to earn her 69th cap. She has displayed some excellent form for Manchester City in England so far this season and has scored six times in 16 matches. She and Rose Lavelle helped Man City win the FA Cup title and Mewis became just the third American (and second American woman) to score in FA Cup Final. Carli Lloyd also scored in an FA Cup Final for Man City.
Lindsey Horan is set to earn her 87th cap and is coming off a 2020 in which she tied for the lead in scoring for the USA with Christen Press with seven goals and three assists. Horan scored her first career hat trick - and first multi-goal game - against Panama on Jan. 31, 2020, while also picking up two assists.
Megan Rapinoe will earn her 169th cap and returns to the U.S. roster for the first time since March of 2020 at the SheBelieves Cup where she scored a brilliant free kick against Japan in the USA’s final match to help clinch the tournament title. Rapinoe finished second on the team with 5 assists in 2020.
Carli Lloyd returns to the U.S. roster for the first time since the 2020 SheBelieves Cup after recovering from a knee injury that kept her out of all the 2020 NWSL action as well as the last two USWNT events. She is the USA's all-time active caps leader with 295 (including Monday) and has moved past Mia Hamm into third all-time in career caps.
Lloyd’s most recent goal came on Jan. 5, 2020 at Orlando’s Exploria Stadium, scoring in the 55th minute of the USA’s 2-0 win over England. She has scored a total of four goals in six previous appearances against Colombia.
Lynn Williams earns her 30th cap tonight and led the U.S. team in assists in 2020 with six to goal along with three goals. She got her final assist of the year on Kristie’s Mewis’ clinching goal vs. the Netherlands on Nov. 27, 2020
