Jill Ellis names USWNT roster for April friendlies vs. Mexico

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named 22 players to the preliminary roster for two friendly matches against Mexico. The games will take place on Thursday, April 5 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. (7 p.m. ET; FS1 & UDN) and on Sunday, April 8, at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston (12:30 p.m. CT; FOX). Ellis will name 18 players to suit up for each of the matches.

The two games will be a preview of a possible meeting in the Concacaf Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament that will be held this coming fall. Both teams are in preparations for that competition, which will send three countries to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France and a fourth into a two-game playoff with the third-place team from South America.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position; Caps/Goals
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 2/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 14/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 27/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 17/0), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 4/0), Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 4/0); Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 107/2), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 21/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC: 135/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 15/0)

MIDFIELDERS (5): Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 72/6), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 47/4), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 250/98), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 35/6), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 9/0)

FORWARDS (7): Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 60/23), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 1/0); Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC; 4/0), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 138/81), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 33/9), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 133/35), Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 19/4)

Did You Know…

• Twenty of the 22 players named were on the U.S. roster for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup earlier this month. The USA won the four-team tournament that featured Germany, England and France.
• Defender Becky Sauerbrunn makes her return to the roster after missing January training camp and the SheBelieves Cup due to a foot injury.
• Forward Ashley Hatch, the 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year with the North Carolina Courage for which she scored seven goals, was in the pre-SBC training camp but did not make the final roster.
• Although the USA has faced Mexico 34 times in its history, the teams have met just once in the past two and half years, a game that also took place in Texas. That match was in February of 2016 during Olympic Qualifying in Frisco, a 1-0 victory on a goal from Carli Lloyd. Just seven of the 22 players on this roster played against Mexico during that match. The last friendly between the teams took place on May 17, 2015, in a Women’s World Cup warm-up match, a 5-1 U.S. victory in Carson, Calif., that was tied 1-1 at halftime.
• The Federación Mexicana de Fútbol officially launched the Liga MX Femenil last year, with Guadalajara defeating Pachuca for the inaugural championship in a two-leg series that drew record crowds of 28,955 and 32,466 fans.
• Before changing associations, U.S. defender Sofia Huerta played for Mexico’s Youth National Teams, playing at the 2012 U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Japan, and earned five caps at the senior level, including one against the U.S. in 2013.
• Across 34 all-time meetings, Mexico has defeated the USA once and drawn once. The win came in the semifinal of Concacaf Qualifying for the 2011 Women’s World Cup, a 2-1 victory in Cancun, Mexico. The setback forced the USA to win the tournament’s third-place match and then a two-leg playoff with Italy to qualify for the Women’s World Cup in Germany.
• The U.S. Women have played three matches at BBVA Compass Stadium since the venue opened in 2012. The first was a 4-0 win vs. China PR in 2012 followed by two games in the 2016 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, a 5-0 win vs. Trinidad & Tobago that qualified the USA for the Rio Olympics and a 2-0 win in the championship game against Canada. BBVA Compass Stadium is the home stadium for Jane Campbell of the Houston Dash.
• The USA has played in Jacksonville twice, a 2-1 loss to Norway back in 1996 and most recently on Feb. 9, 2013 in a 4-1 win vs. Scotland.