USWNT facing Switzerland in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon

USA vs. Switzerland
U.S. Bank Stadium; Minneapolis, Minn.
Oct. 23, 2016 (12:45 p.m. CT on FS1)
International Friendly Match

(Via U.S. Soccer) – Coming off a convincing 4-0 victory against Switzerland on Oct. 19 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, the U.S. Women’s National Team will play the second leg of the two-game set on Oct. 23 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. (12:45 p.m. CT on FS1), as the 2016 schedule nears completion. It will be the USA’s first visit to Minnesota in more than 10 years.

In Utah, the USA out-shot Switzerland 24-4 and five players earned first caps, including two starters in Stanford junior Andi Sullivan and Chicago Red Stars defender Casey Short. Halftime substitute Lynn Williams earned her first cap and scored just 49 seconds into her debut, becoming the 20th U.S. WNT player to find the net in her first cap. It was the fastest goal in a debut in U.S. history.

NEW PLAYERS ON ROSTER FOR SWITZERLAND MATCHES: The roster for the USA’s first two matches following the 2016 Olympics – wins against Thailand and the Netherlands in September – featured only players that were in Brazil, but as the U.S. team begins the new cycle leading up to qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Ellis chose not to call up several veterans, making space in camp for 11 uncapped players, eight from the NWSL and three from the college ranks. Five of those players – Andi Sullivan, Casey Short, Lynn Williams, Abby Dahlkemper and Ashley Hatch — earned their first caps on Oct. 19 against Switzerland. At the end of that match, there were just four players on the field for the USA that played at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada. After a few quality days of training, goalkeeper Jane Campbell returned to Palo Alto, California following the match in Sandy to play with her college team as Stanford faces Utah this weekend. She will not be in Minneapolis with the WNT.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), 24- Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride)

DEFENDERS (7): 14-Abby Dahlkemper (Western New York Flash), 11-Arin Gilliland (Chicago Red Stars), 15-Merritt Mathias (Seattle Reign), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), 8-Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars), 12- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)

MIDFIELDERS (8): 6-Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 22-Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), 9-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), 10-Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), 20-Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), 3- Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash), 19- Andi Sullivan (Stanford)

FORWARDS (6): 16-Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), 2-Shea Groom (FC Kansas City), 21-Ashley Hatch (BYU), 7-Kealia Ohai (Houston Dash), 12-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), 13- Lynn Williams (Western New York Flash)

USA LOOKS TO STAY UNBEATEN IN REGULATION IN 2016: The USA is 19-0-3 in 2016 (the penalty kick loss in the Olympics officially counts as a tie), earning 15 shutouts while allowing just eight goals, five of those coming in two games — three against Japan on June 2 and two against Colombia on Aug. 9 in the Olympic Group G finale. The USA started the year with a 5-0 win against the Republic of Ireland and then won two tournaments early on – taking the title at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February and the SheBelieves Cup in March. The USA played two friendly matches against Colombia in April, winning 7-0 and 3-0 with seven different players scoring the 10 goals; and two against Japan in June, a wild 3-3 draw on June 2 in Commerce City, Colo., and a rematch in Cleveland that the USA won 2-0 during a game that was stopped in the 76th minute due to inclement weather. In July, the USA faced South Africa on July 9 in the first meeting between the teams, winning just 1-0 as the WNT logged a dominating if somewhat uneven performance. The USA dominated Costa Rica in its final Olympic send-off match on July 22, winning 4-0 , and earned the full six points from its first two matches of the 2016 Olympics Games with a 2-0 win against New Zealand and a narrow 1-0 win vs. France. The USA picked up a point in its final first round match against Colombia to finish atop Group G and earn a quarterfinal meeting with Sweden, where the Americans dominated, out-shooting their opponents 27-6, but eventually fell in the shootout. The first post-Olympic match was a rousing success as the USA powered home nine goals , which included three goals and four assists from Carli Lloyd to send Heather O’Reilly into retirement in grand fashion. The USA kept it rolling with a 3-1 victory against a strong Netherlands team on Sept. 18 and a 4-0 win against Switzerland on Oct. 19 that featured goals from four different players.

• 2016 U.S. WNT SCHEDULE/RESULTS

U.S. TEAM AND ROSTER NOTES:

• Against Switzerland on Oct. 19, U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher notched her fourth start in goal in 2016 and fifth appearance this year. She has nine career caps and six shutouts.
• Stanford junior midfielder Andi Sullivan and Chicago Red Stars defender Casey Short both earned their first cap and first start with the WNT.
• Sullivan is a veteran of the USA’s 2012 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2014 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup teams. She is Stanford’s leading scorer this year with six goals and five assists.
• Forward Lynn Williams (who played the entire second half), defender Abby Dahlkemper (who played the final 19 minutes) and forward Ashley Hatch (who played the final 16 minutes) – all of whom came off the bench in the second half – also earned their first caps.
• Williams added her name to the U.S. WNT record books with a goal (the game-winner) in her first game for the WNT and became the 20th U.S. WNT player to score in her first cap.
• In addition, her goal 49 seconds into the second half after coming on as a substitute was the quickest in a debut in U.S. history.
• Hatch enjoyed a supportive atmosphere as friends and family, as well as fans from around the area, came out to support the BYU senior, who is tied for most goals scored in NCAA Division I so far this season with 15.
• Dahlkemper is a former U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team captain and played every minute of every game this season at center back for the Western New York Flash.
• Samantha Mewis scored on her first touch of the game after coming on in the 75th minute, powering home a header off a cross from Christen Press. It was her third WNT goal, all of which have come in 2016.
• Allie Long made her 11th start of 2016 and 13th appearance of the year. Since re-joining the WNT in April, Long has more than quadrupled her career caps. Long came into this year with only four WNT appearances under her belt but with the start vs. SUI, earned her 17th cap. She has three goals (all on headers) and two assists this year as well. Against Switzerland on Oct. 19, for the first time in her WNT career, Long played as a center back in the center of a three-player back line with Emily Sonnett and Becky Sauerbrunn.
• Against the Swiss, Tobin Heath made her 17th start of the year, scoring her fifth goal to go along with seven assists. She also recently scored against Thailand on Sept. 15 and assisted Lloyd on Sept. 18 against the Netherlands. Heath now has 125 caps, a mark reached by just 26 players in U.S. history. Heath had two assists in the 2016 Olympic Games, both coming on Lloyd’s goals, and now has seven in 2016 and 28 for her career with the WNT.
• Kelley O’Hara’s assist was the 10th of her career, putting her into double-figures.
• Sullivan and Hatch are the first active college players to earn a cap for the U.S. WNT since Emily Sonnett started vs. Brazil on Oct. 25, 2015, in Orlando during her senior year at UVA. Mallory Pugh, who has 17 caps this year, has earned them all before enrolling in college.
• Against Thailand on Sept. 15, Carli Lloyd was part of seven of the nine goals the USA scored. Lloyd recorded her seventh international hat trick and added four assists. She became the first player in U.S. history to record three goals and four assists in a single WNT match. She also added a goal and an assist against the Netherlands on Sept. 18 and leads the team with 11 assists this year, and is tied in goals with 15. She currently stands at 94 international goals and 48 assists.
• Lloyd is the first player in U.S. history to score 15 or more goals in three consecutive calendar years. Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach were close, but never accomplished that achievement.
• With her goals in the first two matches of the 2016 Olympics Games, Lloyd also became the only American to score multiple goals in three separate Olympics (’08,’12,’16). Her eight Olympic goals put her in second place behind Abby Wambach’s U.S. record of 10 Olympic goals.
• Lloyd is now just six goals away from becoming the sixth player in U.S. history to score 100 or more.
• Lloyd has scored 31 goals in her last 33 matches starting with the Round of 16 game at the WWC. In fact, Lloyd scored 36 international goals between the time she debuted six days’ shy of age 23, and when she turned 30. Remarkably, since she’s turned 30, she has scored 58 goals in just over four years.
• Both Christen Press and Crystal Dunn added single tallies in the match vs. Thailand and are both tied for the team lead in appearances this year with 22. After scoring against Switzerland on Oct. 19, Press now has 36 goals in 77 international appearances. Press has now moved past April Heinrichs and Sydney Leroux into 14th place on the U.S. WNT all-time goals list. She is averaging just under a goal for every two games she plays (0.47 goals per game) for the WNT.
• Against Thailand on Sept. 15, Dunn recorded the 16th goal of her international career and 12th of 2016, putting her third behind only Lloyd and Alex Morgan who both have 15 scores. She added an assist on Heath’s goal against Switzerland on Oct. 19. Dunn has six assists in 2016, third-most on the team.
• The start in goal vs. Thailand on Sept. 15 was the first appearance in 2016 and third career shutout for Ashlyn Harris who played for the WNT for the first time since Aug. 16, 2015, against Costa Rica in Pittsburgh, which was the first match following the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup triumph.
• Dunn and Mallory Pugh each notched a goal against Colombia on Aug. 9 at the Olympics. It was the first Olympic goal for each player. Additionally, with that goal Pugh became the youngest American player to ever score at the Olympic Games. She also became the youngest American female player to start in an Olympic match when she took the field against New Zealand on Aug. 3.
• Pugh achieved a rare feat of helping two different teams qualify for a world championship in the same cycle. Last December, she captained the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team to a 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup berth and the CONCACAF title at the qualifying tournament in Honduras. Pugh was called up by Jill Ellis for the USA’s January training camp this year, making her one of the youngest field players called into the full U.S. WNT in the past 15 years. Pugh was a starter at the age of 16 in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada and will compete in the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea at the end of this year. She is not in this camp as she is preparing for the U-20s for the World Cup.
• Before the match against Puerto Rico in the Olympic Qualifying tournament on Feb. 15, Dunn had scored five goals for the U.S. WNT. She doubled that total vs. Puerto Rico, notching five goals to tie a U.S. record for most goals scored in a match. She became the seventh U.S. player to achieve that feat. The other six were: Brandi Chastain (1991), Michelle Akers (1991), Tiffeny Milbrett (2002), Abby Wambach (2004), Amy Rodriguez (2012) and Sydney Leroux (2012). It was Dunn’s first multi-goal game for the WNT.
• After earning her first two caps at the 2013 Algarve Cup, now 22-year-old Lindsey Horan got her first three starts at the end of last year, switching positions to holding midfielder where she excelled in the Olympic Qualifying tournament and the SheBelieves Cup. Since then, she has played several positions in the midfield. Horan, who was the first American female player to skip college and head overseas to play professionally, left for Europe in July of 2012 after she graduated from high school and spent more than three years in France with Paris Saint-Germain. She scored her first WNT goal against T&T at the end of last year and scored her second to break open a tight match against Canada in the championship of Olympic Qualifying. Her third was one to remember, coming off the bench in her hometown of Denver on June 2 to head home an apparent game-winner in the 89th minute, but Japan equalized in the third minute of stoppage time. Horan’s goal against Japan was her second of 2016 and third of her career. She also has four assists this year.
• Against Canada on Feb. 21 in the championship game of the Olympic Qualifying tournament, U.S. co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn became the 35th U.S. female player to reach 100 caps. She picked up her third assist of 2016 and fifth of her career on Dunn’s 70th minute goal against Thailand on Sept. 15. She now has 116 caps.
• Only three players on the roster have 100 caps or more (the fewest in years), and with 125, Tobin Heath is the second-most capped player on the roster.
• Of the 11 uncapped players that started in this camp, only goalkeeper Jane Campbell and Chicago Red Stars midfielder Danielle Colaprico have been in a full WNT even before. Colaprico spent time in WNT camps at the end of 2015 and beginning of 2016. She started all 20 games for the Red Stars this season, and their playoff game, while scoring one goal with two assists and finishing second (by four minutes) in minutes played.
• 2016 NWSL Golden Boot winner Lynn Williams scored 11 times for the Western New York Flash and two more in her club’s playoff semifinal victory over the Portland Thorns. She also scored the game-tying goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time of the second overtime period in the NWSL Championship Game to dramatically send the game to penalty kicks, which the Flash won to earn their first NWSL title.
• Houston Dash forward Kealia Ohai also scored 11 goals during the regular season. She famously scored the game-winning goal in the 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup Final as the USA defeated Germany, 1-0, to win its third championship at that age level.
• First-time call-up Shea Groom from FC Kansas City was far and away her club’s leading scorer this year with eight goals. She is the first player from Kansas City named to a full U.S. WNT roster.
• Among the four new defenders Ellis called up are two players from the Chicago Red Stars back line in Short and Arin Gilliland, who both helped CRS limit opponents to 20 goals this year, tied for second fewest in the league behind the Portland Thorns (19). Both Short and Gilliland started all 20 matches for CRS this season.
• Ellis also called up defender Merritt Mathias, the first player from Alabama to be called in since World Cup and Olympic veteran Cat Whitehill retired. Mathias played in 19 of the 20 games for the Seattle Reign this year, starting 17.
• Goalkeeper Jane Campbell, a senior at Stanford, started for the USA in the 2012 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, was a member of the 2014 U-20 Women’s World Cup Team and previously trained with the senior team for one camp in February 2013 when she was 17-years-old. Campbell has played in 12 matches for Stanford so far this year, allowing just nine goals and has a 10-0-1 record.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS:

• Lynn Williams added her name to the U.S. WNT history books on Oct. 19 vs. Switzerland with a goal (the game-winner) in her first game for the WNT and became the 20th U.S. WNT player to score in her first cap. In addition, her goal 49 seconds into the second half after coming on as a substitute was the quickest in a debut in U.S. history.
• Carli Lloyd is in seventh place in the WNT’s all-time starts list and made her 200th start against Switzerland on Oct. 19. Lloyd is the 10th woman in U.S. history to reach 200 caps, achieving the feat at the WWC quarterfinal match against China PR on June 26 and is tied for seventh place on the USA’s all-time caps with 231. Heather O’Reilly retired with 231 caps.
• Lloyd also became the third player in U.S. history to score in her 200th appearance. Abby Wambach and Heather O’Reilly are the other two.
• Lloyd is the highest active goal scorer in U.S. history with the players ahead of her, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett and Michelle Akers all retired.
• With her assist against Colombia on Aug. 9, Lloyd moved into sole possession of ninth place on the U.S. all-time assist list with 43. Now with 48, she is tied with Carin Gabara for eighth place. Lloyd is in sixth place on the U.S. WNT’s all-time goal scoring list. Now with 94 goals, she is the highest-scoring midfielder in U.S. history.
• Against Thailand, Lloyd became the first player in U.S. history to record three goals and four assists in a single U.S. WNT match.
• Morgan Brian earned her 50th cap at the young age of 23 on March 6. Now with 60, she is 48th on the all-time caps list.
• The three goals for each team during the 3-3 draw on June 2 against Japan equaled the highest-scoring draw in WNT history. It has occurred only three previous times, most recently vs. Germany in 2013.
• The USA’s three goals in the first four minutes and four seconds of the Sept. 15 match against Thailand was the quickest three goals to start a match in U.S. history. The quickest prior to that was three goals in less than six minutes against Martinique in Women’s World Cup qualifying in 1991 as Mia Hamm scored in the first minute, April Heinrichs scored in the third and Michelle Akers tallied in the sixth.

NWSL CHAMPS: Three members of the 2016 NWSL Champion Western New York Flash are on the U.S. WNT for October, two of them first-time call-ups. The 2016 NWSL Championship took place on Oct. 9 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston and the Flash emerged victorious following a dramatic 124th-minute game-tying goal from 2016 NWSL MVP Lynn Williams. Samantha Mewis scored the other goal for the Flash while Crystal Dunn scored both goals for the Washington Spirit. Williams and fellow WNT October call-up Abby Dahlkemper both successfully converted penalty kick attempts, while Mewis and Ali Krieger saw their spot kicks saved by the goalkeepers.

NWSL BEST XI: Sixteen of the 22 players chosen to the NWSL Best XI and Second XI have received call-ups to the U.S. WNT this year. Nine of those players were chosen to the Best XI: Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, defenders Lauren Barnes, Arin Gilliland and Becky Sauerbrunn, midfielders Tobin Heath and Allie Long and forwards Kealia Ohai, Christen Press and Lynn Williams, who was also the league MVP and Golden Boot winner. The WNT players named to the Second XI are: Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, defenders Julie Johnston, Ali Krieger and Casey Short, midfielder Danielle Colaprico, and forwards Crystal Dunn and Shea Groom. Of the 22 players named to the Best XI and Second XI, 13 will be in October camp with the WNT.

LYNN FOR THE WIN: Lynn Williams, 23, is the fourth consecutive NWSL Golden Boot winner to also win the MVP award – joining FC Kansas City’s Lauren Holiday in 2013, Seattle Reign FC’s Kim Little in 2014 and the Washington Spirit’s Crystal Dunn in 2015. The Fresno, California native concluded the 2016 season with 11 goals in 19 appearances as she tied with Houston Dash forward Kealia Ohai for the most goals in the league, but won the golden boot based on her five assists as opposed to Ohai’s four on the year. The Pepperdine University product played 1,670 minutes this season as she led the league in shots (70), ranked second in shots on goal (34) and tied for fourth in assists (5). Seven of her 11 goals came in the second half of games this year – including a dramatic game-tying goal in the 93rd minute July 30 against the Houston Dash to earn a 3-3 draw. Williams led one of the best offenses in league history as the Flash scored 40 goals in 20 games to become just the third team in NWSL history to average 2.00 or more goals per game. She scored two goals in a game on two separate occasions during the regular season – May 27 in a 4-0 victory over the Boston Breakers and June 24 in a 7-1 win also over the Breakers. In the NWSL playoff semifinal, she scored two goals in extra time to lead the Flash to a 4-3 victory in extra time over 2016 NWSL Shield winners Portland Thorns FC, setting the stage for her Championship Game heroics.

BY THE NUMBERS:
0.36 Goals per game the USA allowed in 2016
1 USA’s FIFA ranking
2 Times the USA has gone unbeaten in regulation in a calendar year when playing 10 or more games
3.34 Goals per game the USA scored in 2016
4 Goals needed by Alex Morgan to catch Cindy Parlow (75) for 7th on the USA’s all-time scoring list
5 Caps Ali Krieger needs to become the 36th woman in U.S. history to reach 100 caps
6 Number of players to made their WNT debut in 2016: Pugh, Sullivan, Short, Williams, Dahlkemper, Hatch
6 Goals Carli Lloyd needs to reach 100
13 Number of different U.S. players to score a goal in 2016
99 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Abby Wambach in her career
104 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Alex Morgan in her career
130 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Mia Hamm in her career

JILL ELLIS FACT FILE : After leading the USA to the Women’s World Cup title, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis was rewarded with a multi-year contract extension on Aug. 5, 2015. She is the third U.S. coach – and first female American coach — to win a Women’s World Cup at the senior level, following Anson Dorrance (1991) and Tony DiCicco (1999). Ellis was named the 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer on Jan. 11, 2016, at the FIFA Awards Gala in Zurich, Switzerland. She was also named the CONCACAF Female Coach of the Year. Ellis, who previously served two stints as interim head coach of the U.S. WNT, is the eighth official head coach in U.S. history. She coached seven games as interim coach in 2012 (5-0-2) and two games (1-0-1) as interim in 2014 before she officially came on board, which gave her a 6-0-3 record before she ever was formally named the head coach in May of 2014. She has gone 49-3-10 since then for an overall record of 55-3-13, earning her 50th career WNT win on July 22 vs. Costa Rica. Since taking over as head coach, Ellis has won four tournaments: the 2015 Algarve Cup, the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship and the 2016 SheBelieves Cup. After an early exit from the 2016 Olympics, Ellis will now start focusing on building a team to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup,

• Prior to becoming head coach, Ellis had extensive experience in the U.S. Women’s National Team programs having served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team under Pia Sundhage, helping the team to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. She has served two stints as head coach of the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team, guiding the squad to the CONCACAF title in 2010 and to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany.
• Ellis also had two stints as the head coach of the U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team, the second starting in the middle of 2005, after which she guided the team to the Nordic Cup in Sweden. She also coached the U-21s to the Nordic Cup title in Germany in 2000.
• Ellis was a scout for the USA at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and has served as an assistant coach with the U.S. U-21s and U-16 Girls’ National Teams.
• Ellis joined U.S. Soccer full-time after a highly successful 12-year run as the head women’s soccer coach for the UCLA Bruins. Ellis led UCLA to eight NCAA Final Fours, including seven in a row from 2003-2009, and won six straight conference titles from 2003-2008. She finished her time in Westwood with a record of 229-45-14. Ellis, who was also head coach at the University of Illinois, has an all-time collegiate coaching record of 248-63-14.
• She was the 2000 NSCAA National Coach of the Year after leading the Bruins to the NCAA Final in just her second season as head coach.
• Ellis arrived in Westwood after heading the University of Illinois women’s soccer program for two years. In 1998, she brought the Fighting Illini to a 12-8 record and a first Big Ten Tournament berth. Prior to coaching at Illinois, Ellis served as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia for one year (1996-97), at Maryland for three years (1994-96) and at North Carolina State for another three years (1988-90). As an assistant coach at North Carolina State, Ellis helped the Wolfpack secure the 1988 ACC title and an NCAA Final Four appearance.
• A forward during her playing days at the College of William & Mary from 1984-87, Ellis was a Third-Team All-American in 1987. In 1984, Ellis helped Braddock Road in Virginia to the Under-19 club national championship.
• Ellis was the keynote speaker at the 2016 commencement exercises at William & Mary. Her theme for the speech: “Be bold.”
• Ellis grew up in Portsmouth, England, and came to the United States in 1981 at the age of 15. She also lived in Singapore for two years while her father helped to develop a national soccer program in that country. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and Composition from the College of William & Mary in 1988 and currently resides in Miami. She has a USSF “A” coaching license.

USA WNT HAS LONG HISTORY IN MINNESOTA: The match at U.S. Bank Stadium will be the first for a U.S. National Team at the brand new facility built for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL. The fixed-roof stadium officially opened on July 22, 2016. The U.S. WNT has a long history in Minnesota as the team played many of its earliest home matches in Blaine, Minn., in 1986 and 1987. The U.S. Women have played 14 total matches in Blaine, tied with Portland, Ore., for the city that has hosted the most U.S. WNT matches, but the USA has not played in Minnesota since 2006. With more than 20,000 tickets sold for this match, a record has already been broken for the most fans to watch the U.S. WNT in Minnesota. The previous record was set on July 3, 2001, when the USA defeated Canada 1-0 in front of a sell-out crowd of 15,614 at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

IN FOCUS: SWITZERLAND
SCHWEIZERISCHER FUSSBALLVERBAND
FIFA World Ranking: 15
UEFA Ranking: 8
World Cup Appearances: 1 (2015)
Best World Cup finish: Round of 16 (2015)
Record vs. USA: 0-3-0
Head Coach: ‎Martina Voss-Tecklenburg

Switzerland Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Gaëlle Thalmann (AGSM Verona, ITA), 12-Stenia Michel (FC Basel 1893), 21-Seraina Friedli (FC Zürich Frauen)

DEFENDERS (4 ): 5-Noelle Maritz (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), 6-Selina Kuster (FC Zürich Frauen), 14-Rahel Kiwic (MSV Duisburg, GER), 15-Caroline Abbé (FC Bayern München, GER)

MIDFIELDERS (7 ): 3-Melanie Müller (BSC Young Boys), 4-Bangerter (FC Basel 1893), 7-Martina Moser (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, GER), 8-Cinzia Zehnder (SC Freiburg, GER), 18-Viola Calligaris (BSC Young Boys), 20-Sandrine Mauron (FC Zürich Frauen), 22-Vanessa Bernauer (VfL Wolfsburg, GER)

FORWARDS (5): 2-Patricia Willi (FC Zürich Frauen), 11-Lara Dickenmann (VfL Wolfsburg, GER), 16-Fabienne Humm (FC Zürich Frauen), 19-Eseosa Aigbogun (1.FFC Turbine Potsdam, GER), 23-Barla Deplazes (FC Zürich Frauen)

SWITZERLAND NOTES:

• Switzerland qualified for the 2017 UEFA Women’s European Championship in the Netherlands without too much difficulty, taking full points by winning all eight games in Group 6 against Italy, Czech Republic, Northern Ireland and Georgia by a combined 34-3 margin.
• Switzerland’s closest match was a 2-1 victory over Italy in the leg played in Switzerland. The Swiss beat Italy 3-0 in Italy.
• Ana-Maria Crnogorčević led the team in qualifying with seven goals and seven assists, but Fabienne Humm scored six times. Ramona Bachman had four goals, while Lara Dickenmann and Martina Moser each had three goals. Crnogorčević and Bachman are not on the roster for these matches.
• Dickenmann, who plays for Germany power VfL Wolfsburg after seven seasons with France juggernaut Olympique Lyon (where she played with Megan Rapinoe), played college soccer at Ohio State where she was the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year in 2004. She is one of Switzerland’s top players and regarded as one of the top midfielders in the world. She also played for the New Jersey Wildcats and Jersey Sky Blue during her time in college.
• Almost half of Switzerland’s roster play club soccer for top clubs in Germany while goalkeeper Gaëlle Thalmann plays for Verona in Italy.
• Switzerland’s coach is former Germany international Martina Voss-Tecklenburg who played more than 100 matches for her country and played in the 1991, 1995 and 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cups as well as the 1996 Olympics.
• Switzerland made it out of Group C at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, and had a solid tournament, losing to eventual runners-up Japan 1-0, defeating Ecuador 10-1 and losing a tight game to Cameroon, 2-1 in group play. In the Round of 16, Switzerland faced tournament host Canada, falling to the locals by a score line of 1-0, thus bowing out of its first world championship appearance.
• Midfielder Martina Moser, who plays in Germany for Hoffenheim, and captain Caroline Abbe, who plays for Bayern Munich, are the most capped players on the roster with 121 games each. Moser has 20 international goals while Abbe has scored nine. They are followed by Dickenmann, who has played 114 times and scored 44 goals, top on this roster. Forward Fabienne Humm has scored 20 goals in her 50 caps.

USA VS. SWITZERLAND SERIES

• Prior to the USA’s 4-0 win on Oct. 19 in Utah, the USA and Switzerland had played just twice at the senior level, the most recent coming at the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal. The USA won 3-0 on goals from Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach and Amy Rodriguez. Wambach and Rodriguez scored as substitutes.
• The first meeting came on Aug. 20, 2014, with the USA winning 4-1, in front of a sellout crowd in Cary, N.C. The USA got goals from Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Christen Press and Wambach in a match that was played in front of a tremendous atmosphere at WakeMed Soccer Park. Two of the USA’s goals were off penalty kicks, by Lloyd and Wambach, and Switzerland’s goal was a PK as well, converted by Ana Maria Crnogorcevic.
• The teams did meet in group play at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany, a 5-0 win for the USA in which Sydney Leroux scored a hat trick.

LAST TIME…

On the field for the USA:
Oct. 19, 2016 – Rio Tinto Stadium; Sandy, Utah
International Friendly

USA 4 Williams 46; Heath 61; Press 69; Mewis 76
SUI 0

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 12-Emily Sonnett (23-Christen Press, 46), 20-Allie Long (14-Abby Dahlkemper, 72), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn; 17-Tobin Heath (21-Ashley Hatch, 75), 19-Andi Sullivan (3-Samantha Mewis, 75), 6-Morgan Brian, 9-Lindsey Horan (13-Lynn Williams, 46), 8-Casey Short; 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.) (5-Kelley O’Hara, 64), 16-Crystal Dunn
Subs not used: 24-Ashlyn Harris
Head Coach: Jill Ellis

SUI: 1-Gaëlle Thalmann; 6-Selina Kuster, 14-Rahel Kiwic, 15-Caroline Abbé (capt.), 5-Noelle Maritz; 20-Sandrine Mauron (3-Melanie Müller, 62), 7-Martina Moser, 8-Cinzia Zehnder, 19-Eseosa Aigbogun; 2-Patricia Willi (23-Barla Deplazes, 46), 18-Viola Calligaris
Subs not used: 12-Stenia Michel, 21-Seraina Friedli, 4-Fabienne Bangerter, 16-Fabienne Humm, 22-Vanessa Bernauer
Head Coach: Martina Voss-Tecklenburg