USWNT hosting Mexico for friendlies this week in Florida and Texas

USA vs. Mexico
EverBank Field; Jacksonville, Fla.
April 5, 2018
International Friendly

(Via U.S. Soccer) – Coming off a successful three-game run at the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, the U.S. Women’s National Team heads into two Spring friendly matches against Mexico as both teams set their sights on the Concacaf Women’s Championship this coming October.

The USA meets Mexico on April 5 at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Fla. (7 p.m. ET; FS1 & UDN)

The second leg of the two-game set takes place at BBVA Compass Stadium, home to the NWSL’s Houston Dash, on April 8 (12:30 CT; FOX).

These two meetings mark the first matches against Mexico since a clash in group play at the 2016 Olympic Qualifying tournament, a 1-0 U.S. win on a goal from Carli Lloyd. The USA is 3-0-1 so far in 2018, with wins over Denmark, Germany and England, along with a tie against France.

USA LIFTS SHEBELIEVES CUP FOR SECOND TIME: In early March, the USA hosted three of the world’s best teams in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup and the Americans came out on top in the tightly-contested tournament. The USA started with a 1-0 victory against Germany in terrible weather conditions in Columbus, Ohio, as Megan Rapinoe scored the game’s lone goal in the first half. The USA battled France to a 1-1 tie in the second game, getting a goal from Mallory Pugh in the first half only to allow an equalizer to France superstar Eugénie Le Sommer just a few minutes later. That set up a clash with England in the de facto championship game in Orlando with the USA needing to win to take the tournament title while England needed just the tie. The Americans played an excellent defensive game, limiting England to zero shots on goal, and scored the one goal they needed from a Rapinoe cross that hit off two England defenders and the goalkeeper before rolling into the net (Final Standings ). Here’s a look at the SheBelieves Cup – By the Numbers .

NEW LOOK WNT: The U.S. WNT will debut its new uniforms in the two-game series vs. Mexico, wearing the light kits for both matches. The MNT debuted the dark kits on March 27 in a 1-0 victory against Paraguay in Cary, N.C. Since 2014, the unifying phrase, “One Nation. One Team.” has defined U.S. Soccer. In the 2018 kits, the words are emblazoned on the inner neck of both light and dark shirts. There, the adage forms a distinct starting point for a set of uniforms that will see both teams through initial qualifying stages for their next major international tournaments. READ MORE .

FOCUS ON QUALIFYING: U.S. head coach Jill Ellis used 2017 to learn more about her team, her veterans and new players, while trying several different formations, playing players in various positions and giving call-ups to numerous younger players. Since the end of the 2016 Olympics, Ellis has used more than 30 players in matches and has seen 60 different players in a training camp environment. In 2018, while Ellis and her staff will still be constantly evaluating players in various environments, those numbers will go down. With a solid core that emerged from last year’s tough schedule and heavy evaluation, the current core group will be the one to move forward and receive the most opportunities to earn roster and starting spots.

Here are some facts and figures since October of 2016 (after the Olympics) regarding call-ups by Ellis and her staff:

• Total number of players called in for at least one training camp: 60
• Total number of new players called-up for the first time: 29
• Players who have seen game action over the past 15 months: 36
• Number of players to earn first caps: 15 – Abby Dahlkemper, Ashley Hatch, Andi Sullivan, Casey Short, Jane Campbell, Jessica McDonald, Kealia Ohai, Lynn Williams, Megan Oyster, Rose Lavelle, Sofia Huerta, Taylor Smith, McCall Zerboni, Savannah McCaskill and Tierna Davidson.

COUNTDOWN TO CONCACAF QUALIFYING: The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup that will be held from June 7-July 7 in nine cities in France is still on the distant horizon, but the countdown has begun for Concacaf Qualifying, which will take place from Oct. 4-17. Concacaf announced on March 23 that the USA would host the qualifying tournament. The USA, Canada and Mexico have automatic berths into the final eight-team Concacaf Women’s Championship, while the other five nations will have to go through pre-qualifying in their respective regions. From the final eight-team qualifying tourney, three teams will qualify directly to France while a fourth will enter a two-leg playoff against the third-place team from South America. As the USA faces Mexico in these two games, all the players and coaches will cast a distant eye on the all-important qualifying tournament about six months from now.

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 the late 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 67-6-12 since then for an overall record of 73-6-15, earning her 50th career WNT win on July 22, 2016, vs. Costa Rica. With the win against New Zealand on Sept. 15, 2017, Ellis moved past Anson Dorrance and into fourth place on the all-time wins list. Since taking over as head coach, Ellis has won five tournaments: the 2015 Algarve Cup, the 2015 Women’s World Cup, the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, the 2016 SheBelieves Cup and the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. Jill Ellis Full Bio

WELCOME HOME: U.S. midfielder Morgan Brian, who arrived a day later into camp after traveling from France where she is playing for world power Olympic Lyon, is having a homecoming of sorts in Jacksonville. Although she hails from idyllic St. Simons, Island, Georgia, she played much of your youth career in Jacksonville, Fla., with the Ponte Vedra Storm, wining state and national titles.

BACK AT THE BANK AND BBVA : The match at EverBank Field will mark just the third visit to Jacksonville for the U.S. Women’s National Team, which first played there when the stadium was named Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in a 2-1 loss to Norway in 1996 during a match played in freezing temperatures. Most recently at EverBank Field, the WNT earned a 4-1 victory against Scotland in February of 2013. The venue is the home of the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars, which are owned by Shahid Khan, who also owns Fulham Football Club in London. The U.S. Women have played four 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. U.S. goalkeeper Jane Campbell, who is the starter for the Houston Dash, earned her first senior team cap at BBVA Stadium on April 6, 2017, coming at halftime for Ashlyn Harris in a 5-1 win against Russia.

U.S. Women’s National Team 2018 SheBelieves Cup Roster by Position (Caps/Goals):
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18- Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 2/0), 24- Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 14/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 26/0)

DEFENDERS (7): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 16/0), 17- Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 3/0), 14- Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 3/0), 25-Hailie Mace (UCLA: 0/0), 27-Tegan McGrady (Stanford), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 135/0), 16- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 14/0),

MIDFIELDERS (6): 6- Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 71/6), 26-Haley Hanson (Houston Dash; 0/0), 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 46/4), 10- Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash; 249/98); 20- Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC; 34/6), 3- Andi Sullivan (Stanford; 9/0)

FORWARDS (7): 19- Crystal Dunn (Chelsea FC, ENG; 59/23), 22- Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 1/0), 21- Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC; 3/0), 13- Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 137/81); 11-Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 32/9), 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 132/35), 12- Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 18/4)

U.S. ROSTER NOTES

TEAM

• Eighteen of the 23 players on the training camp roster for the Mexico matches were on the U.S. roster for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup earlier this month.
• The additions are veteran defender Becky Sauerbrunn, who makes her return to the roster after missing January Camp and the SheBelieves Cup due to a foot injury, forward Ashley Hatch and defender Hailie Mace, who were both in the pre-SBC training camp but did not make the final roster, and uncapped first-time call-ups Tegan McGrady, a rising senior at Stanford, and midfielder Haley Hanson, a midfielder for the Houston Dash. Mace, McGrady and Hanson have all recently seen time with the U.S. Under-23 WNT.
• U.S. head coach Jill Ellis gave minutes to all 20 field players during the SheBelieves Cup. She made all six of her allowed subs in the first two games, and made four in the tournament finale against England.
• There have been two teenagers USA’s starting XI for the first four matches of the year 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 in the first game of the year, 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.
• The last time two teenagers were in the starting XI for four straight games was also in 2001, during that same time, when at least two teenagers started in seven straight games. Five of those games came during that stretch of matches when the USA brought a young team to the Algarve Cup in Portugal and played a warm-up match in Italy prior to the tournament.
• Sixteen players on the roster have 35 caps or fewer, and on the other end of the spectrum, seven have 60 or more, with five having 100 or more.
• The average age of the U.S. roster is 25.1 years old.
• The training camp roster has: 19 NWSL players, one player in Europe (Morgan Brian), and three college players in Davidson, Mace and McGrady.
• The USWNT has not allowed more than one goal in any of their last 11 games, going 9-0-2 during that run, and has scored at least three goals in seven of those 11 games.
• Due to injuries, the USA is missing quite a few players who get consistent call-ups, including Tobin Heath (ankle), Samantha Mewis (knee), Rose Lavelle (hamstring), Casey Short (ankle), Julie Ertz (knee) and Kelley O’Hara (hamstring).

FORWARDS

• After scoring in the opening match of the year against Denmark, Alex Morgan comes into the matches with 81 goals in 138 caps and at age 28 sits in sole possession of seventh place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. She has scored eight goals over her last 11 WNT matches through the end of 2017 and start of 2018. She did not score in the SBC, but did pick up the game-winning assist against Germany on March 1.
• For players with more than 50 goals/assists combined, Morgan has averaged a goal or an assist for every 71.5 minutes on the field in her international career. The only player to have done better is Mia Hamm (68.5). Abby Wambach averaged a goal or assist for every 71.5 minutes and Michelle Akers finished her career at 74.0 minutes per goal or assist.
• The Tournament of Nations last year sparked a quality end of 2017 for Megan Rapinoe, who scored three goals with five assists over the last eight matches of the year. After scoring in the first half against Germany on March 1, Rapinoe now has 35 career goals, tied with April Heinrichs and Sydney Leroux for 15th on the all-time goals list.
• Rapinoe took seven shots against Germany, as many as the whole German team. It was also her free kick against France that led to Mallory Pugh’s goal on March 4 and her cross on March 7 that led to the USA’s lone goal against England.
• Crystal Dunn scored four goals in 2017, all in back-to-back braces against Russia in April, and got her first of 2018 on Jan. 21 against Denmark, finishing a rebound off a Christen Press shot. The always versatile Dunn came off the bench to play outside back against France on March 4 after Casey Short was injured about 30 minutes after coming on as a sub herself. Dunn then played an excellent game at outside back against England, going the full 90 minutes on the left side to help the USA shutout England, and several of her former Chelsea teammates.
• In 2017, Dunn played in 23 matches for Chelsea FC. In 2018, Dunn played in five matches for Chelsea before returning home prior to the SheBelieves Cup. On January 16, it was announced Dunn would return to the NWSL and play for the North Carolina Courage during the 2018 season. The Courage acquired her rights from the Washington Spirit for Taylor Smith and Ashley Hatch.
• Mallory Pugh scored in her senior team debut (the 19th U.S. WNT player to score in her first cap) on Jan. 23, 2016, vs. Ireland at 17 years, 8 months and 25 days old, becoming the youngest player to debut for the U.S. in the previous 11 years.
• Since then, she has earned 33 caps with nine goals and often has been one of the USA’s most dangerous players. Her goal in the SheBelieves Cup against France, which came off a goal mouth scramble after a free kick, helped the USA earn an important point in the 1-1 tie.
• Pugh turned 18 on April 29, 2016 and is fifth all-time for most U.S. caps before the age of 18 (11). Third for most goals before the age of 18 (2), fourth in most starts before the age of 18 (7) and first for most assists before the age of 18 (5). She now has 33 caps and is the youngest WNT player ever to compile 10 career assists (she currently has 12), surpassing Kristine Lilly.
• She turned 19 on April 29, 2017 and tied with Mia Hamm for third in U.S. history for goals before age of 19 (four), was fourth in caps (20) and second in starts (14).
• After scoring against France on March 4, she leads the team in goals this year with three and is currently fourth for goals before the age of 20 with 10 (behind Cindy Parlow-15, Mia Hamm-14 and Christie Welsh -11), first in assists with 12, second in caps with 33 and second in starts with 25, moving past Hamm (Tiffany Roberts is first with 41). Pugh is coming off scoring the game-winner over the weekend for the Washington Spirit in a 2-0 victory against the Orlando Pride.
• Lynn Williams is up to 19 caps with seven WNT starts for her career. She scored her fourth international goal on Oct. 22, 2017, and got the start against Canada on Nov. 9, playing in her first away match for the WNT and going 87 minutes before coming out for Allie Long. Last season, she contributed nine goals and five assists for the NWSL Shield winner NC Courage. Heading into this weekend’s game, and since the start of the 2016 NWSL season, Williams has created 77 chances, the second most in league play over that time.
• Savannah McCaskill , who was taken second overall in the 2018 NWSL College Draft by the Boston Breakers and then was picked by Sky Blue FC in the Dispersal Draft, has worked herself into consistent call-ups with the WNT this year. McCaskill made the game roster for the Jan. 21 match against Denmark and earned her first cap when she came into the game in the 70th minute for Andi Sullivan. She earned her second cap on March 1against Germany, coming into the match at attacking midfield with 18 minutes left and put in a solid shift to help the USA earn the victory. She also had good performances against France, playing the entire second half in the midfield, and England, when she played the final 10 minutes to help secure the victory. She led South Carolina to the NCAA College Cup last season with eight goals and nine assists on the year.
• Ashley Hatch has just one cap, earned off the bench on Oct. 19, 2016, against Switzerland in Salt Lake City while she was a college senior at BYU. Her next call-up to the WNT camp for training camp prior to the SheBelieves Cup, but she did not make the final roster. Hatch, who was the 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year for the Carolina Courage when she scored seven goals, was traded to the Washington Spirit in the off-season. She scored her first goal for the Spirit over the past weekend, tallying the second in a 2-0 victory against the Orlando Pride.

MIDFIELDERS

• Carli Lloyd is a two-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year (2015, 2016) and finished second in the voting in 2017. She is the all-time active caps leader with 250, earning that milestone cap against England on March 7 when she went the entire 90 minutes, and 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. Lloyd is in sixth place on the all-time caps list and is the sixth player in U.S. history to earn 250 caps. She is five away from tying Abby Wambach for fifth.
• 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 is the highest active goal scorer in U.S. history with the players ahead of her – Mia Hamm, Wambach, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett and Michelle Akers – all retired.
• 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 115 games in just under six years. The 115 games after the age of 30 rank her seventh all-time in U.S. history that category. Christie Rampone is far and away the leader with 175.
• 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.
• Lindsey Horan enjoyed a fine 2017, helping the Portland Thorns win the NWSL title while scoring four goals with two assists. She played mostly holding midfielder during the year and scored the game-winning goal in the championship. For the WNT, she came off the bench for six of her first seven appearances of the year, but then finished strong, started four of the last six games, establishing herself in the lineup, while scoring a goal and getting four assists. She played 90 in the last three matches of 2017 and full 90s in the first two matches of 2018, as well as the first half of the March 4 match against France before giving way to McCaskill. She then started and played 74 minutes against England on March 7 before being replaced by Morgan Brian. Horan opened her 2018 account for the Portland Thorns last weekend in its 3-2 victory on the road over the Chicago Red Stars.
• Morgan Brian was hampered by injuries last year and played in just six games, starting two. She made her return to the field against Germany on March 1, coming on for Carli Lloyd in the 65th minute to see her first action for the National Team since September 15, 2017, when she came off the bench to play the final 16 minutes against New Zealand. On March 4, she got her first start since the France game at last year’s SheBelieves Cup and went the full 90 minutes as she continues to regain her form and fitness. She played in all three SheBelieves Cup matches, hitting the field for the final 15 minutes against England on March 7 to help seal the game and tournament. She is still just 25-years-old and has 72 caps, and has moved past Natasha Kai into 44th place on the all-time caps list.
• Allie Long scored her first three career goals (all on headers) in 2016. She scored her fourth and fifth goals, also off headers, vs. Russia on April 6, 2017. It was the second brace of her career. She finally got a WNT goal with her feet on Oct. 22 against Korea Republic, slotting home a pass from Horan, and now has 35 caps. She appeared in 14 games for the USA in 2017 and played at the end of the Germany game on March 1 before helping seal the England game with a 15-minute appearance on March 7.
• Twenty-two-year-old Andi Sullivan, who led Stanford to the NCAA title as a senior and won the Hermann Trophy as the top player in college soccer, is becoming a regular on U.S. rosters. After a year away from the U.S. team while rehabbing a knee injury, Sullivan returned to the roster for the Oct. 19 against Korea Republic and earned her fifth cap a year to the date after her first. She played the final 16 and 15 minutes against Canada on Nov. 9 and 12, respectively. She got the start on Jan. 21 against Denmark for her eighth cap and the start against France on March 4 to earn her ninth.
• Sullivan was a key player for the USA in both the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She was taken #1 overall in the 2018 NWSL Draft when she was selected by her home area Washington Spirit on January 18.
• Twenty-two-year-old Haley Hanson gets her first call-up to the WNT. She was the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NWSL Draft by the Houston Dash and has played all 90 minutes in the first two games of the NWSL season, both draws. Hanson has seen time with the U.S. Under-23 WNT at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. Hanson scored 19 goals with seven assists in 75 games for the University of Nebraska.

DEFENDERS

• Becky Sauerbrunn makes her return to the roster after missing January Camp and the SheBelieves Cup while recovering from a foot injury. With 135 caps, Sauerbrunn has moved into 21st on the all-time caps list. She is one of 29 female players to play 125 or more times for the USA.
• Sauerbrunn was one of only two players to start all 15 games so far in 2017 and when she came out at halftime on Sept. 19 vs. New Zealand it was the first time she left the field for club or country in 2017.
• Abby Dahlkemper, a former captain of the U-17 Women’s National Team, took advantage of a big opportunity when she played in both games in Europe in June of 2017, the first one off the bench in which she played the entire second half against Sweden, and then started and playing all 90 minutes against Norway. The Norway match marked her first start for the WNT and the first time she had played 90.
• She then played all 90 minutes at center back in each of the final nine games of the year, establishing herself on the U.S. backline. She ended up starting 10 of the 11 games she appeared in while playing 945 minutes, fifth best on the team. She started the first match of the year 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 and March 7 against England. Only Davidson has played more minutes than Dalhkemper this year. Dahlkemper had a stellar 2017 club season and was named the NWSL Defender of the Year.
• After gaining her change of national association on Sept. 14, Sofia Huerta was named to the 18-player roster for the Sept. 15 match against New Zealand and entered the game in the 51st minute to earn her first cap. She earned her second on Oct. 19, coming off the bench to play the final 27 minutes vs. Korea. She got her first start and played her first complete 90 minutes in a U.S. uniform on Oct. 22 against Korea in Cary, N.C.
• Huerta played in one match at the SheBelieves Cup, coming on at the end of the England match on March 7, playing well to help preserve the win.
• Huerta played for Mexico at the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and has five caps for the Mexico senior team, including one that came against the USA, making her the first female player in history to play for and against the U.S. Women’s National Team in a senior level international match. If she sees time in these games, she will be the first player to play for Mexico against the USA and for the USA against Mexico. She’s also the first player from the state of Idaho to earn a cap for the senior U.S. WNT.
• Emily Sonnett played 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 side featuring nine NWSL players. 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.
• Sonnett has 15 caps, and most recently played an excellent game at right back against England on March 7, going 90 minutes to help earn the shutout. Before she played on Jan. 21, 2018 vs. Denmark off the bench, her most recent cap had come on Oct. 19, 2016 vs. Switzerland. She played the final minutes vs. Germany on March 1, coming in for Megan Rapinoe.
• Tierna Davidson helped lead Stanford to the NCAA Championship this past season as a sophomore and gets her fifth career call-up after training with the team on two occasions in 2017. She started and played the entire 90 minutes to earn her first cap in the 5-1 victory against Denmark on Jan. 21. She also got the game-winning assist on Julie Ertz’ goal. She went the full 90 minutes in all three SheBelieves Cup matches in what were serious tests for the 19-year-old that she passed with honors. Davidson, who is the only player to play all 360 minutes so far this year, is the third teenager since 2013 to earn a first cap for the WNT. Pugh (17 in 2016) and Horan (19 in 2013) are the most recent teenagers to debut for the WNT.
• Davidson was named to the roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship and departed on Jan. 22 after the Denmark match to join her U-20 teammates in Trinidad & Tobago where she helped them qualify for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She scored in the championship match, but the USA fell in PKs to Mexico.
• Twenty-year-old Tegan McGrady gets her first senior team call-up after playing with the U.S. Youth National Teams at the U-17, U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels. She recently started all three matches against NWSL teams for the U-23s in the Thorns Spring Invitational in Portland, Ore. McGrady joins Stanford teammate Tierna Davidson on the roster. Both made major contributions on the back line as the Cardinal won the 2017 NCAA Championship, picking up five assists in 15 games she played.
• Hailie Mace played with the U.S. U-23 WNT during its most recent camp in Portland, Ore., where the squad played three NWSL teams, going 1-1-1. This will be her second call-up to the senior side after first training with the U.S. team prior to the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, but she was not selected for the final tournament roster. The rising senior at UCLA, played defender for her first two years at UCLA before being moved to forward last year and led the Bruins with 15 goals, almost double that of her next closest teammate.

GOALKEEPERS

• Against England on March 7, Alyssa Naeher earned her 27th cap and her 14th career shutout. Naeher earned 13 of her caps in 2017 and four so far in 2018. She is the seventh goalkeeper in U.S. history to earn 25 or more caps. She’s allowed 14 goals in her 27 caps, but six came over two games, a 3-0 loss to France at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup and vs. Brazil in the 4-3 win at the 2017 Tournament of Nations.
• Veteran Ashlyn Harris has 14 caps and Jane Campbell earned her first two last year.
• Harris returned to the roster for the NZL games last September after missing several months with a leg injury. She played the first half on Oct. 22 game vs. Korea to earn her 14th cap in her first action since April 9 against Russia.
• Campbell, who took over the starting spot for the Dash and played very well in her rookie year in the NWSL, earned her first cap against Russia on April 9, 2017, at BBVA Stadium in Houston. She earned her second on Oct. 22 when she played the second half against Korea in relief of Harris.

IN FOCUS: MEXICO

Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación
FIFA World Ranking: 25
Concacaf Ranking: 3
Women’s World Cup Appearances (3): 1999, 2011, 2015
Best Women’s World Cup finish: Group Stage
Record vs. USA: 1-32-1
Head Coach: Roberto Medina

Mexico Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Bianca Henninger (Houston Dash, USA), 12-Cecilia Santiago (Club América)

DEFENDERS (9): 2-Kenti Robles (Atlético Madrid, ESP), 3-Bianca Sierra (Thór / KA, ISL), 4-Vanessa Flores (West Virginia, USA), 5-Mónica Flores (Unattached), 13-Annia Mejía (Unattached), 14-Jocelyn Orejel (Colorado, USA), 16-Marcela Valera (Atlas FC), 22-Greta Espinoza (Levante, ESP), 23-Christina Murillo (Chicago Red Stars Reserves, USA)

MIDFIELDERS (5): 6-Karla Nieto (Pachuca), 7-Cristina Ferral (Olympique de Marseille, FRA), 10-Stephany Mayor (Thór / KA, ISL), 11-Mónica Ocampo (Pachuca), 17-María Sánchez (Santa Clara, USA)

FORWARDS (5): 8-Ariana Calderón (Thór / KA, ISL), 9-Anisa Guajardo (Sundsvalls DFF, SWE), 18-Kiana Palacios (Unattached), 19-Katie Johnson (Sky Blue FC, USA), 21-Renae Cuéllar (Unattached)

MEXICO NOTES:

• 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.
• Mexico is coming off a successful run at the Turkish Women’s Cup 2018 where it beat Latvia (5-0), Jordan (5-1) and Poland (1-0) in group play before falling 2-1 to the France “B” WNT in the final. Monica Ocampo scored Mexico’s goal eight minutes from time.
• Just four players on Mexico’s roster are playing in their domestic league, two for Pachuca in midfielder Karla Nieto and veteran midfielder Ocampo, who played in the WPS with the Atlanta Beat and in NWSL with Sky Blue FC.
• In a departure from Mexico teams in the past, Mexico has seven players playing in Europe. Two are in Spain, three are in Iceland, one in France in midfielder Cristina Ferral who is playing for Marseille, and one in Sweden in Anisa Guajardo of Sundsvalls.
• Kenti Robles has been playing in Spain since she was a teenager, first for Espanyol, then Barcelona and now Athletico Madrid.
• Before going to Iceland, Bianca Sierra played in the NWSL with the Washington Spirit and Boston Breakers.
• Mexico has quote a few U.S. connections with 13 players being Mexican-Americans and three currently playing college soccer in the USA.
• Sky Blue FC forward Katie Johnson, who hails from Monrovia, Calif., and helped USC win a NCAA title in 2016, is one of two current NWSL player on the Mexico roster. She scored four goals for the Seattle Reign last season.
• Goalkeeper Bianca Henninger, who before changing associations was the U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year in 2010 after an excellent performance as the starter for the USA in the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, is the back-up goalkeeper for the Houston Dash.
• Defender Christina Murillo, who played collegiately at Michigan, is playing for the Chicago Red Stars reserves.
• Ten players on the Mexico roster were a part of their 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team that finished last in a very difficult Group F that also featured France, England and Colombia. Mexico tied Colombia, 1-1, and put in an excellent performance against England before falling 2-1, but did not have enough left in the tank against a desperate France team and lost 5-0.
• Mexico’s new head coach Roberto Medina was a professional player who played with Pachuca, Tecos, Monterrey, Leon, Puebla, Atlante, Irapuato, Veracruz and the Pumas of the National University. He is the former head coach of the Mexico U-20 WNT, which he coached at the 2010 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, as Mexico advance to the quarterfinal before falling to South Korea.

USA VS. MEXICO

• 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 23 players on this U.S. roster played against Mexico during that match which saw the game knotted at 0-0 until the 80th minute despite the USA out-shooting Mexico 16-2 for the game.
• 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.
• 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.
• This will be the first game against Mexico in almost 20 years in which long-time Mexico head coach Leo Cuellar will not be on the opposing bench.

LAST TIME…

On the field for the USA vs. Mexico:
Feb. 13, 2016 – Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying – Group A

USA 1 Lloyd 80
MEX 0

Lineups: 
USA: Starters: 1-Hope Solo; 11-Ali Krieger (2-Mallory Pugh, 75), 8-Julie Johnston, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 7-Meghan Klingenberg; 14-Morgan Brian, 9-Lindsey Horan; 16-Crystal Dunn (12-Christen Press, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.), 17-Tobin Heath; 13-Alex Morgan (19-Jaelene Hinkle, 84)
Subs Not Used: 3-Samantha Mewis, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Emily Sonnett, 15-Stephanie McCaffrey, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 20-Alyssa Naeher 
Head coach: Jill Ellis

MEX: 1-Cecilia Santiago; 2-Arianna Romero, 3-Janelly Farias, 4-Alina Garciamendez, 15-Monica Flores; 7-Nayeli Rangel, 8-Teresa Noyola (18-Tanya Samarzich, 87), 17-Verónica Pérez (6-Karla Nieto, 71), 16-Desiree Monsivais; 11-Mónica Ocampo, 9-Maribel Domínguez (10-Katlyn Johnson, 69)
Subs Not Used: 5-Valeria Miranda, 12-Bianca Henninger, 13-Greta Espinoza, 14-Annia Mejia, 19-Paloma Zermeńa, 20-Esthefanny Barreras 
Head coach: Leonardo Cuellar

LAST TIME…

On the field for the USA:
March 7, 2018 – Orlando City Stadium; Orlando, Fla.
2018 SheBelieves Cup

USA 1 Own Goal (Karen Bardsley) 58
ENG 0

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 16-Emily Sonnett, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 17-Tierna Davidson, 19-Crystal Dunn; 20-Allie Long (14-Sofia Huerta, 74), 9-Lindsey Horan (6-Morgan Brian, 74), 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.); 11-Mallory Pugh (12-Lynn Williams, 90+2), 13-Alex Morgan, 15-Megan Rapinoe (21-Savannah McCaskill, 80)
Substitutes: 2-Casey Short, 3-Andi Sullivan, 5-Kelley O’Hara, 8-Julie Ertz, 18-Jane Campbell, 22-Taylor Smith, 23-Christen Press, 24-Ashlyn Harris
Head Coach: Jill Ellis

ENG: 1-Karen Bardsley; 2-Lucy Bronze, 15-Abbie McManus, 6-Millie Bright, 3-Demi Stokes (12-Hannah Blundell, 87); 22-Keira Walsh (8-Jill Scott 86), 16-Izzy Christiansen; 19-Mel Lawley (11-Toni Duggan, 52), 10-Fran Kirby (17-Rachel Daly, 75), 18-Ellen White; 9-Jodie Taylor (7-Nikita Parris, 52)
Substitutes: 4-Fara Williams, 13-Siobhan Chamberlain, 14-Alex Greenwood, 20-Georgia Stanwood, 23-Gabby George
Head Coach: Phil Neville