USWNT roster named for training camp ahead of SheBelieves Cup

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named 25 players to a training camp roster prior to the 2017 SheBelieves Cup that will feature the USA, Germany, France and England, playing in three doubleheader events at three different venues over a seven-day period. The match days will be March 1, 4 and 7.

Ellis named three goalkeepers, seven defenders, nine midfielders and six forwards to the pre-camp.

“January gave us a chance to see some new faces in with the veterans, and get some quality time on the training field,” Ellis said. “A player’s performance in that camp and positional depth guided our selection for this pre-camp, and from here we will select our SheBelieves Cup roster.”

The USA is particularly deep in central attacking players as Ellis can deploy Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, Lynn Williams, Christen Press, Mallory Pugh, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle or Amy Rodriguez. In addition, Dunn, Pugh, and Lavelle add depth and pace to the flank position, joining Tobin Heath, Meghan Klingenberg, Casey Short and Kelley O’Hara competing in the wide areas.

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“There will be no better test than opening against Germany, so we will need to have a laser focus as soon as we land in Orlando,” Ellis said. “As our players have not yet returned to their clubs, they have been training in their independent environments, so playing as much 11v11 situations will again be critical during these few days,” Ellis added.

Twenty-three of the players that will travel to Orlando were part of the USA’s January Camp in Los Angeles with Klingenberg and Pugh having returned from injuries.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (7): Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Sarah Killion (Sky Blue FC), Rose Lavelle (Boston Breakers), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage), Brianna Pinto (CASL)

FORWARDS (6): Crystal Dunn (Chelsea Ladies FC), Alex Morgan (Olympique Lyonnais), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Mallory Pugh (UCLA), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Lynn Williams (NC Courage)

The U.S. team will convene in Orlando, Florida on Feb. 20 for a week of training before heading to Philadelphia to kick off the 2nd annual edition of the tournament on Wednesday, March 1 at Talen Energy Stadium. England will open against France in Chester, Pa. (4 p.m. ET) followed by the USA against Germany (7 p.m. ET on FS1).

All the teams will then travel to New Jersey where France will face Germany on Saturday, March 4(2:15 p.m. ET) followed by the USA taking on England (5 p.m. ET on FOX) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. The tournament will finish on Tuesday, March 7, at the historic RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. as Germany takes on England (4 p.m. ET) and the USA faces France (7 p.m. ETon FS1).

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Additional Notes:

• Ellis will finalize the 23-player roster for the SheBelieves Cup near the end of camp.
• U.S. captain Carli Lloyd is the most capped player on the roster with 232 games played and is four goals away from becoming the sixth player in U.S. history to score 100 international goals.
• 2016 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year Tobin Heath comes into the camp with 128 caps and 18 goals.
• Three other players have more than 100 caps in Amy Rodriguez (129), Alex Morgan (120) and Becky Sauerbrunn (119).
• Nine players on the roster have 20 caps or less.
• The camp marks the return of Meghan Klingenberg and Mallory Pugh, both 2016 Olympians, who have both recovered from injuries. Pugh has not played for the senior National Team since the Olympics but spent the fall with the U-20 WNT and captained the USA at the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Klingenberg last played for the USA on Sept. 18, 2016, against the Netherlands.
• There are four uncapped players on the roster in goalkeeper Jane Campbell and midfielders Sarah Killion, Rose Lavelle and Brianna Pinto. Lavelle was the #1 pick in the 2016 NWSL Draft by the Boston Breakers while Campbell was taken 15th overall in the second round by the Houston Dash. Killion was part of the squad that won the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, along with Julie Johnston, Samantha Mewis and Crystal Dunn.
• The sixteen-year-old Pinto was held over from the U.S. Under-23 WNT training camp in January and trained for several days with the senior team, becoming one of the youngest call-ups of the modern era of the U.S. Women’s National Team. She turns 17 on May 24. Pinto was a starter in the center midfield for the USA at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan. She finished her U-17 international career with 20 caps and one goal.