Soccer

U.S. Soccer names roster for Women’s World Cup title defense

Star forward Alex Morgan and 12 players total return from the 2015 team in an effort to win back-to-back World Cups.

Jill Ellis US Women's Soccer World Cup
Coach Jill Ellis announced her 23-woman roster for the 2019 World Cup Thursday. The Associated Press

By Steven Goff, The Washington Post

3 minutes to read

Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd on Thursday were among 23 players named to a U.S. World Cup squad that is aiming to win consecutive global titles for the first time in women’s soccer history.

The roster, unveiled by Coach Jill Ellis, features 12 players from the 2015 team, including Julie Ertz, Tobin Heath and Becky Sauerbrunn.

The other 11 include two members from the Washington Spirit, a National Women’s Soccer League team: forward Mallory Pugh and midfielder Rose Lavelle.

Ellis made two surprise selections: defender Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Virginia) and midfielder Morgan Brian (University of Virginia). Both started in 2015 but had faded from the national team scene in recent years.

There were no glaring omissions, but those missing the cut included Washington Spirit midfielder Andi Sullivan (Lorton, Virginia), as well as midfielder McCall Zerboni and defender Casey Short.

Ellis, who guided the 2015 squad, has until May 24 to make changes. After that, switches can be made only in the case of documented injuries and up to 24 hours before the team’s first match.

The top-ranked Americans are slight favorites heading into the Women’s World Cup, which will take place in France June 7-July 7. The U.S. first-round opponents are Thailand (June 11), Chile (June 16) and Sweden (June 20).

Ellis will open training camp this weekend in California. Her team will play tuneups against South Africa on May 12 in Santa Clara, California; New Zealand on May 16 in St. Louis; and Mexico on May 26 in Harrison, New Jersey.

“Selecting a World Cup team is a long process, and I want to thank the players – the ones that made the final team and the ones that didn’t – for all of their hard work over the past 2 1/2 years,” Ellis said in a written statement distributed by the U.S. Soccer Federation.

“They all pushed each other in every training session and every game and challenged the coaches to make some tough decisions. These 23 players have been through adversity and success, and it’s a group that has the talent, confidence, experience and desire to help us win the World Cup.”

U.S. WORLD CUP ROSTER

Goalkeepers

Adrianna Franch

Age: 28. Hometown: Salina, Kan. College: Oklahoma State. Club: Portland Thorns.

U.S. matches: 1.

Ashlyn Harris

Age: 33. Hometown: Satellite Beach, Fla. College: North Carolina. Club: Orlando Pride.

U.S. matches: 21.

Alyssa Naeher

Age: 31. Hometown: Stratford, Conn. College: Penn State. Club: Chicago Red Stars.

U.S. matches: 43.

Defenders

Abby Dahlkemper

Age: 25. Hometown: Menlo Park, Calif. College: UCLA. Club: North Carolina Courage.

U.S. matches/goals: 37/0.

Tierna Davidson

Age: 20. Hometown: Menlo Park, Calif. College: Stanford. Club: Chicago Red Stars.

U.S. matches/goals: 19/1.

Crystal Dunn

Age: 26. Hometown: Rockville Centre, N.Y. College: North Carolina. Club: North Carolina Courage.

U.S. matches/goals: 83/24.

Ali Krieger

Age: 34. Hometown: Dumfries, Va. College: Penn State. Club: Orlando Pride.

U.S. matches/goals: 99/1.

Kelley O’Hara

Age: 30. Hometown: Fayetteville, Ga. College: Stanford. Club: Utah Royals.

U.S. matches/goals: 115/2.

Becky Sauerbrunn

Age: 33. Hometown: St. Louis. College: Virginia. Club: Utah Royals.

U.S. matches/goals: 155/0.

Emily Sonnett

Age: 25. Hometown: Marietta, Ga. College: Virginia. Club: Portland Thorns.

U.S. matches/goals: 31/0.

Midfielders

Morgan Brian

Age: 26. Hometown: St. Simons, Ga. College: Virginia. Club: Chicago Red Stars.

U.S. matches/goals: 82/6.

Julie Ertz

Age: 27. Hometown: Mesa, Ariz. College: Santa Clara. Club: Chicago Red Stars.

U.S. matches/goals: 79/18.

Lindsey Horan

Age: 24. Hometown: Golden, Colo. College: none. Club: Portland Thorns.

U.S. matches/goals: 66/8.

Rose Lavelle

Age: 23. Hometown: Cincinnati. College: Wisconsin. Club: Washington Spirit.

U.S. matches/goals: 24/6.

Allie Long

Age: 31. Hometown: Northport, N.Y. College: North Carolina. Club: Reign FC.

U.S. matches/goals: 42/6.

Samantha Mewis

Age: 26. Hometown: Hanson, Mass. College: UCLA. Club: North Carolina Courage.

U.S. matches/goals: 47/9.

Forwards

Tobin Heath

Age: 30. Hometown: Basking Ridge, N.J. College: North Carolina. Club: Portland Thorns.

U.S. matches/goals: 147/28.

Carli Lloyd

Age: 36. Hometown: Delran, N.J. College: Rutgers. Club: Sky Blue FC.

U.S. matches/goals: 271/107.

Jessica McDonald

Age: 30. Hometown: Glendale, Ariz. College: North Carolina. Club: North Carolina Courage.

U.S. matches/goals: 7/2.

Alex Morgan

Age: 29. Hometown: Diamond Bar, Calif. College: California. Club: Orlando Pride.

U.S. matches/goals: 160/101.

Christen Press

Age: 30. Hometown: Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. College: Stanford. Club: Utah Royals.

U.S. matches/goals: 113/47.

Mallory Pugh

Age: 21. Hometown: Highlands Ranch, Colo. College: none. Club: Washington Spirit.

U.S. matches/goals: 50/15.

Megan Rapinoe

Age: 33. Hometown: Redding, Calif. College: Portland. Club: Reign FC.

U.S. matches/goals: 150/44.