On Thursday, October 27 the U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis named her 24-player roster for the upcoming friendlies in California next month. The USWNT will face Romania in in a two-friendly series to finish off 2016. The first match will take place in San Jose at Avaya Stadium on November 10 and will be broadcasted on ESPN2 at 7 PM Pacific Time. The next match will be in Carson at the StubHub Center three days later on November 13, with a 6:30 PM Pacific Time kick off on Fox Sports 1. Only 18 players suit up for each match.
New faces yet again, old faces return
In the last series of friendlies, Ellis named 11 uncapped players. Out of these players, six of them earned their first caps and five of them have returned to the roster: Lynn Williams, Kealia Ohai, Casey Short, Abby Dahlkemper and Stanford junior Andi Sullivan. The only player who received her first cap , but will not return is BYU forward Ashley Hatch. However, two other uncapped players have been brought in this time around: Orlando Pride midfielder Kristen Edmonds and Portland Thorns goalkeeper Adrianna Franch. This is Edmonds’ first national team call up after leading the new expansion team with six goals on the season. Franch has been brought in before by Ellis, but hasn’t seen the field yet for the red, white and blue.
Defender Jaelene Hinkle of the Western New York Flash returns to the national team scene after not being named to the 2016 Olympic roster; Hinkle has eight caps so far. In addition to Hinkle, five veterans who were left off the October roster will be back in camp this time around: forward Alex Morgan, midfielder Megan Rapinoe, and defenders Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg and Ali Krieger.
Mixing it up
In the last matches of 2016, Ellis hopes to continue to get a look at new players. “Our last training camp and games with Switzerland were extremely positive in regards to giving new players a chance to perform, continuing the process of deepening the player pool and fostering competition within the squad," she told U.S. Soccer in the official press release. “With this dynamic mix of players, we are looking forward to the environment and to finishing off the year on a winning note.”
Full Roster
GOALKEEPERS: Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS: Abby Dahlkemper (Western New York Flash), Jaelene Hinkle (Western New York Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars)
MIDFIELDERS: Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Kristen Edmonds (Orlando Pride), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign), Andi Sullivan (Stanford)
FORWARDS: Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Kealia Ohai (Houston Dash), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (Western New York Flash)