Carli Lloyd returns to the USWNT for the June 2 game vs. Canada.
United States women’s national team coach Tom Sermanni has named his 21-player roster for the June 2 match vs. Canada in Toronto and it includes very few surprises.
The biggest omission is midfielder Megan Rapinoe, but she faces a busy couple of weeks ahead with her French club team, Olympique Lyon. That includes Thursday’s UEFA Women’s Champions League final vs. VfL Wolfsburg.
“Megan has two big matches coming up and we thought it best for all involved for her to stay in France to properly recover from the first and prepare for the second without that international travel mixed in between,” Sermanni said. “We wish Megan the best in her pursuit of what would be a tremendous achievement in winning the treble with Lyon, and we’ll see her on the East Coast for the South Korea matches in mid-June.”
Hope Solo is scheduled to train with the team in Toronto but will not be on the roster. She is still targeting the mid-June games vs. South Korea (on June 15 in Foxborough, Mass., and June 20 in Harrison, N.J.) for her return from wrist surgery.
“Hope’s rehabilitation has been progressing well, but we want to make sure she doesn’t jump back into competition prematurely,” Sermanni said. “The week in Canada seemed like the perfect time to give our medical staff and our goalkeeper coach, Paul Rogers, the chance to gauge her progress. Then we can take the appropriate steps to make a plan for her return to action.”
Carli Lloyd returns to national team duty after breaking a bone in her shoulder at the Algarve Cup. She just returned to the field with the Western New York Flash on May 11 in a 2-1 win over F.C. Kansas City.
The most interesting addition is Bayern Munich midfielder Amber Brooks.
As Sermanni told The Equalizer last week, it’s too early to call-in players based solely off of a few games of NWSL play. Expect that to happen toward the end of the season.
“It’s very hard to make (judgments) unless somebody comes out and really does well. But I’ve seen a few players that have kind of caught my eye that I’ve maybe not known about or that haven’t been in the national team structure,” Sermanni said. “I think I can make better judgments on players in the second half of the season because that’s really the test. The test is about longevity and about consistency.”
Full USA roster for June 2 game vs. Canada:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (FC Kansas City), Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Jill Loyden (Sky Blue FC)
DEFENDERS (8): Rachel Buehler (Portland Thorns FC), Crystal Dunn (North Carolina), Whitney Engen (Liverpool), Julie Johnston (Santa Clara), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Amber Brooks (Bayern Munich), Lauren Cheney (FC Kansas City), Tobin Heath (Paris Saint-Germain), Carli Lloyd (Western NY Flash), Kristie Mewis (FC Kansas City), Heather O’Reilly (Boston Breakers)
FORWARDS (4): Sydney Leroux (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press (Tyresö), Abby Wambach (Western NY Flash)
