Christen Press and the U.S. women will take on China on April 6 just outside Denver. (Photo copyright Meg Linehan for The Equalizer)
The U.S. women’s national team will play China on April 6 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo., one week before the start of the 2014 NWSL season.
China is the U.S.’ most common opponent other than Canada; the two countries have faced off 50 times, with the Americans holding a 30-8-12 all-time advantage.
“China seems to be getting to the stage where they’ve got some increased stability in coaching staff and their player pool, and the results of that stability and planning are beginning to show on the field,” U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni said. “As always, the match will be a chance for our players to make claims for spots on the World Cup qualifying roster later in the fall, but it will also be just before the players head into the NWSL as friendly combatants, so we’ll want to put in quality performances for our home fans.”
USWNT U-23 roster features nine NWSL players
The U.S. U-23 women will open their year in La Manga, Spain — like every year — with three matches, facing the U-23 sides of Japan (March 1), Sweden (March 3) and Norway (March 5).
U.S. head coach Steven Swanson will bring a 20-player roster to Spain featuring nine NWSL players, six that are heading into their rookie season and three that played in the league last year. Portland’s Meleana Shim, Chicago’s Jen Hoy and FC Kansas City’s 2014 NWSL Rookie of the Year Erika Tymrak are the three players who played in the league in 2013. Here’s the full U-23 roster:
U.S. U-23 WNT Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Aubrey Bledsoe (Wake Forest; Cincinnati, Ohio), Abby Smith (Texas; Dallas, Texas)
DEFENDERS (6): Abby Dahlkemper (UCLA; Menlo Park, Calif.), Amanda Frisbie (Seattle Reign FC; McKinney, Texas), Arin Gilliland (Kentucky; Lexington, Ky.), Jaelene Hinkle (Texas Tech; Castle Rock, Colo.), Kassey Kallman (FC Kansas City; Woodbury, Minn.), Emily Sonnett (Virginia; Marietta, Ga.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Danielle Colaprico (Virginia; Freehold, N.J.), Caprice Dydasco (UCLA; Honolulu, Hawaii), Jenna Richmond (FC Kansas City; Centreville, Va.), Meleana Shim (Portland Thorns FC; Honolulu, Hawaii), Frances Silva (FC Kansas City; Overland Park, Kan.); Erika Tymrak (FC Kansas City; Bradenton, Fla.)
FORWARDS (6): Shea Groom (Texas A&M; Liberty, Mo.), Maya Hayes (Sky Blue FC; West Orange, N.J.), Jennifer Hoy (Chicago Red Stars; Sellersville, Pa.), Kealia Ohai (Houston Dash; Draper, Utah), Katie Stengel (Wake Forest; West Melbourne, Fla.), Chioma Ubogagu (Stanford; Coppell, Texas)
