Hope Solo has been reinstated to the USWNT. (USA Today Images)
Hope Solo has officially been reinstated to the United States women’s national team following a 30-day suspension.
Solo is one of the 25 U.S. players headed to Portugal for next month’s Algarve Cup. U.S. Soccer said in a statement that Solo’s reinstatement came “after a formal review.” The U.S. goalkeeper was serving a 30-day suspension following a training-camp incident in which she was the passenger in a U.S. Soccer vehicle driven by her husband, Jerramy Stevens, who was arrested for driving under the influence.
Midfielder Megan Rapinoe (knee) and defender Christie Rampone (back) will rejoin the team for the March 4-11 tournament after missing the Feb. 8 loss to France and Feb. 13 win over England.
The U.S. will play Norway, Switzerland and Iceland at the Algarve Cup, plus a placement match to finish the tournament. The U.S. women are nine-time champions of the tournament.
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Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart is absent from the Algarve Cup roster; Solo is joined by Alyssa Naeher and Ashlyn Harris . Barnhart was on the roster earlier in February for the team’s trip to France and England. Also dropped from that trip’s roster is midfielder Tori Huster.
Last month, U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said it was possible that Solo could miss the 2015 Women’s World Cup due to suspension.
“Sure,” Gulati said when asked about the subject. “As I’ve said and Jill has said, we’ve asked her to do a number of things. She’s going to have to do those things and make progress in those areas. Look, that’s possible. We hope that’s not the case. We hope she’s making progress and joins the team. That’s certainly the goal – hers and ours.”
Solo said in a statement at the time of her suspension that she was sorry for her actions. The incident happened one week after two charges of domestic-violence assault against her were dismissed.
“I accept and respect the Federation’s decision, and more importantly, I apologize for disappointing my teammates, coaches and the Federation who have always supported me,” Solo said in a statement. “I think it’s best for me to take a break, decompress from the stress of the last several months, and come back mentally and physically ready to positively contribute to the team.”
USWNT ROSTER FOR ALGARVE CUP
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (10): Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Whitney Engen (Western NY Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Houston Dash), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Rachel Van Hollebeke (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (Chicago Red Stars), Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)
FORWARDS (5): Sydney Leroux (Seattle Reign FC), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Abby Wambach (Western NY Flash)
