Jill Ellis has named a 22-woman roster for the two USWNT friendly matches against Mexico in April. Becky Sauerbrunn has been called in for the first time in 2018 after missing the first two windows with a stress reaction in her foot.
Among those not called were Christen Press, who recently elected not to report to the Houston Dash and is in club limbo, and Taylor Smith, who was pulled early in the middle leg of the SheBelieves Cup and not used in the final match.
“At this point Christen is in the process of securing a club team. We’ve had several conversations and she understands our expectations are that a consistent training and match environment for a professional is an important factor for selection into Women’s national team rosters,” Ellis said. “Since the SheBelieves Cup, our professional players returned to pre-season training with their clubs and have had multiple scrimmages in preparation for the opening weekend. I am certain that once Christen transitions to a new team, she will embrace being back on the pitch and will help her team be successful.”
Press was used only sparingly during the SheBelieves Cup.
The matches against Mexico are April 5 in Jacksonville and April 8 in Houston. The USWNT has not faced Mexico since the qualifying tournament for the 2016 Olympics and could face them again in World Cup qualifying this October.
“With two games against a potential Concacaf qualifying opponent, we really want to make the most of these opportunities,”Ellis said. “They have a new coach and roster yet to be named, but we know we’ll be facing a skillful group of players motivated to push for selection to their World Cup qualifying roster.”
Ashley Hatch also returns, while Julie Ertz is absent as she works her way back to full health.
The full USWNT roster (with caps/goals) is below. Eighteen women will dress for each match day.
Goalkeepers (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 2/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 14/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 27/0)
Defenders (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 17/0), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 4/0), Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 4/0); Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 107/2), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 21/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC: 135/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 15/0)
Midfielders (5): Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 72/6), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 47/4), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 250/98), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 35/6), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 9/0)
Forwards (7): Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 60/23), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 1/0); Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC; 4/0), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 138/81), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 33/9), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 133/35), Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 19/4)
