Press, O’Hara and Sauerbrunn Named to USWNT Roster for CONCACAF Women’s Championship

U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named 20 players to the roster for the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship set to take place Oct. 4-17.

2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship Roster by Position (Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (2):Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 17/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 33/0)
DEFENDERS (7):Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 23/0),  Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 69/23),  Hailie Mace (UCLA; 2/0),  Kelley O’Hara(Utah Royals FC; 108/2), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 143/0),  Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 25/0), Emily Sonnett(Portland Thorns FC; 21/0)
MIDFIELDERS (5):Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 79/6),  Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 66/16), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 56/6),  Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 13/3), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 38/7)
FORWARDS (6):Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 138/21),  Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 259/102),  Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 147/90), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 104/45),  Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 37/12), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 140/38)

USA’s 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship Schedule

How to Watch
FOX Sports, the home of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, will show 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship across the FOX Sports family of networks. For viewers on the go, matches can be streamed live via FOXSports.com and the FOX Sports app.

The More You Know…

The USA is 11-0-2 in 2018, is on a 21-game unbeaten run, and is 27-1-0 all-time in World Cup Qualifying from 1991-2014, including 13-0-0 on home soil.

The U.S. forwards on the roster are a formidable group, having combined for 28 of the USA’s 37 goals this year. All six of the forwards have played in a world championship, and five of them have played in multiple world championships. Lloyd leads the USA with 14 games played in World Cup qualifying and is the leading scorer with seven goals. Megan Rapinoe has 10 World Cup qualifying caps with three goals while Alex Morgan has seven with two goals.

Ten of the players named to this roster were on the squad that competed in the 2014 Concacaf Women’s Championship, while 11 players on this roster were members of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship team. Julie Ertz was on the roster for the qualifying tournament in 2014 but did not play.

The players participating in their first World Cup qualifying tournament are Alyssa Naeher, Abby Dahlkemper, Crystal Dunn, Hailie Mace, Casey Short, Emily Sonnett, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle, Samantha Mewis and Mallory Pugh.

Six players on the roster have scored in World Cup qualifying: Lloyd (7), Rapinoe (3), Heath (2), Morgan (2), Press (2) and Brian (1). With one more goal, Lloyd would tie Brandi Chastain, April Heinrichs and Tiffeny Milbrett for sixth all-time in World Cup qualifying.

The United States won the first four Concacaf Women’s World Cup qualifying tournaments in which it competed (1991, 1994, 2002 and 2006) but fell to Mexico in the semifinal of the 2010 competition, which forced the USA to win the third-place match and then defeat Italy in a two-game playoff to earn a berth to Germany. That loss to Mexico was, and still is, the USA’s lone setback in this tournament.

The USA won this competition in 2014, defeating Mexico 3-0 in the semifinal to qualify for the 2015 Women’s World Cup, and then took down Costa Rica 6-0 in the title game.

The USA has played Mexico in all six Concacaf World Cup qualifying tournaments in which it has participated. As host, the USA did not participate in the qualifying tournament for the 1999 Women’s World Cup.

Midfielder McCall Zerboni (elbow) and defender Tierna Davidson (ankle) were not available for selection due to injuries.

North Carolina Courage defender Merritt Mathias and Portland Thorns goalkeeper Adrianna Franch will train with the squad to assist in preparation for the matches.