CHICAGO – Portland Thorns FC players Lindsey Horan, Becky Sauerbrunn and Sophia Smith were named by U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski to an 11-day training camp, the USA’s first event in seven months. The camp will run from Oct. 18-28 in Commerce City, Colorado.
The U.S. roster features all domestic-based players, 23 who play in the NWSL and four current collegiate players.
“We’re looking forward to getting this group together in Colorado and we really like the mix of players as far as age, experience level and positions,” said Andonovski. “We are very aware that the players also have had different levels of activity over the past few months, so we’ll definitely take that into account as we run this camp. As we finally get back on the field, I know our players and staff are really looking forward to training together again.”
USWNT October Training Camp Roster (Club/College; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Aubrey Bledsoe (Washington Spirit; 0), Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 3), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 25), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 63)
DEFENDERS (10): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 61/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 26/1), Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 104/24), Naomi Girma (Stanford; 0/0), Sarah Gorden (Chicago Red Stars; 0/0) Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 107/1), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 131/2), Margaret Purce (Sky Blue FC; 1/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 177/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 32/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shea Groom (Houston Dash; 0/0), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 86/19), Morgan Gautrat (Chicago Red Stars; 87/8), Jaelin Howell (Florida State; 0/0), Catarina Macario (Stanford; 0/0), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash; 15/1), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 0/0)
FORWARDS (6): Bethany Balcer (OL Reign; 0/0), Mia Fishel (UCLA; 0/0), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 2/0), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Kealia Watt (Chicago Red Stars; 3/1), Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 28/9)
With the USA not having an official match during this FIFA competition window, FIFA has exempted European clubs from having to release their players.
Several 2019 Women’s World Cup veterans were not available as they are recovering from injuries in forwards Carli Lloyd and Mallory Pugh and goalkeeper Adrianna Franch. Midfielder Julie Ertz will not attend camp due to a family commitment and forward Megan Rapinoe opted out to due injury concerns.
Additional Notes:
- Defender Becky Sauerbrunn is the most experienced player on the roster with 177 caps. The only other players on the roster with over 100 caps are defenders Kelley O’Hara (131), Ali Krieger (107) and Crystal Dunn (104).
- Lindsey Horan is the USA’s leading scorer so far this year with seven goals and three assists.
- The 10 uncapped players on the roster are OL Reign forward Bethany Balcer (23 years old), Washington Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe (28), UCLA forward Mia Fishel (19), Stanford defender Naomi Girma (20), Chicago Red Stars defender Sarah Gorden (28), Houston Dash midfielder Shea Groom (27), Florida State midfielder Jaelin Howell (20), Stanford attacker Catarina Macario (21), Washington Spirit midfielder Ashley Sanchez (21) and Portland Thorns forward Sophia Smith (20).
- Smith, the top pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft by Portland Thorns FC, made her long-awaited NWSL debut on Sept. 20 during the Fall Series and scored her first goal just minutes after coming into the game against Utah Royals FC.
- Three players on the roster – Smith, Fishel and Girma – are still age-eligible for the U-20 USWNT and all helped the USA qualify for the next FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which has been moved to early 2021, by winning the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship last February/March.
When not at training, for the entirety of the camp the U.S. team and staff will operate inside a controlled environment at a Denver-area hotel. Everyone entering the controlled environment will undergo multiple COVID-19 tests before traveling and then will be tested upon arrival and every two days during camp. There will be no full team training until the results of all arrival tests are confirmed.
The training camp will be conducted under strict protocols -- available here -- which were established by the U.S. Soccer Medical team, with contributions from the Sports Science, Communications, Administrative and Events staffs, and led by U.S. Soccer Chief Medical Officer Dr. George Chiampas, who was also part of the NWSL Medical Task Force that established the protocols for the NWSL Challenge Cup and NWSL Fall Series.
