Five Gotham FC players called up for June USWNT friendlies
Davidson, Sonnett, Lavelle, Nighswonger, and Dunn make the cut.
Welcome to the Emma Hayes era.
The newly-minted U.S. women’s national team head coach will helm her first games on June 1st and June 4th for two friendlies against South Korea, naming a 23-player roster.
Seven NWSL clubs contributed players to this roster, led by NJ/NY Gotham FC, which has five players.
From NJ/NY Gotham FC, mainstays such as Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett, and Rose Lavelle appear along with last year’s National Women’s Soccer League Rookie of the Year Jenna Nighswonger. Crystal Dunn also appears… as a forward (!).
Missing from the list is Lynn Williams. The veteran striker who just surpassed the NWSL all-time scoring record is a glaring omission from this list which Hayes will use to whittle down to her final 18 for the upcoming Olympics in France this summer.
“I’m really looking forward to getting started,” said Hayes. “The preparations have been well underway and I can’t wait to get into camp. We know it’s a short turnaround and we have a lot of work to do, but I’m fully focused on making sure that the performances are at the levels that are required to compete. I want to build on the work that (former interim head coach and now assistant coach) Twila (Kilgore) has been implementing over the last six months. I expect complete commitment from everyone to absorb very quickly the things that I value as the most important so that we can compete this summer. I know they are a highly coachable group and I’m looking forward to challenging them. It’s time to go to work. I can’t wait to meet the fans and it’s really time to get behind the team as we get closer to putting a roster together for the Olympics.”
Full Roster is below:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage)
DEFENDERS (7): Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Sam Staab (Chicago Red Stars)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Lily Yohannes (Ajax, NED)
FORWARDS (7): Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars)
In addition, Hayes has named three training players who will not be on the game rosters but will train with the team during the camp. Those are midfielder Olivia Moultrie, midfielder Croix Bethune and defender Kate Wiesner.
For more information on these upcoming games, visit U.S. Soccer’s website here.
Hope we get some clarity on Lynn