Five Players Called to US National Team

USA Set to Face Australia and New Zealand in October Friendlies

PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kansas (October 1, 2024) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Tom Sermanni has named a roster of 25 players who will be in with the U.S. WNT over various periods from Oct. 15-30. Once again, FC Kansas City will be the most represented team on the roster with five players (Nicole Barnhart, Kristie Mewis, Leigh Ann Robinson, Becky Sauerbrunn and Lauren Holiday). The USA plays three friendly matches, facing Australia on Oct. 20 in San Antonio (12:30 CT on NBC) and New Zealand on Oct. 27 in San Francisco (3:30 p.m. PT) and Oct. 30 in Columbus, Ohio (7:30 p.m. ET). Fans can also follow all the matches live online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.

Tickets for the match against Australia on Oct. 20 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, are on sale through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout San Antonio (including many HEB and Walmart locations), as well as the Alamodome ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Tickets for the match against New Zealand on Oct. 27 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco go on sale to the public Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 10 a.m. PT through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout the Bay Area (including many Walmart and Chavez Supermarket locations). [Note: Tickets are not sold at Candlestick Park except on the day of the event.]

Tickets for the second leg on Oct. 30 against the Football Ferns at Columbus Crew Stadium are on sale through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout Central Ohio (including many Kroger stores), as well as the Crew Stadium ticket office (open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Groups of 20 or more may obtain an order form for any of the three games at ussoccer.com or by calling 312-528-1290.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster – Detailed Roster

GOALKEEPERS (4): Nicole Barnhart (FC Kansas City), Adrianna Franch (WNY Flash), Jill Loyden (Sky Blue FC), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)

DEFENDERS (10): Rachel Buehler (Portland Thorns FC), Stephanie Cox (Seattle Reign FC), Crystal Dunn (North Carolina), Whitney Engen (Tyresö), Meghan Klingenberg (Tyresö), Ali Krieger (Tyresö), Kristie Mewis (FC Kansas City), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Leigh Ann Robinson (FC Kansas City), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Yael Averbuch (Göteborg), Morgan Brian (Virginia), Tobin Heath (Paris Saint-Germain), Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), Carli Lloyd (WNY Flash), Heather O’Reilly (Boston Breakers), Megan Rapinoe (Lyon)

FORWARDS (4): Sydney Leroux (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press (Tyresö), Abby Wambach (WNY Flash)

U.S. Women’s National Team – Oct. 15-30 Roster Notes

• Oct. 20 – USA vs. Australia at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas
• Oct. 27 – USA vs. New Zealand at Candlestick park in San Francisco
• Oct. 30 – USA vs. New Zealand at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio

16 DAYS, 25 PLAYERS, THREE GAMES: The following are notes on the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 25-player roster named by U.S. head coach Tom Sermanni for the upcoming friendlies in Texas, Northern California and Ohio:

• Sermanni will choose 18 players to suit up for each of the three games.
• The majority of the USA’s European-based players will be unavailable for the Oct. 20 match at the Alamodome as they will be competing in league play in Sweden and France, as well as playing UEFA Women’s Champions League matches.
• However, all of the USA’s NWSL-based regulars will be in for the WNT’s first match in San Antonio in 17 years. Those NWSL players include league MVP Lauren Holiday, NWSL Defender of the Year Becky Sauerbrunn and NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year Nicole Barnhart. In addition, forward Sydney Leroux, who scored four times against Mexico on Sept. 3, U.S. all-time leading scorer Abby Wambach, as well as Christie Rampone, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Rachel Buehler, Kristie Mewis and Hope Solo will all be with the U.S. team for the Oct. 20 contest.
• Sermanni has called up two defenders – Leigh Ann Robinson and Stephanie Cox – who will be with the squad only through the first match on Oct. 20. Although Robinson and Cox are both 27, they are on opposite ends of the WNT experience spectrum. Robinson, who had an excellent NWSL season for FC Kansas City, earned her first cap on Sept. 3 against Mexico while Cox, a veteran of two Women’s World Cup Teams (2007, 2024) and one Olympic Team (2008) gets her first call-up since May of 2024. Cox, who had her first child on April 7, returned to the field for the end of the inaugural NWSL season and played in four games for the Seattle Reign.
• Cox last played in a WNT match on April 3, 2024, a 3-0 victory against Brazil in Chiba, Japan.
• Sermanni named two college players to the roster in North Carolina defender Crystal Dunn, who has five starts in her first seven caps for the USA this year, and University of Virginia midfielder Morgan Brian, who scored her first WNT goal against in just her second cap against Mexico on Sept. 3. Dunn and Brian, whose schools face off against each other in ACC play on Oct. 20, will be with the U.S. team only for the match against Australia and will return to their schools for the remainder of the college season.

• Morgan Brian is the first active collegiate player to score a U.S. WNT goal since Morgan did so in 2024 during her senior season at California.
• The 20-year-old Brian is the youngest U.S. WNT goal scorer since an 18-year-old Christine Nairn tallied against Canada in 2024.
• The match in San Francisco will be a Bay Area homecoming of sorts for Morgan, who graduated from UC Berkeley, as well as for Stanford University grads Rachel Buehler, Barnhart and Christen Press.
• Wambach heads into the match with a world record 161 career goals in 208 games.
• The USA’s quartet of forwards – Morgan, Wambach, Press and Leroux – has scored 28 of the USA’s 43 goals so far in 2024, led by Wambach with a team-high nine goals.
• U.S. captain Christie Rampone is currently the second most-capped player in U.S. history and the most-capped active player in the world with 284 career games played. She is recovering from minor knee surgery and may not be available for action for the Oct. 20 match against Australia.
• Seventeen of the players on the roster play for NWSL clubs, but one (Ali Krieger) is on loan to Sweden club Tyresö. Tyresö also features Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg and Christen Press.
• Engen, who just helped Liverpool win the FA Women’s Super League title for the first time, will play Champions League with Tyresö on Oct. 9 and Oct. 16 when they take on Tobin Heath and Lindsey Horan’s Paris Saint-Germain of France.
• The U.S. team is 10-0-2 in 2024 and has scored 43 goals while giving up eight, three of which came in a 3-3 tie with European champion Germany on April 5 in Offenbach.

FC Kansas City is a Women’s Professional Soccer Team competing in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). The “Blues” Inaugural Season saw them set numerous NWSL records and sweep all six individual post-season awards. For more information or media inquiries please call Jeff Husted (913-742-7050 x7208) or email jhusted@kcprosoccer.com