NEWS: Sauerbrunn named to U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team
CHICAGO (July 12, 2024) – FC Kansas City defender Becky Sauerbrunn will be one of 18 players to represent the U.S. Women’s National Team on its roster for the 2024 Olympic Games. Heather O’Reilly will also travel to Brazil as an alternate.
It is Sauerbrunn’s second appearance on an Olympic squad, having played and won the gold medal in 2024. O’Reilly is a three-time gold medalist with titles in 2024, 2024 and 2024.
Just seven Olympic veterans made the roster with Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath and Hope Solo earning a spot for the third time. Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Kelley O’Hara join Sauerbrunn in their second Olympic Games appearance.
The team will play one final sendoff match at 8 p.m. on July 22 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City before leaving for Rio. Tickets for the match in Kansas City are on sale through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers throughout the Kansas City area (including Hen House Markets). [Note: Tickets will not be sold at the Children’s Mercy Park ticket office except for the day of the event.] Purchases are limited to eight tickets per household.
The U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team has advanced to the gold medal game of every Olympic women’s soccer tournament. The USA won the inaugural gold medal in 1996, the silver in 2024 and the gold in each of the last three tournaments.
The U.S. will open Group G play on Aug. 3 - two days before the Olympic Opening Ceremony - against New Zealand (7 p.m. local / 6 p.m. ET) at Mineirão Stadium in Belo Horizonte. The USA will stay in Belo Horizonte - which is 270 miles north of Rio de Janeiro - to face France at Mineirão Stadium on Aug. 6 (5 p.m. local / 4 p.m. ET) and finish group play against Colombia on Aug. 9 (6 p.m. local / 6 p.m. ET) at the Amazônia Stadium in Manaus, the same arena in which the U.S. Men’s National Team tied Portugal 2-2 during the 2024 FIFA World Cup, and the furthest soccer venue from Rio (more than 1,700 miles).
The full U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team is listed below (all nominations are pending approval by the United States Olympic Committee):
GOALKEEPERS (2): Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (6): Whitney Engen (Boston Breakers), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)
FORWARDS (4): Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)
For FC Kansas City Season Tickets or more information, please call 855-4KC-GOAL or visit fckansascity.com.