Gotham FC defender Crystal Dunn and San Diego Wave center back Naomi Girma headline the 26-player roster named by U.S. women’s national team manager Emma Hayes for a week-long training camp set to begin on Jan. 14 in Carson, California.
The camp, which falls outside of a FIFA international window, won’t include any matches, but will be used to establish depth ahead of the SheBelieves Cup in February. No European-based players were called in, while others, including star forwards Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson are being given continued rest following the NWSL season.
Another U.S. mainstay, midfielder Rose Lavelle, recently underwent ankle surgery, and also won’t attend.
“Lavelle] had a tremendous year last year, but it’s just something that needs cleaning up, and it was the right time to do it,” Hayes said on Tuesday. “So decisions were taken with a number of different people to do it now, but I do believe it will see her out of January, and SheBelieves, so she will be out for a little bit of time, but like I said, I think it’s done at the right time, so that the that she won’t be out too long.”
All told, 11 of the 22 members of the 2024 gold medal-winning Olympic Team will be in attendance, allowing 13 players with three or fewer caps, including six uncapped players, an opportunity to gain experience in the USWNT setup.
The camp will also run concurrently with a 24-player “futures camp” featuring younger prospects. That roster, comprised of players who are all age-eligible for the U.S. Under-23 WNT, will be announced on Wednesday.
“We want to continue to foster an environment and culture on the National Team that is player-centric and female athlete-centric and helps the players maximize their abilities,” Hayes said. “Having positive, growth experiences with the USWNT will help them in their careers and help us build a deeper player pool.
“I’m really looking forward to getting on the field with these players and the players in the Futures Camp to get in a solid week of training with both groups without having to make adjustments for the impact that a match would have on our loading and training plan. I can’t wait.”
The camp is the first since veteran goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher announced her retirement back in November. North Carolina Courage netminder Casey Murphy, with 20 international appearances, leads the goalkeeping contingent for this gathering of USWNT players.
“I’m very optimistic we’ve got great goalkeepers in this country,” Hayes said. “We just, we just have to recognize that there’s not a lot of gaps between lots of them. It will probably take the rest of this year to figure that out.”
Dunn returns to the camp after missing all the fall games and is the most capped player on the roster with 155 appearances for the USWNT. She is followed by defender Emily Sonnett with 103 caps and forward Seattle Reign forward Lynn Williams with 75.
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club; Caps/Goals)
Goalkeepers: Angelina Anderson (Angel City FC; 0), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC; 0), Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 20)
Defenders: Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 65/3), Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 155/25), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 44/2), Alyssa Malonson (Bay FC; 1/0), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit; 0/0), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 18/2), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride; 2/0), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 103/2), Ryan Williams (North Carolina Courage; 0/0)
Midfielders: Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 28/1), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC; 7/0), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit; 3/0), Nealy Martin (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Ashley Sanchez (North Carolina Courage; 28/3), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals; 2/0), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 21/8)
Forwards: Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 22/5), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC; 3/1), Ella Stevens (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 0/0), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 13/1), Morgan Weaver (Portland Thorns FC; 2/0), Lynn Williams (Seattle Reign FC; 75/21)
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