Games Notes: Wambach Says Goodbye in Final Victory Tour Match in New Orleans

December 15 2015

USA vs. China PR
U.S. Women’s National Team Victory Tour
Mercedes-Benz Superdome; New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec. 16, 2015

WORLD CHAMPIONS COME TO NEW ORLEANS AS VICTORY TOUR CONCLUDES WITH ABBY’S LAST GAME: Following its historic run to the championship of the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, the U.S. Women’s National Team embarked on a Victory Tour across the country that has served the dual purpose of celebrating the USA’s third Women’s World Cup title with the fans, while also preparing the team for the 2016 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament which will take place from February 10-21 of next year in Houston and Dallas. After the USA’s match on Dec. 6 in Hawaii was cancelled due to an artificial turf surface at Aloha Stadium that was not suitable to hold an international soccer match, the tour was reduced to nine games of which just one remains. That will be the final match in a U.S. uniform for legend Abby Wambach.

ABBY SAYS GOODBYE: Wambach announced her retirement on Oct. 27 and will step away from the field as not only the world’s all-time leader in international goals – men or women – but also as one of the most important players in the history of women’s soccer. She will start and captain the side on Dec. 16 in her 255^th and final game as players, fans and coaches from across the soccer world have the chance to say goodbye. Fans can express their thanks, their thoughts on her career and what she has meant to them via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the hashtags #OnlyOneAbby and #ThanksAbby as well as log onto ussoccer.com and the U.S. Soccer social media channels for Abby-related content as the tour comes to a close. The match in New Orleans kicks off at 7 p.m. CT on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports GO.

WHAT A YEAR: The USA has won seven matches and drawn one on the Victory Tour while running its 2015 record to 20-1-4, including a record of 10-0-2 on home soil. The U.S. team’s one loss this year came in the first game of 2015 against France in Lorient, a 2-0 setback in early February that the USA flipped one month later when the teams met in the championship game of the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal. Fans can follow all the action from #USAvCHN on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt and @ussoccer_esp, and follow the team along its journey on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).

#SheBelieves

2015 U.S. WNT SCHEDULE/RESULTS:

Date	Opponent	Time	TV/Result	Venue
Feb. 8	France	--	0-2 L	Stade du Moustoir; Lorient, France
Feb. 13	England	--	1-0 W	stadiummk; Milton Keynes, England
March 4	Norway@	--	2-1 W	Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal
March 6	Switzerland@	--	3-0 W	Vila Real de San Antonio, Portugal
March 9	Iceland@	--	0-0 T	Lagos, Portugal
March 11	France@	--	2-0 W	Faro, Portugal
April 4	New Zealand	--	4-0 W	Busch Stadium; St. Louis, Mo.
May 10	Ireland	--	3-0 W	Avaya Stadium; San Jose, Calif.
May 17	Mexico	--	5-1 W	StubHub Center; Carson, Calif.
May 30	Korea Rep.	--	0-0 T	Red Bull Arena; Harrison, N.J.
June 8	Australia*	--	3-1 W	Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada
June 12	Sweden*	--	0-0 T	Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada
June 16	Nigeria*	--	1-0 W	BC Place Stadium; Vancouver, Canada
June 22	Colombia*	--	2-0 W	Commonwealth Stadium; Edmonton, Canada
June 26	China*	--	1-0 W	Lansdowne Stadium; Ottawa, Canada
June 30	Germany*	--	2-0 W	Olympic Stadium; Montreal, Canada
July 5	Japan*	--	5-2 W	BC Place Stadium; Vancouver, Canada
Aug. 16	Costa Rica >	--	8-0 W	Heinz Field: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Aug. 19	Costa Rica >	--	7-2 W	Finley Stadium; Chattanooga, Tenn.
Sept. 17	Haiti >	--	5-0 W	Ford Field; Detroit, Mich.
Sept. 20	Haiti >	--	8-0 W	Legion Field; Birmingham, Ala.
Oct. 21	Brazil >	--	1-1 T	CenturyLink Field; Seattle, Wash.
Oct. 25	Brazil >	--	3-1 W	Citrus Bowl; Orlando; Fla.
Dec. 10	T&T>		6-0 W	Alamodome; San Antonio, Texas
Dec. 13	China >	--	2-0 W	Univ. of Phoenix Stadium; Glendale, Ariz.
Dec. 16	China >	7 p.m. CT	FS1	Mercedes-Benz Superdome; New Orleans, La.

@ Algarve Cup * Women’s World Cup > Victory Tour

OLYMPIC QUALIFYING SCHEDULE SET: The schedule for the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship has been set and the U.S. Women's National Team will open its Group A play against Costa Rica on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. CT. The USA will then face Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 13 (3 p.m. CT) and finish group play against Puerto Rico on Monday, Feb. 15 (7:30 p.m. CT). The two venues for the competition are BBVA Compass Stadium, home to the Houston Dash of the NWSL and the Houston Dynamo of MLS, and Toyota Stadium, located in the Dallas suburb of Frisco and home to FC Dallas of MLS. The round-robin stage of the tournament will be conducted with three doubleheaders in each group. Group A will play doubleheaders at Toyota Stadium on Feb. 10, 13 and 15 and Group B - which features Canada, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana - will play doubleheaders at BBVA Compass Stadium on Feb. 11, 14 and 16. The all-important semifinal matches will be on Feb. 19 in Houston, with the winners qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. The championship game on Feb. 21 will also be in Houston. TV information will be released at a later date and ticket info is available here. The U.S. will be attempting to qualify for a sixth consecutive Olympic Games and win the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying event for the fourth consecutive time.

NOMINEES SET FOR U.S. SOCCER FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: U.S. Soccer has announced the five nominees for the 2015 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. This year's field features midfielders Lauren Holiday, Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, defender Becky Sauerbrunn, and goalkeeper Hope Solo. All five played major roles in the USA winning the 2015 Women's World Cup with Carli Lloyd winning the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament while Solo won the Golden Glove as the top goalkeeper. Lloyd, Solo and Sauerbrunn played every minute of the tournament. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 16, during the pre-game coverage of the USA vs. China PR match from New Orleans on FOX Sports 1. Three of the nominees have won the award once before. Holiday, who played her final game for the USA on Oct. 25 in Orlando, Fla., was the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2014, while Solo won in 2009 and Lloyd in 2008. Abby Wambach holds the record for most Female Player of the Year awards with six honors (2003, 2004, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013). Her win in 2013 broke the previous record of five held by Mia Hamm. The U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year has been awarded since 1985, when midfielder Sharon Remer (known then as Sharon McMurtry) earned the inaugural honor.

MEGAN RAPINOE OUT WITH TORN ACL: Midfielder Megan Rapinoe tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during training in Honolulu, Hawaii on Dec. 4. It was a non-contact injury. An MRI scan confirmed the injury and Rapinoe has returned home to Seattle where she underwent successful surgery last Friday. She was one of the stars for the USA at the 2015 Women’s World Cup and was named to the FIFA All-Star Team. She was also one of 10 finalists for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. Her two goals in the opening match of the Women’s World Cup against Australia kick-started the USA’s run to the championship.

RAMPONE SIDELINED: U.S. captain Christie Rampone is available for the final Victory Tour match due to ongoing issues resulting from a bone bruise in her left knee. Rampone returned home for the middle two matches, but has rejoined the U.S. team for the final game of the Victory Tour in New Orleans to help honor her long-time teammate Abby Wambach.

BOXX RETIRES IN SEATTLE; HOLIDAY AND CHALUPNY BID ADIEU IN ORLANDO: Three members of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team have officially retired from the National Team and played their final games during the October matches against Brazil. Shannon Boxx played her 195th and final match for the USA against Brazil on Oct. 21 in Seattle. She played 40 minutes before exiting to a standing ovation. Holiday and Chalupny played their final matches in Orlando against Brazil on Oct. 25. Holiday, who left the game in the 56th minute to a rousing ovation and was replaced by Carli Lloyd, ended her career with 133 caps and 24 goals. Chalupny, who left the game in the 21st minute to a rousing ovation and was replaced by Meghan Klingenberg, ended her career with 106 caps and 10 goals. Boxx is 38, Holiday is 29 and Chalupny is 31. All three played crucial roles in some major achievements in U.S. WNT history and all three retire as Olympic and Women’s World Cup champions. Holiday really went out on top after winning the Women’s World Cup and her second consecutive NWSL title with FC Kansas City.

EIGHT PLAYERS ADDED TO ROSTER: For the final matches of the Victory Tour, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis added eight players to the roster who were not on the USA’s 2015 Women’s World Cup Team. One of those eight is NWSL Golden Boot winner and league MVP Crystal Dunn, who started both games against Haiti in September and both games against Brazil in October, scoring three goals with three assists over those four matches. She also started and played 90 minutes against T&T on Dec. 10 in San Antonio and then started, and scored, against China PR on Dec. 13 in her sixth consecutive start since re-joining the team after the World Cup. For Dunn, who was among the final 25 players vying for Women’s World Cup spots before the roster was trimmed to the 23 players that represented the USA in Canada, these were her first six starts of the year. She took advantage of the increased opportunities with her club to lead the league in scoring with 15 goals (along with three assists) while starting in 19 of the Washington Spirit’s 20 games. She doubled the number of shots of her next closest teammate, firing 84, which led the league. She also led the NWSL in shots on goal with 48. The two games in September marked Dunn’s first WNT action of the year since a 12-minute stint against England last February.

ONE FOOT IN THE DOOR: Three of the players called up for these games who were not members of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Team had earned caps with the senior side prior to this year: forward Lindsey Horan, who has been playing professionally in France with Paris Saint-Germain since July of 2012 after she graduated from high school; Samantha Mewis, a NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist with the Western NY Flash who started 20 games while scoring four goals with four assists; and Crystal Dunn, who is up to 19 caps to go with her four scores. Horan played two games off the bench for the USA at the 2013 Algarve Cup and then earned her third cap while making her first start against Brazil on Oct. 25 in Orlando, where she played 80 minutes and assisted on Crystal Dunn’s game-winning goal when her header was saved by the Brazilian goalkeeper before Dunn finished the rebound.. Against T&T on Dec. 10, she earned her fourth cap while scoring her first goal (the capper in the 6-0 rout) and also set up two other scores with brilliant assists and earned Budweiser Player of the Match honors. She got the start against on Dec. 13 against China PR. Mewis played in three matches in 2014, two at the Algarve Cup in Portugal and one in Brazil at the end of the year before getting her fourth cap against Brazil on Oct. 21 in Seattle as a 72nd minute sub.

ONE-CAPPERS: Two players on this roster were called to their first WNT camp in October in 22-year-old defender Jaelene Hinkle, who played every minute of all 20 matches last season with the Western NY Flash and 22-year-old defender Emily Sonnett, who recently finished her senior season at the University of Virginia. Hinkle earned her first cap on Oct. 21 against Brazil, coming on at left back and playing well in the last 20 minutes. Sonnett earned her first cap on Oct. 25 against Brazil, playing on 90 minutes in the center of the defense. Both players came on as subs against T&T in San Antonio and China PR in Glendale, Ariz. to earn their second and third caps. Twenty-two-year-old forward Stephanie McCaffrey, who started 17 of the 19 matches she played this past season with the Boston Breakers while scoring three goals with three assists, previously trained with the U.S. team during an extended training camp last January, but made her first game roster for the USA’s Oct. 25 match against Brazil. She had an excellent debut, coming on at halftime and creating danger down the right flank. She then became the 18th U.S. player to score in their first cap, volleying home a perfect far post cross from Megan Rapinoe in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time. McCaffrey earned her second cap against T&T on Dec. 10 and picked up her first assist for the WNT, setting up Lindsey Horan’s goal in stoppage time of the second half. She came on at the end of the match against China PR and almost scored, hitting the inside of the left post before the ball was cleared away.

NEWBIES: Two players are getting their first call-ups during this camp: midfielder Danielle Colaprico, the NWSL Rookie of the Year from the Chicago Red Stars, and Rose Lavelle, a junior midfielder at Wisconsin, who was one of the top players for the USA at the 2014 Under-20 Women’s World Cup where she started all four games. Colaprico is 22 years old and Lavelle is 20. Colaprico has also been a part of the USA’s Youth National Teams and was the only Red Star to start in every NWSL game. Lavelle’s college season ended with a loss at the Big 10 Tournament as the Badgers did not make the NCAA Playoffs during a season in which she started 19 games while scoring seven goals with three assists. Lavelle was the MVP of the USA’s qualifying tournament (played in the Cayman Islands) for the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), 21-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), 1-Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (9): 25-Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), 6-Whitney Engen (Boston Breakers), 26-Jaelene Hinkle (Western NY Flash), 19-Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), 22-Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), 11-Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), 3-Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), 27-Emily Sonnett (Univ. of Virginia)
MIDFIELDERS (7): 14-Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 32-Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), 30-Rose Lavelle (Univ. of Wisconsin), 10-Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), 29-Samantha Mewis (Western NY Flash), 9-Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City)
FORWARDS (7): 31-Lindsey Horan (Paris Saint-Germain), 2-Sydney Leroux (Western NY Flash), 28-Stephanie McCaffrey (Boston Breakers), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), 23-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), 8-Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), 20-Abby Wambach (unattached)

WNT EXTENDS HOME UNBEATEN STREAK TO 104 GAMES: With a win against Trinidad & Tobago on Dec. 10, the USA extended its current home unbeaten streak to 104 games (92-0-12) which is a team record. The last loss at home came to Denmark on Nov. 6, 2004, in Philadelphia, during the team’s post-Olympic tour to celebrate winning the gold medal in Athens, Greece. The 3-1 loss was one of just two games the USA has lost in which Abby Wambach scored a goal. The next-highest streak is 50 games (48-0-2) from Feb. 10, 1996, through April 22, 1999. The USA tied the record on May 14, 2011 (2-0 win against Japan at Columbus Crew Stadium) and broke the record with the 51st game on May 18, 2011 (another 2-0 win against Japan at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina). The USA’s current streak started on Dec. 8, 2004, in a 5-0 win against Mexico at The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, which was also the final match for Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Brandi Chastain. The U.S. women are 234-16-25 all-time on home soil. Nine of those 16 losses came from 1985 (the program’s inception) through 1993, meaning the USA has lost just seven games at home over the past 22 years. The most home wins in a calendar year came in 1999 when the USA went 23-1-1 in domestic games. The U.S. WNT went 18-1-1 at home in 1996. Not coincidentally, those were two years when the USA hosted world championships. The USA has gone unbeaten at home in 19 years of its 31-year existence.

THE WORLD’S BEST: U.S. Women’s National Team players Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe were among the 10 players included on the shortlist for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. Lloyd was named a finalist on Dec. 1 along with Aya Miyama of Japan and Célia Šašić of Germany. WNT head coach Jill Ellis was also included on the 10-person list of finalists for the 2015 World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer and also was named one of three finalists along with Mark Sampson, head coach of the England Women’s National Team that finished third in the 2015 Women’s World Cup, and Japan head coach Norio Sasaki, who led his team to its third consecutive major final. The final decision on the winners will be made by the captains and head coaches of the world’s women’s national teams as well as international media representatives selected by FIFA. Lloyd and Ellis will travel to Switzerland where they will hopefully be announced as the winners on Jan. 11, 2016, at the annual FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala in Zurich. Solo will also travel to Zurich as the winner of the Golden Glove as the Best Goalkeeper in the Women’s World Cup, an award she has won twice in a row.

SECOND TIME IN NOLA: The U.S. Women have played in New Orleans just once before, that match taking place in 2003 at Tad Gormley Stadium, which was badly flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This will be the first match for the U.S. Women at the famed Superdome, home to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints.

CROWDS ARE FAN-TASTIC: During its run in Canada, the USWNT played in front of what felt like seven straight home crowds, averaging 37,732 fans per game, all of which it seemed were wearing red, white and blue. The knock-out round matches were the most impressive, with electric atmospheres at each game including crowds of more than 50,000 for the semifinal in Montreal and championship game in Vancouver.

The USA opened the Victory Tour on Aug. 16 against fellow Women’s World Cup participant Costa Rica at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and rolled to an 8-0 victory in front of 44,028 fans, which set a record for a stand-alone domestic friendly for the U.S. WNT. The teams played again on Aug. 19 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in front of a crowd of 20,535 that was, at the time, largest ever to watch the U.S. Women in a stand-alone friendly match in the southeastern United States. The Victory Tour continued against another CONCACAF opponent when Australia pulled out of two September matches due to a dispute with its players. Haiti agreed to be a replacement and the USA won 5-0 on Sept. 17 in front of 34,538, the largest ever to watch a soccer game in Detroit, and 8-0 on Sept. 20 in Birmingham, Alabama, in front of 35,753 that set a new record for a stand-alone WNT friendly match in the southeastern United States. The crowd of 23,603 for the mid-week 1-1 draw with Brazil at CenturyLink Field on Oct. 21 was the largest to ever watch the U.S. WNT in the state of Washington and the crowd of 32,869 fans that came out to see the USA in Orlando on Oct. 25 was the largest stand-alone crowd to watch the USA friendly in the state of Florida. The mid-week crowd of just under 11,000 in San Antonio was the smallest so far on the Victory Tour, but the team set another record on Dec. 13 as 19,066 watched the USA defeat China, which was the largest crowd ever to watch the WNT in the state of Arizona. The average for the eight matches so far is still almost 28,000 fans per game.

HUGE TV RATINGS FOR WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup was record setting for TV ratings and increased for every U.S. match. FOX scored a new high for its soccer coverage when an average audience of 5.7 million tuned in to watch the United States beat China in the quarterfinal match on June 26. The match was also the third most-watched women’s soccer match on record in the United States, after the 1999 and 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals. Four days later, that record was broken as the USA vs. Germany semifinal on June 30 hit an average of 8.4 million viewers, establishing yet another soccer record as the most viewed semifinal ever in the U.S. (men or women) and third-most watched women’s soccer match of all time. The first six USA matches on FOX and FOX Sports 1 averaged 5.3 million viewers, 121% better than the 2011 tournament averaged through the semifinals (2.4 million).

The Final

The USA’s 5-2 victory over Japan in the World Cup Final averaged 25.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history, according to Nielsen and an increase of 88% from the 2011 WWC Final (13.5 million) and up 41% from the USA-China on ABC in 1999 (18 million). The match posted a 12.9 household rating/share with 25.4 million viewers and peaked at 30.9 million in the second half between 8:30-8:45 p.m. ET. The previous U.S. viewing record was 18,220,000 for the USA-Portugal game on ESPN at the 2014 World Cup. The average audience exceeded every game of the NBA Finals and pushed the 2015 tournament average to 1.824 million viewers per each of the tournament’s 52 matches across all networks (FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2), up 21 percent over 1,511,000 averaged on ESPN and ESPN2 for the 32 matches played in 2011. The match earned the second-largest soccer audience ever in the U.S. — trailing only last year’s Germany/Argentina World Cup Final on ABC and Univision (26.5M).

At the end of the Women’s World Cup, the USA-Japan match ranked as the fifth-most watched sporting event outside of the NFL. Only the three-game College Football Playoff and the Duke/Wisconsin NCAA Basketball Tournament title game (28.2M) scored larger numbers. The match had a larger audience than every NBA game since Spurs-Heat Game 7 in 2013 (26.6M on ABC and ESPN Deportes), every Major League Baseball game since Rangers-Cardinals Game 7 in 2011 (25.4M on FOX), and every hockey game since the Canada-United States final at the 2010 Olympics (27.6M on NBC).

En Español

Telemundo’s broadcast of the Final reached 1.27 million viewers, making it the highest viewed Spanish-language game in Women’s World Cup history. During this broadcast, Argentine announcer Andrés Cantor’s famed “Goooooool” call for Carli Lloyd’s fantastic hat-trick goal from midfield went on for just under forty seconds.

ONE NATION. ONE TEAM. 23 STORIES: Prior to the Women’s World Cup in Canada, U.S. Soccer produced its "One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories." series so fans could get to know the U.S. Women’s World Cup Team. Fans certainly know them now, but the videos are still piling up the views. Sprinkled with humor, fun and heartfelt stories, the videos give fans insight into the players’ personalities, families, motivations, and some of the challenges they’ve experienced on the different roads they’ve traveled to earn the right to represent the United States in the ultimate competition for a soccer player.

One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories: Watch all 23 Videos

CARLI LLOYD AND HOPE SOLO WIN FIFA GOLDEN BALL, SILVER BOOT AND GOLDEN GLOVE: Two U.S. players picked up post-tournament hardware in Canada as Carli Lloyd won the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament. She becomes just the third American to win the award and second at a senior level tournament, following Carin Gabarra at the 1991 Women’s World Cup. Lloyd also won the Silver Boot as the second leading scorer in the tournament. Lloyd and Germany’s Celia Sasic both scored six goals with one assist, but Sasic (who scored three goals in a 10-0 pasting of Ivory Coast in the opening match of the tournament) was awarded the Golden Boot based on less minutes played during the tournament. Lloyd did not get credit for an assist from FIFA for playing the short pass to Megan Rapinoe that she took on an almost half-field run and scored to clinch the USA’s opening match against Australia. The awards and her World Cup performance, which included the historic hat trick in the Final, make Lloyd one of the front-runners for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo, who played every minute of the tournament and registered five shutouts, received the Golden Glove as the best net-minder in the tournament, an honor she also won at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Defender Julie Johnston and Rapinoe were also on the short list for the Golden Ball.

FIVE AMERICANS NAMED TO FIFA ALL-STAR TEAM: On Aug. 17, FIFA announced its Women’s World Cup All-Star Squad as chosen by the FIFA Technical Study Group. Five U.S. players were among the 23 selected: Golden Glove winner Hope Solo, defenders Julie Johnston and Meghan Klingenberg, and midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Golden Ball winner Carli Lloyd. All but Rapinoe played every minute of the tournament.

U.S. ROSTER NOTES:

Mesa, Arizona native Julie Johnston played in front of her hometown crowd for the United States for the first time and saw the American Outlaws unveil a tifo in her honor before the match.
The win today marks the 20thvictory of the year for the USWNT (20-1-4). The USA has now won 20 or more games in a year on nine occasions.
The USA got two firsts against T&T on Dec. 10 as Lindsey Horan scored her first goal at the senior level (she scored 24 goals in 26 caps for the U-20s) and Stephanie McCaffrey earned her first WNT assist.
Christen Press’ four-goal performance against Argentina in Brazil last December was the ninth such game in U.S. history and second of 2014 after Wambach scored four times against Costa Rica in the final of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship. It was the first-career hat trick for Press, who got her second hat trick on Aug. 16 against Costa Rica when she scored twice in the first half and once in the second.
Her third career hat trick came on Dec. 10 when she came off the bench in the 60thminute and scored three times in a 24-minute span starting in the 62nd minute. Press’ hat trick was of the truest form. She scored three consecutive goals, her first goal with her left foot, her second with her right and her third with her head.
Press came off the bench against to score on her first touches on Dec. 13 against China for her 10^th goal of the year and her 8^th of the Victory Tour.
With her goal against Haiti on Sept. 17, Press became the 22nd player in U.S. WNT history to score 25 or more goals. She currently has 29, which moves her past Shannon Boxx and Joy Fawcett into 20th on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list.
Nineteen different players have scored for the USA this year, led by Carli Lloyd with 18 goals, 16 of them coming since the start of the knockout rounds at the Women’s World Cup.
Lloyd’s 18 goals are a career high for her in a calendar year and nine more than her closest teammate Christen Press, who has 10. Wambach and Alex Morgan have seven each. Lloyd’s previous high was 15 in 2014 and 2012.
The 19 players to score for the USA in 2015 are: Kelley O’Hara, Morgan, Wambach, Rodriguez, Press, Johnston, Klingenberg, Rapinoe, Morgan Brian, Lori Chalupny, Sydney Leroux, Lloyd, Lauren Holiday, Tobin Heath, Heather O’Reilly, Whitney Engen, Crystal Dunn, Stephanie McCaffrey and Lindsey Horan.
Remarkably, O’Hara’s goal in the Women’s World Cup semifinal was her first of the year – and first of her international career – and Holiday’s and Heath’s goals in the Women’s World Cup Final were their first and thus far only scores of 2015. For Holiday, who has retired, it was her final goal in a U.S. uniform.
When the USA went behind 1-0 in the 3rd minute of the Oct. 21 match vs. Brazil, it was the first deficit for the USA over a span of 20 matches this year. The WNT had not trailed in a match since going down 1-0 in the 43rd minute to Norway on March 4 in the first match of the Algarve Cup. The U.S. came back in the second half to win that game 2-1 as Carli Lloyd scored both goals.
Alex Morgan could be the next U.S. player to hit 100 games as she is currently at 98 and would hit the century mark in early 2016 if she plays both remaining Victory Tour matches. Becky Sauerbrunn is next in line with 95.
Sydney Leroux is available for her first Victory Tour action after recovering from ankle surgery in mid-July. She played in four games at the Women’s World Cup, starting two, and had a key assist to Christen Press for the game-winning goal against Australia in the opening Group D match.
Carli Lloyd notched her fourth and fifth hat tricks when she scored three times in each of the matches against Haiti in September. They were of course her second and third of 2015. Her first of the year was famously tallied in the Women’s World Cup Final. Her other hat tricks came against Mexico in 2012 and Argentina in December of 2014. The hat trick vs. Haiti on Sept. 20 was the 11th multiple-goal game of her WNT career.
Lloyd has scored 16 goals in the last 12 matches starting with the Round of 16 game at the WWC.
Lloyd has 10 goals on the Victory Tour to lead the team.
Crystal Dunn scored her first international goal at the senior level on Sept. 17 against Haiti, and her two assists in the match were her first points for the USA. She added a goal and an assist on Sept. 20 vs. Haiti, and has four goals so far this year.
Four different players scored for the USA in the 6-0 win against T&T on Dec. 10.
Four different players scored the USA’s four goals in the two-game series vs. Brazil in October.
Seven different players scored the USA’s 13 goals in the two-game series vs. Haiti in September, with Carli Lloyd getting six and Crystal Dunn two.
Eight different players scored the USA’s 15 goals in the two-game series with Costa Rica in August, with Heather O’Reilly tallying four goals over the two matches, while Christen Press had three.
O’Reilly’s scores and Whitney Engen’s goal against Costa Rica on Aug. 16 were their first goals of the year.
Three defenders scored in the first match against Costa Rica with Julie Johnston and Whitney Engen each getting a goal. Meghan Klingenberg scored her third international goal, in front of her hometown crowd in Pittsburgh, all of which have come from the run of play.
Johnston has five goals in 2015. Her goals all came off set pieces, with the first three assisted by the now-retired Lauren Holiday and one each by Megan Rapinoe and Kelley O’Hara.
Lloyd scored in four straight Women’s World Cup games, tallying in all four knock-out matches (Colombia, China, Germany and Japan). Her three goals in the Women’s World Cup Final gave her seven in Women’s World Cup play.
Lloyd captained the USA four times at the WWC with Abby Wambach serving as captain in the other three matches.
Lloyd was the third U.S. WNT player to score in three straight games in a World Cup, joining Michelle Akers (1991) and Abby Wambach (2003) and is the second American to do it in four straight WWC games, but the only one to score in all four knockout round games. Wambach scored in four consecutive Women’s World Cup games in 2011, but the streak started in the third group match when the Women’s World Cup took six matches to win the title before moving the 24 teams and the seven-match format in 2015.
Lloyd scored both U.S. goals in the 2012 Olympic gold medal game (a 2-1 win over Japan), and the lone goal in the 2008 gold-medal game (1-0 over Brazil). No other American has scored in three major-tournament finals.
Lloyd, Holiday and Tobin Heath became just the fourth, fifth and sixth players in U.S. history to score in a Women’s World Cup Final. Michelle Akers scored both goals in the 1991 Final, the 1999 championship game ended 0-0 and went to penalty kicks while Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach scored in the 2011 Women’s World Cup Final.
Kelley O’Hara made her debut in the 2015 Women’s World Cup tournament when she started against China PR on June 26. It was O’Hara’s first career start in a World Cup match. She had only played one WWC game before with 18 minutes as a substitute in 2011 vs. Sweden. She made her second appearance at this year’s tournament when she came in as a second half substitute in the match against Germany and scored her first World Cup goal. It came in the 84th minute to seal the game and propel the USA to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, where she came off the bench in her third straight game and played the final 30 minutes in place of Megan Rapinoe.
After allowing a goal against Australia in its opening Women’s World Cup match on June 8 in the 27th minute, the U.S. shut out Sweden, Nigeria, Colombia, China and Germany – a stretch of 513 consecutive minutes. The USA allowed a goal in the 27th minute of the World Cup Final to end its shutout streak at 539, falling one minute short of tying a tournament record. Germany did not allow a goal over its six games of the 2007 Women’s World Cup.
Defender Becky Sauerbrunn did not play against Costa Rica on Aug. 16, breaking her streak as the only player on the roster to start and play every game for the USA in 2015. She has played 2,004 minutes this year to lead the team. Carli Lloyd has played 1,905 minutes. Meghan Klingenberg has played 1,803 minutes and Hope Solo has played 1,800 minutes in goal.
Five U.S. players played all 630 minutes of the Women’s World Cup tournament: defenders Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg and Sauerbrunn, midfielder Lloyd, and goalkeeper Hope Solo.
In 24 games played this year, the U.S. has surrendered 11 goals and has scored 72. The USA hasn’t lost a match since dropping its opening game of 2015 on Feb. 8 to France.
The USA was the fourth country to reach consecutive Women's World Cup finals (2011 and 2015). The other three are Germany (2003, 2007), Norway (1991, 1995) and Japan (2011, 2015).
After coming on as a sub in the second half of the Women’s World Cup Final, Abby Wambach played in her 25th and final WWC game, moving into sole possession of second most ever behind Kristine Lilly (30).
Wambach’s appearance against Costa Rica on Aug. 16 marked her 250th cap. She’s one of only five U.S. players to hit that mark and now has 254 with one more to play.
Alex Morgan scored her only goal in this year’s Women’s World Cup against Colombia in the Round of 16 match. Morgan has seven goals in 2015 and 56 international goals in her career. She has three World Cup goals after scoring twice in 2011.
Brian, Klingenberg, Johnston, Leroux and Press all made their World Cup debuts against Australia on June 8. All played against Sweden on June 12 as well, with Brian getting her first start. Klingenberg, Johnston and Leroux all saw action against Nigeria on June 16, while Brian, Klingenberg, Johnston and Press saw action against Colombia on June 22. Brian, Klingenberg and Johnston all started against China and Germany on June 26 and June 30, respectively, and Leroux came in as a second half stoppage time against Germany. Brian, Klingenberg and Johnston all started against Japan in the Final and all played all 90 minutes.
Press and Leroux also recorded their first World Cup points on June 8, with Press scoring a goal and Leroux an assist. Johnston recorded her first World Cup point against China on June 26 when she assisted on Lloyd’s goal. It was Johnston’s first and thus far only assist with the WNT.
Nineteen of the 20 field players on the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup saw action in the tournament with only defender Whitney Engen not getting on the field.
Amy Rodriguez made her first appearance of the Women’s World Cup on June 12 against Sweden, and her first start of the tournament on June 26 against China. Defender Lori Chalupny made her first appearance of the 2015 World Cup when she came in for Ali Krieger in the second half against Colombia on June 22. It was the seventh World Cup appearance of her career.
Heather O’Reilly played the last 10 minutes of the game against China on June 26 after coming in as a sub for Alex Morgan. It was O’Reilly’s 12th World Cup appearance.
Shannon Boxx and Christie Rampone made their first appearances of the tournament against Nigeria on June 16. Rampone became the oldest player to appear in a World Cup match at 39 years 11 months and 23 days. Rampone also played the final five minutes of the championship game. It was Boxx’s fourth and final World Cup and Rampone’s fifth and final World Cup. Rampone played 19 WWC games in her career, tied for sixth all-time. Boxx played in 16 WWC matches.
Klingenberg scored her second National Team goal on a long-range blast against New Zealand on April 4. Her first goal was a similar long-range effort that came against Haiti on Oct. 8, during Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in 2014. Her third came on Aug. 16 vs. Costa Rica in her hometown of Pittsburgh.
Rampone earned her 300thcap against with Mexico on Oct. 24, 2014, and her 311 games are the most of any active player in the world behind only former teammate Kristine Lilly (352). Rampone has four international goals, but has not scored since 2000, when she got two goals in her 59th career cap.
Brian was the 2014 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year. She was also named the 2013 and 2014 Hermann Trophy winner while playing for the University of Virginia.
While Wambach is the USA’s top scorer on the roster with 184 goals, Lloyd is next with 79 career international goals and Morgan has 56. Heather O’Reilly has scored 46.
The WWC Final featured the two oldest teams in the history of the Women’s World Cup tournament with the U.S averaging 29-years-old and six months and Japan having the average age of 28-years-old and five months, giving more empirical proof that older teams tend to win world events, but with the retirements of Shannon Boxx, Lori Chalupny, Lauren Holiday and Abby Wambach, the U.S. team will begin to take on a different look.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS:

Carli Lloyd became the 10th woman in U.S. history to reach 200 caps, achieving the feat at the WWC quarterfinal match against China PR on June 26. She is the fourth active player to reach that mark and 10th overall American. Christie Rampone, Abby Wambach and Heather O’Reilly are the other three. She also became the third player in U.S. history to score in her 200th appearance. Wambach and O’Reilly are the other two. Lloyd was honored for earning her 200th cap before the match in San Antonio.
Lloyd has moved past Tiffeny Milbrett into sole possession of eighth place on the USA’s all-time caps with 210.
Lloyd is in sixth place on the U.S. WNT’s all-time goal scoring list. Lloyd, now with 79 goals, is the highest-scoring midfielder in U.S. history although she has scored her last 16 goals playing as more of a withdrawn forward.
Hope Solo recorded her 89th career shutout against Germany in the semifinal of the WWC. It was the fifth straight World Cup clean sheet for the USA, and Solo’s 10th in World Cup play, tying the record for most by a U.S. goalkeeper and most in World Cup play with Brianna Scurry. She earned her 90thagainst T&T on Dec. 10 in San Antonio.

Solo earned her 177th cap against Japan in the World Cup Final on July 5. With 184 caps, she is the leader for caps by a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Briana Scurry earned 173 caps in her career (1994-2008).
Solo has the most starts by a WNT goalkeeper with 177. Solo is also in 9thplace on the WNT’s all-time starts list behind eighth place Carli Lloyd, who has 180.

Solo has 141 goalkeeper wins and is the all-time leader in wins for a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Brian Scurry had 133 during her career (1994-2008).
Rapinoe became the 31st American female player to reach the century mark in caps, achieving that feat against New Zealand on April 4. She currently has 113 caps. Lori Chalupny became the 32ndplayer to reach 100 caps, against Ireland on May 10 and retired with 106.
Tobin Heath was the 33rd player to reach 100 caps and now has 105.
Against Costa Rica on Aug. 16, Abby Wambach became the fourth U.S. player to hit 250 caps. She has 254 with one match left to play.
Against Costa Rica on Aug. 19, Shannon Boxx played in her seventh match of the year and reached 193 caps, moving past Brandi Chastain into 11th place on the all-time U.S. list. Boxx finished her career on Oct. 21 with 195.
Heather O’Reilly was the ninth player to hit 200 caps in U.S. history after reaching the milestone against Korea DPR on March 12, 2014. Now with 226, she is seventh on the USA’s all-time list. Abby Wambach (254) and Christie Rampone (311) are the only active players ahead of her.
O’Reilly is the second-youngest player to hit 200 caps for the USA. Lilly was 28 years, 9 months and 15 days old when she earned cap No. 200 on May 7, 2000. O’Reilly was 29 years, 2 months and 10 days old when she earned her 200th cap.
O’Reilly is currently sixth all-time in assists with 54 and 11th place all-time in goals with 46.
O’Reilly’s two goals against Costa Rica on Aug. 19 represented the fourth multi-goal game of her career and the first time she had produced back-to-back multi-goal performances. Her first multi-goal game came on March 11, 2006 when she scored two against Denmark. Her second came on Jan. 1, 2012 when she scored the lone hat trick of her career against Dominican Republic during Olympic Qualifying.
In addition to breaking Mia Hamm’s world scoring record, Wambach’s June 20, 2013,performance against the Korea Republic also made her the USA’s all-time leader in multiple-goal games with 39. She has since added six more and now sits at 45. She has 37 two-goal games, five hat tricks, two four-goal games and one five-goal game.
Sydney Leroux is tied with April Heinrichs in 14thplace on the all-time U.S. WNT goal-scoring list with 35 goals.
With her game-winning goal against England on Feb. 13, Alex Morgan became the 10th player in U.S. history to score 50 or more goals. She now has 56, moving past Carin Gabarra for ninth on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. Next up for Morgan is to catch Shannon MacMillan’s 60 career goals.
The 2015 NWSL title was the 10th in Heather O'Reilly's career. She won two NCAA titles with North Carolina. She won the inaugural Under-19 Women's Championship in 2002, Olympic women's soccer gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the 2015 Women's World Cup title. At the club level, she won WPS with Sky Blue FC in her home state of New Jersey in 2009 and the NWSL title with FC Kansas City in 2015.

BY THE NUMBERS:
0.44            Goals per game the USA has allowed in 2015
1                USA’s FIFA ranking
2.96           Goals per game the USA scored in 2015
3                Goals allowed by the USA in the 2015 WWC, least of any of the four semifinalists
8                Number of different players to score a goal in the 2015 WWC
14               Goals scored by the USA in the 2015 WWC, second most in the tournament
19               Number of different U.S. players to score a goal in 2015
79               Goals by Lloyd, most ever for a WNT player who has played exclusively as a midfielder
89               Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Sydney Leroux in her career
90               Shutouts by Hope Solo, an all-time U.S. WNT record

99               Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Abby Wambach in her career
104             Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Alex Morgan in her career
117             U.S. victories when Wambach scores a goal (117-2-8 overall)
130             Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Mia Hamm in her career
311             Caps by Christie Rampone, second all-time to Kristine Lilly (352)

USA IN NWSL: Following are the 2015 NWSL regular season statistics of the U.S. players on this roster. The members of the Women’s World Cup Team missed quite a few games due to National Team commitments and several players also missed some games due to injury. Christen Press was the top scorer in the league of the WWC players, tallying 10 times in 10 games. Amy Rodriguez added two goals to her tally in the NWSL semifinal playoff match as FC Kansas City defeated the Chicago Red Stars, 2-0, and then scored the game-winner in the NWSL Championship off an assist from Heather O’Reilly as FCKC defeated the Seattle Reign, 1-0.

2015 NWSL Regular Season Statistics Field Players

Player GP GS M G A GWG SH SOG OFF FC FS YC

Brian 10 10 810 0 3 0 7 5 0 8 5 0

Colaprico 20 20 1776 1 0 1 10 5 1 18 15 3

Dunn 20 19 1711 15 3 6 84 48 35 20 26 0

Engen 12 12 1080 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0

Heath 5 5 401 0 0 0 13 7 1 8 6 1

Hinkle 20 20 1800 1 1 0 11 3 0 8 8 0

Johnston 11 11 990 0 2 0 4 1 0 7 10 1

Klingenberg 12 12 1046 0 2 0 7 1 1 3 3 0

Krieger 8 8 655 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 6 0

Leroux 3 3 269 1 0 0 6 1 0 3 1 0

Lloyd 12 12 1080 4 0 3 56 15 6 15 12 0

McCaffrey 19 17 1418 3 3 0 32 16 17 5 13 1

S. Mewis 20 20 1685 4 4 1 55 27 0 22 10 2

Morgan 4 3 285 1 2 0 15 7 5 0 4 1

O’Hara 11 11 989 3 5 1 26 14 2 8 13 1

O’Reilly 11 11 928 2 3 0 17 12 7 6 2 0

Press 11 10 931 10 2 3 50 27 17 7 2 0

Rampone 11 11 962 1 0 0 3 2 0 2 4 0

Rodriguez 11 11 956 6 4 3 46 16 24 3 8 0

Sauerbrunn 11 11 990 0 0 0 3 0 1 3 6 1

2015 NWSL Regular Season Statistics Goalkeepers

Player GP GS Min GA GAA Sh SOG Sv W L T SO

Harris 9 9 810 12 1.33 126 60 47 3 2 4 1

Naeher 12 12 1080 30 2.50 209 95 65 2 9 1 0

Solo 8 8 720 9 1.12 66 28 19 5 2 1 1

WELCOME PRIDE: The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) announced on Oct. 20 the founding of its 10th club and second expansion team, the Orlando Pride. The Pride is owned and operated by Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and will begin play with the start of the 2016 NWSL season. Two U.S. Women’s National Team players will represent the Pride in goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and forward Alex Morgan, both of whom were acquired via trades. The NWSL is preparing for its fourth season in 2016, a milestone that the two previous women’s professional leagues did not achieve.

AND THE WINNER IS: Current U.S. WNT players that won NWSL post-season awards are Crystal Dunn (Golden Boot and MVP), Defender of the Year Becky Sauerbrunn, and NWSL Best XI members Julie Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Dunn and Christen Press. U.S. WNT players that made the NWSL Second XI are Lauren Holiday, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe.

2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FACTS:

The USA is the first nation to capture three Women’s World Cup titles.
After scoring three times against Australia in its opening match of the 2015 FIFA WWC, the USA became the second country to reach and then surpass the century mark of World Cup goals scored. The USA currently has scored 112 WWC goals, surpassing Germany who had reached 111 during the tournament. Christen Press had the honor of scoring the 100thgoal in U.S. Women’s World Cup history. Germany scored 10 goals in its opener on June 7 to hit 101 and become the first team to pass 100. The Germans finished the WWC with 111 goals after scoring 20 in the tournament, 14 of which came against Ivory Coast and Thailand.
The USA shattered the record for most goals in a Women’s World Cup Final (the previous record was two) and the teams set a record for most goals combined in a WWC Final with seven.
The USA and Japan have accounted for the two-highest scoring WWC Finals, (2-2 in 2011 and 5-2 in 2015).
The USA allowed 18 shots on goal over the 630 minutes in the Women’s World Cup. The USA allowed six against Australia in the opening game, but never allowed that many in a game again, allowing just one against Sweden and Germany, two against Nigeria, Colombia and China and four against Japan.

The draw with Sweden was the first scoreless draw in U.S. history during group play in a World Cup. It was the second overall scoreless draw for the USA in a World Cup (0-0 against China in the 1999 WWC Final).

The USA made its seventh appearance in a FIFA Women’s World Cup and is one of seven countries to appear in all seven editions of the tournament, the others being Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway and Sweden.

The U.S. is the only country to have reached at least the semifinals of every FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The USA made its fourth appearance in a FIFA Women’s World Cup Final (1991, 1999, 2011, 2015), the only country to reach it that many times (Germany has reached it on three occasions: 1995, 2003 and 2007).
Abby Wambach played in 25 WWC matches, the most on the 2015 WWC roster. Christie Rampone played in 19 Women’s World Cup games while Carli Lloyd has played in 18, Hope Solo has played in 17 and Shannon Boxx played in 16. Other players in double figures in Women’s World Cup matches are Ali Krieger (13), and Heather O’Reilly and Alex Morgan with 12.

The U.S. WNT has won its group in the World Cup every year except 2011, when it finished second to Sweden.
With her first-half goal against Nigeria during Group D play, Abby Wambach moved into a tie with Germany’s Birgit Prinz for 2nd all-time with 14 World Cup goals. Brazil’s Marta is the leader with 15 goals, including one in the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Wambach had a great chance to break the record, but missed a penalty kick against Colombia in the Round of 16 match.
Lloyd’s hat trick was the first by any player in a Women’s World Cup Final.
Lloyd’s two goals represent the first multi-goal game for a U.S. player in a World Cup Final since Michelle Akers scored two goals against Norway in the USA’s 2-1 win in the 1991 WWC Final in Guanzhou, China. She is the third American to score a hat trick in a WWC after Carin Jennings Gabarra (three against Germany in ’91 semifinal) and Akers (five against Chinese Taipei in ’91 Quarterfinals)
Lloyd’s third minute goal (coming at 2:33) was the fastest goal in a Women's World Cup Final.
The USA was the first team to score twice in the first five minutes of any Women's World Cup game.
Wambach scored in every World Cup group stage that she played (2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015). She scored seven goals, tallying three in final group stage matches.
Six players on this U.S. roster have scored in a Women’s World Cup tournament: Wambach, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Christen Press, Kelley O’Hara and Tobin Heath.
The U.S. WNT is 34-4-5 all-time in the Women’s World Cup, outscoring its opponents 112-35 in 43 games. The 34 wins and 43 games played are FIFA Women’s World Cup records.

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JILL ELLIS FACT FILE: After leading the USA to the Women’s World Cup title, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis was rewarded with a multi-year contract extension on Aug. 5, 2015. She is the third U.S. coach – and first female coach -- to win a Women’s World Cup at the senior level, following Anson Dorrance (1991) and Tony DiCicco (1999). Ellis was named one of three finalists for the 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer with the winner being announced on Jan. 11 in Zurich, Switzerland. Ellis, who previously served two stints as interim head coach of the U.S. WNT, is the eighth official head coach in U.S. history. She coached seven games as interim coach in 2012 (5-0-2) and two games (1-0-1) as interim in 2014 before she officially came on board, which gave her a 6-0-3 record before she ever was formally named the head coach in May of 2014. She has gone 30-2-7 since then for an overall record of 36-2-10. When named head coach in 2014, Ellis stepped away from her job as Development Director for the U.S. Women’s National Teams, a job she was appointed to in January of 2011, but still consults with U.S. Women’s National Team Technical Director April Heinrichs who oversees the USA’s youth teams.

Prior to becoming head coach, Ellis had extensive experience in the U.S. Women’s National Team programs having served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team under Pia Sundhage, helping the team to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. She has served two stints as head coach of the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team, guiding the squad to the CONCACAF title in 2010 and to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany.
Ellis also had two stints as the head coach of the U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team, the second starting in the middle of 2005, after which she guided the team to the Nordic Cup in Sweden. She also coached the U-21s to the Nordic Cup title in Germany in 2000.
Ellis was a scout for the USA at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and has served as an assistant coach with the U.S. U-21s and U-16 Girls’ National Teams.
Ellis joined U.S. Soccer full-time after a highly successful 12-year run as the head women’s soccer coach for the UCLA Bruins. Ellis led UCLA to eight NCAA Final Fours, including seven in a row from 2003-2009, and won six straight conference titles from 2003-2008. She finished her time in Westwood with a record of 229-45-14. Ellis, who was also head coach at the University of Illinois, has an all-time collegiate coaching record of 248-63-14.
She was the 2000 NSCAA National Coach of the Year after leading the Bruins to the NCAA Final in just her second season as head coach.
Ellis arrived in Westwood after heading the University of Illinois women's soccer program for two years. In 1998, she brought the Fighting Illini to a 12-8 record and a first Big Ten Tournament berth. Prior to coaching at Illinois, Ellis served as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia for one year (1996-97), at Maryland for three years (1994-96) and at North Carolina State for another three years (1988-90). As an assistant coach at North Carolina State, Ellis helped the Wolfpack secure the 1988 ACC title and an NCAA Final Four appearance.
A forward during her playing days at the College of William & Mary from 1984-87, Ellis was a Third-Team All-American in 1987. In 1984, Ellis helped Braddock Road in Virginia to the Under-19 club national championship.
Ellis grew up in Portsmouth, England, and came to the United States in 1981 at the age of 15. She also lived in Singapore for two years while her father helped to develop a national soccer program in that country. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and Composition from the College of William & Mary in 1988 and currently resides in Los Angeles. She has a USSF “A” coaching license.

IN FOCUS: CHINA PR

China Football Association
Founded: 1924 (Joined FIFA in 1931)
Current FIFA World Ranking: 15
AFC Ranking: 4
Olympic Finals Appearances: 4 (1996, 2000, 2004, 2008)

Record vs. USA: 8-34-13

Head Coach: Bruno Bini

CHINA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Bi Xiaolin (Dalian), 22-Zhao Lina (Shanghai)
DEFENDERS (5): 2-Liu Shanshan (Hebei), 5-Wu Haiyan (Shandong), 6-Li Dongna (Tianjin), 14-Zhao Rong (Beijing), 24-Xue Jiao (Dalian)
MIDFIELDERS (11): 7-Xu Yanlu (Jiangsu), 15-Lei Jiahui (Henan), 17-Gu Yasha (Beijing), 18-Han Peng (Tianjin), 19-Tan Ruyin (Guangdong), 20-Zhang Rui (Army), 21-Wang Lisi (Jiangsu), 23-Ren Guixin (Changchun), 28-Jiang Meizi (Guangdong), 32-Miao Siwen (Shanghai), 35-Yang Man (Shandong)
FORWARDS (5): 9-Wang Shanshan (Tianjin), 10-Li Ying (Shandong), 11-Wang Shuang (Wuhan), 16-Lou Jiahui (Henan), 31-Ma Xiaoxu (Dalian)

CHINA ROSTER NOTES

China has brought 17 players from their 2015 Women’s World Cup Team, and of those 17, 11 played against the USA in the quarterfinal match of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, including 10 starters.
The only starter from Ottawa not with the team is goalkeeper Wang Fei who plays in France for power French Olympique Lyonnais.
China will enter a very difficult Asia Olympic qualifying tournament in February where it will be competing for one of just two spots against Japan, North Korea, Australia, South Korea and Vietnam.
China’s new head coach is Frenchmen Bruno Bini, who had excellent success for many years with his home country from 2007-2013, leading the team to fourth places finishes at the 2011 Women’s World Cup and 2012 Olympics.

USA VS. CHINA:

China has been one of the most frequent opponents in U.S. history. The U.S. has played China 55 times, tying the record with Canada (55) and will move ahead of them as the most frequent opponent in U.S. history on Dec. 16.
Since 1991 -- a span of 24 years -- the U.S. and China have failed to play a match in a calendar year only five times.
The USA is 34-8-13 all-time vs. China. They have outscored the Steel Roses 96-35.
The most recent meeting before Dec. 13 in Arizona was of course the 1-0 victory in the quarterfinal of the 2015 Women’s World Cup. It was the fourth meeting between the USA and China in a World Cup. The USA prevailed 1-0 on a header goal from Carli Lloyd in front of an electric crowd in Ottawa.
The last World Cup match before that was at the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final in Pasadena, California, which culminated with the USA winning its second World Cup following Brandi Chastain’s penalty kick to give the red, white and blue the 5-4 edge in the shootout.
Before the World Cup, the USA and China met at the end of 2014 at the Brasilia International Tournament in Brasilia, Brazil. The December 10, 2014, match saw the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. Prior to that, the countries met in two previous matches in 2014, a 2-0 U.S. win in Colorado and a 3-0 U.S. win in San Diego, Calif.
The USA has only allowed China to score more than two goals once. The game was a 3-3 tie in Gavle, Sweden, during the 1995 Women’s World Cup.
The USA has scored two or more goals in 30 of their 55 meetings with China.

LAST TIME…

On the field for the USA:
Dec. 13, 2015 – University of Phoenix Stadium; Glendale, Ariz.
2015 U.S. Women’s National Team Victory Tour

USA 2 Dunn 39; Press 81
CHN 0

Lineups:
USA: 21-Alyssa Naeher; 11-Ali Krieger (26-Jaelene Hinkle, 46), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 19-Julie Johnston, 22-Meghan Klingenberg; 25-Crystal Dunn (9-Heather O'Reilly, 46), 31-Lindsey Horan (27-Emily Sonnett, 79), 14-Morgan Brian, 17-Tobin Heath (28-Stephanie McCaffrey, 79); 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.) (20-Abby Wambach, 79), 13-Alex Morgan (23-Christen Press, 79)
Subs Not Used: 1-Hope Solo, 2-Sydney Leroux, 5-Kelley O'Hara, 6-Whitney Engen, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 29-Samantha Mewis, 30-Rose Lavelle, 32-Danielle Colaprico
Head coach: Jill Ellis

CHN: 22-Zhao Lina; 2-Liu Shanshan, 14-Zhao Rong, 6-Li Dongna, 24-Xue Jiao; 9-Wang Shanshan, 11-Wang Shuang (10-Li Ying, 71), 15-Lei Jiahui (18-Han Peng, 46), 17-Gu Yasha (7-Xu Yanlu, 79), 35-Yang Man (23-Ren Guixin, 71); 19-Tan Ruyin
Subs Not Used: 5-Wu Haiyan, 12-Bi Xiaolin, 16-Lou Jiahui, 20-Zhang Rui, 21-Wang Lisi, 28-Jiang Meizi, 31-Ma Xiaoxu, 32-Miao Siwen
Head coach: Bruno Bini

On the field for the USA vs. CHN at the World Cup:

June 26, 2015 – Lansdowne Stadium; Ottawa, Canada
2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup - Quarterfinal

USA 1 Lloyd 51
CHN 0

Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 11-Ali Krieger, 19-Julie Johnston, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 22-Meghan Klingenberg; 5-Kelley O'Hara (23-Christen Press, 61), 14-Morgan Brian, 10-Carli Lloyd (capt.), 17-Tobin Heath; 8-Amy Rodriguez (20-Abby Wambach, 86), 13-Alex Morgan (9-Heather O'Reilly,81)
Subs Not Used: 2-Sydney Leroux, 3-Christie Rampone, 6-Whitney Engen, 7-Shannon Boxx, 8-Amy Rodriguez, 16-Lori Chalupny, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 21-Alyssa Naeher,
Not Available: 12-Lauren Holiday, 15-Megan Rapinoe
Head coach: Jill Ellis

CHN: 12-Wang Fei; 5-Wu Haiyan (capt.), 14-Zhao Rong, 6-Li Dongna, 2-Liu Shanshan; 21-Wang Lisi, 19-Tan Ruyin (3-Pang Fengyue, 58), 16-Lou Jiahui (11-Wang Shuang, 35), 23-Ren Guixin, 18-Han Peng (13-Tang Jiali, 18); 9-Wang Shanshan
Subs not used: 1- Zhang Yue, 4- Li Jiayue, 7- Xu Yanlu, 8- Ma Jun, 10- Li Ying, 15- Lei Jiahui, 17- Gu Yasha, 20- Zhang Rui, 22- Zhao Lina
Head coach: Hao Wei

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Go Deeper

WNT U.S. WNT vs. China - 12/16/2015