On the Pitch

USWNT Wraps Up Qualifying Tune-Ups In Sandy, Utah

Watch USA-Colombia, Tuesday, June 28 at 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT on ESPN

Coming off a 3-0 victory over Colombia on Saturday night in Commerce City, Colorado, the U.S. Women’s National Team will take on Las Cafeteras again on Tuesday, June 28 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Kickoff is slated for 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT with broadcast coverage on ESPN as the USA plays its final friendly match before kicking off its qualifying campaign for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2024 Summer Olympics.

Powered by a second-half brace from forward and Colorado-native Sophia Smith and a goal from midfielder Taylor Kornieck in her international debut, the USA improved to 5-0-1 on the year and recorded its fifth shutout of 2022. The match in Colorado also marked the return to international action for veteran forwards Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who made their first appearances for the USA since October 26, 2021. Morgan came on at the half and was active in the attack while Rapinoe entered the match in the 77th minute and wasted little time making her impact felt on the scoresheet, assisting Kornieck’s goal in stoppage time with a stellar set-piece service.


Following the match in Sandy, the USA will head to Monterrey, Mexico for the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. The competition runs from July 4-18 and will serve as the region’s qualifying tournament for the 2023 World Cup. New this year, the tournament champion will also secure its spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris as well as a berth to the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. The USA kicks off Group A action on July 4, taking on Haiti at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, ViX).

 

Fans will also be able to follow the action via Twitter (@USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App.

USWNT DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS)

 

GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 5), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 80)

 

DEFENDERS (8): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 10/0), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC; 14/0), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 1/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 13/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 153/2), Carson Pickett (North Carolina Courage; 0/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 203/0), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 65/0)

 

MIDFIELDERS (8): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 110/25), Jaelin Howell (Racing Louisville: 5/1), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave FC; 1/1), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 72/20), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 39/5), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 8/2), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 28/3)

 

FORWARDS (7): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 9/4), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC; 191/115), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 73/23), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 14/3), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign; 188/62), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 3/1), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 16/6)

 

On June 13, head coach Vlakto Andonovksi announced his 26-player roster for these two games vs. Colombia and a 23-player roster the Concacaf W Championship. The rosters bring proven international experience in the form of World Cup winners like Rapinoe, Morgan, defender Becky Sauerbrunn and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, while also featuring an energetic crop of younger talent eager to establish themselves on the world stage. With Kornieck making her debut on Saturday in Colorado, 29 different players have now seen action for the USWNT in 2022. That number could increase should defender Carson Pickett or midfielder Sam Coffey – the only uncapped players on this roster – see action in Sandy. Twenty-three players will suit up for the match on Tuesday night.


INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. COLOMBIA

Tuesday’s matchup in Utah will be the 10th meeting all-time between the USA and Colombia and the fourth between the teams in the last two years. With Saturday’s victory in Colorado, the USA improves to 8-0-1 overall in the head-to-head series, which has now seen the nations square off five times in friendlies and twice each at the World Cup and Olympics. The USA’s only blemish in the overall series against Las Cafeteras came during the group stage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, a 2-2 tie on Aug. 9, 2016. After that meeting in Brazil, the teams did not square off again until January of 2021, when they played twice in Orlando, Florida, resulting in a 4-0 victory for the USA on Jan. 18, followed by a 6-0 win on Jan. 21 to close out the two-game set.

The USA has now won its last 13 matches overall against CONMEBOL competition, with wins over Brazil (4), Colombia (3), Chile (3), Paraguay (2) and Argentina (1) during that span. The USWNT has pitched a shutout in 11 of its last 13 games against South American opposition, with an overall goal differential of 57-4 during the 13-game win streak.

 

2022 USWNT MEDIA GUIDE

The 2022 U.S. Women’s National Team Media Guide is available for download. The Media Guide features all the history and statistic for the USWNT, as well as full bios on technical staff and the current top players, information on the USA’s Youth Women’s National Teams and general important information on U.S. Soccer.

 

SMITH STRIKES TWICE

Playing in her first match for the USWNT in her home state of Colorado, Sophia Smith made it a homecoming for the ages. The Windsor, Colorado native scored twice in a span of six minutes in the second half to lift the USA to victory in front of a sell-out crowd at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The brace marked the second multi-goal game of Smith’s international career – the previous coming in a hat trick vs. Uzbekistan on April 9 – and continues what has been an impressive goalscoring run for the 21-year-old. Smith, who ranks second in the NWSL in scoring this season, has now scored seven goals in her last four games combined for club and for country, tallying twice in each of her last three games.

 

After scoring just one goal in her first 13 appearances for the USWNT, Smith – who was the first player born in the 2000s to appear for the full U.S. Women’s National Team – has now scored five goals in her last three appearances in the crest, giving her a total of six goals in 16 caps. Only four USWNT players in the last 15 years have reached six goals quicker for the USWNT - Leroux (6 games), Christen Press (7 games), Morgan (14 games) and Rapinoe (15 games).


KORNIECK CAPITALIZES ON FIRST CAP

Saturday’s match against Colombia was an historic one in several ways for midfielder Taylor Kornieck, who became just the 21st player in USWNT history to score in her first cap. The Las Vegas-native who is participating in her first-ever camp with the USWNT, entered the match in the 73rd minute to become the fourth different player to debut for the USA in 2022 and the 248th player all-time to earn a cap with the USWNT. At 6-foot-1, Kornieck is now the tallest field player to ever represent the USWNT, surpassing 6-foot World Cup champion Samantha Mewis. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy, who recorded a clean sheet against Colombia, is also 6-1 and holds the distinction of being the tallest goalkeeper to play for the USWNT.

The already memorable night took additional significance when, on just her ninth touch of the night, Kornieck headed in a set-piece service from Rapinoe for her first international goal. Kornieck is the first player to score in her USWNT debut since 2016, when Kealia Ohai scored in her first cap, against Switzerland on October 23.

 

ON ANOTHER LAVELLE

Rose Lavelle assisted both goals by Sophia Smith in Saturday’s win over Colombia and is now tied for the team lead in assists this year with five. Lavelle, who had a banner year for the USA in 2021 as she set personal highs for USWNT games played (22), minutes (1,411), goals (5) and assists (5), has carried that same form into 2022. She has now been directly involved in seven goals in the USA’s last three games, tallying two goals and five assists. Since the start of 2021, Lavelle has made 26 appearances for the USA, totally seven goals and 10 assists. In her previous 46 caps from 2017 through 2020, she totaled 13 goals and six assists.

 

BACK IN THE BEEHIVE STATE

The USA heads into Tuesday’s match in Utah on a 68-game home unbeaten streak, which includes 61 wins and seven draws. During this unbeaten streak, the USA has outscored its opponents 258-28, including a 128-4 margin during its last 30 matches at home, all but two of which have been wins save for a 0-0 draw with Korea Republic on Oct. 21 and a scoreless draw vs Czech Republic on Feb. 17. The match against South Korea ended the USA’s home winning streak at 22 consecutive games, the second-longest such streak in USWNT history. The USA's longest home winning streak was 23 games and spanned from April 1993 to February 1996.

 

The USA is 6-0-0 all-time when playing in Utah, outscoring the opposition by a combined margin of 21-1 during that span. The USWNT’s most recent match in the Beehive State came on June 8, 2018, defeating China PR by a score of a 1-0. The lone goal in that match was scored by Alex Morgan and assisted by Megan Rapinoe. Morgan is one of three players on this roster who earned their first cap in Utah, as she made her international debut against Mexico at a snowy Rio Tinto Stadium on March 31, 2010. Ashley Hatch and Andi Sullivan earned their first caps at the same venue six years later in a match against Switzerland on October 19, 2016. Sullivan, who was in college at Stanford at the time, started the game and earned Woman of the Match honors for her performance. Hatch, also still in college at the time in the midst of a standout career at Brigham Young University, came on in the 75th minute for her USWNT debut.


PLAYING FOR PRIDE

As part of its “One Nation” social responsibility platform to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), U.S. Soccer, with support from Volkswagen, has partnered with the You Can Play Project for the fourth consecutive year to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride month during its friendly matches in June. The You Can Play Project is an organization dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, coaches and fans no matter their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

 

The U.S. Women’s National Team will be wearing jerseys with rainbow-colored numbers in recognition of Pride Month for both matches against Colombia. Autographed authentic Pride jerseys will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to You Can Play to help promote a safe and inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community. Fans can bid now at ussoccer.com/youcanplay and the auction will run through June 30. Last year, the campaign raised a record-breaking $85,000 to contribute to making sport safe and inclusive for LGBTQ+ athletes, coaches, referees and fans.

 

ROAD TO DOWN UNDER

Qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand, kicks off on July 4 at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. Following the matches against Colombia, the USA will depart directly to Mexico to prepare for the Concacaf W Championship, which will run from July 4-18 and will be played entirely in Monterrey. The tournament’s 16 matches will be split across two stadiums: Estadio Universitario and Estadio BBVA, the latter of which is one of Mexico’s three venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The USA was drawn into Group A and will face Haiti on Monday, July 4 at 6 p.m. local (7 p.m. ET), Jamaica on Thursday, July 7 at 6 p.m. local (7 p.m. ET) and Mexico on Monday, July 11 at 9 p.m. local (10 p.m. ET). The Semifinals will take place on Thursday, July 14 with the Third-Place Match and Championship Game being held on Monday, July 18. All the matches of the tournament will be available in English on Paramount+ and in Spanish on TelevisaUnivision’s streaming service ViX. The USA’s opening match against Haiti will also be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.

 

The top two teams from each group will clinch a spot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Two more Concacaf representatives will advance to a 10-team intercontinental playoff tournament to determine the final teams in the expand 32-team field for 2023.  Along with qualifying for the World Cup, at conclusion of the Concacaf W Championship, the winning nation will also guarantee its place in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament and the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. The runner-up and the third-place nations will progress to a Concacaf Olympic play-in to be played in September of 2023. The winner of the play-in will also guarantee their place in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games and the 2024 W Gold Cup

 

The USA is looking to qualify for its ninth consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup, having played in every tournament since the competition’s inception in 1991 and winning a record four titles. The USA will also have the opportunity to qualify for an eighth consecutive Summer Olympics.

 

USA ROSTER NOTES

  • The most capped player on the roster is Becky Sauerbrunn at 203, followed by Alex Morgan (191), Megan Rapinoe (188), Kelley O’Hara (153) and Lindsey Horan (110) while the least capped players are Trinity Rodman (3), Aubrey Kingsbury (1), Naomi Girma (1), Taylor Kornieck (1), Carson Pickett (0) and Sam Coffey (0).
  • Fifteen players on the June friendlies roster have 20 caps for fewer: Sophia Smith, Sofia Huerta, Midge Purce, Emily Fox, Ashley Hatch, Alana Cook, Jaelin Howell, Ashley Sanchez, Casey Murphy, Rodman, Kingsbury, Girma, Pickett, Kornieck and Coffey.
  • Becky Sauerbrunn is the oldest player on the roster (37 years old) while Rodman is the youngest (20) and was six years old when Sauerbrunn made her USWNT debut.
  • Of the 26 players called in for the camp in June, seven are in their 30s while 10 players are age 25 or younger.
  • Morgan is the top scorer on the roster with 115 career goals. Rapinoe has 62 and Lindsey Horan has 25. Pugh has 23 goals for the USWNT while Rose Lavelle has 20. No one else on the roster has double-digit goals for the USA.
  • Twelve different players have scored for the USWNT so far in 2022 – Catarina Macario (5), Mallory Pugh (5), Sophia Smith (5), Rose Lavelle (2), Ashley Hatch (2), Ashley Sanchez (2), Jaelin Howell (1), Kristie Mewis (1), Midge Purce (1), Trinity Rodman (1), Andi Sullivan (1) and Taylor Kornieck (1). The USA’s other four goals this year came via own goals.
  • Eleven different players have registered an assist for the USWNT so far in 2022, led by Pugh with five assists. Lavelle (3 assists), Alana Cook (2) and Sanchez (2) also have multiple assists on the year while Kelley O’Hara, Sofia Huerta, Megan Rapinoe, Purce, Hatch, Macario and Sullivan have on assist each.
  • With her assist on Saturday, Megan Rapinoe now has 72 career assists, one shy of tying Abby Wambach (73) for third all-time in USWNT history.
  • In total, 16 different players have been directly involved in goals for the USWNT in 2022, tallying either a goal or an assist.
  • Defender Alana Cook leads the USA in total minutes played so far in 2022 with 504 minutes of action, followed by defender Emily Fox (441) and midfielder Andi Sullivan (436).
  • Head coach Vlatko Andonovski is 33-2-6 in 41 games (two at the end of 2019, nine in 2020, 24 in 2021, and six so far in 2022).
  • Of Andonovski’s first 41 games, 30 have been at home and 17 have been against teams ranked in the top-13 in the world.
  • Fourteen players have earned their first cap under Andonovski, 10 of whom are on this roster.
  • Through six games in 2022, the USWNT has had 20 goals scored by players under the age of 24. Over the course of 2019, 2020 and 2021 — a total of 57 games — the USWNT had a combined total of 10 goals scored by players under the age of 24.
  • Eight of the 12 NWSL clubs have players on the roster with the Washington Spirit having seven, followed by OL Reign with four.

IN FOCUS: COLOMBIA | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
Current FIFA World Ranking: 28

CONMEBOL Ranking: 2

FIFA Country Code: COL

2023 World Cup Qualifying: CONMEBOL qualifying begins in July

World Cup appearances: 2 (2011, 2015)

Best World Cup Finish: Round of 16 (2015)

Record vs. USA: 0-8-1 (W-L-D)

Last Meeting vs. USA: June 25, 2022 (USA won, 3-0 in Commerce City, CO)

Coach: Nelson Abadía (COL)

 

COLOMBIA WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION

 

Goalkeepers (3): 1-Catalina Perez (Real Betis, ESP), 12-Sandra Sepulveda (Hapoel Marmorek Rehovot FC, ISR), 13- Luz Katherine Tapia (Independiente Santa Fe)

 

Defenders (7): 2-Manuela Vanegas (Real Sociedad, ESP), 3-Daniela Arias (Pachuca, MEX), 14-Nancy Acosta (Independiente Santa Fe), 17-Carolina Arias (Deportivo Cali), 19-Jorelyn Carabali (Deportivo Cali), 20-Monica Ramos (Gremio, BRA), 22-Daniela Caracas (Espanyol, ESP)

 

Midfielders (8): 4-Diana Ospina (América de Cali), 5-Lorena Bedoya (Atlético Nacional), 6-Daniela Montoya (Atlético Junior), 7-Ana Gabriela Huertas (Independiente Santa Fe, 8-Angie Castañeda (CP. Caceres, ESP), 10-Leicy Santos (Atlético de Madrid, ESP), 16-Maria Morales (Deportivo Cali), 21-Liana Salazar (Corinthians, BRA)

 

Forwards (5): 9-Mayra Ramirez (Sporting Club de Huelva, ESP), 11-Catalina Usme (América de Cali), 15-Tatiana Ariza (Deportivo Cali), 18-Linda Caicedo (Deportivo Cali), 23-Elexa Bahr (Racing de Santander, ESP)

 

COLOMBIA ROSTER NOTES

  • Goalkeeper Catalina Perez, who moved from Bogota to Florida as a child, and played college soccer at Miami and Mississippi State, had a fine performance against the USA on Saturday night, tallying five saves which included denying both Rose Lavelle and Lindsey Horan from the penalty spot. Prior to that match, the USA had failed to convert only once in its previous 11 penalty kick attempts.
  • Eleven players on this Colombia roster, including goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda and star forward Catalina Usme, were with the squad for the last meetings between these two teams in January of 2021 as international soccer emerged from the pandemic.
  • These matches are key preparation games for Colombia before it hosts the South American Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament to be played from July 8-30 in three Colombia cities: Bucaramanga, Armenia and Cali.
  • The tournament will provide three direct berths to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand and two play-off spots in the 10 inter-continental playoff tournament, which will provide the final three teams for the World Cup.
  • Colombia missed the 2019 Women’s World Cup but will be one of the favorites to earn one of South America’s three berths to 2023.
  • Colombia, which is currently ranked 28th in the world and second in South America behind Brazil, put in a fine performance at the 2015 FIFA World Cup, drawing 1-1 with Mexico, defeating world power France 2-0, and then falling to eventual Third-Place finisher England by a 2-1 score to complete group play. The four points were enough to earn Colombia a Round of 16 match with the USA and Las Cafeteras put up quite a fight against the eventual world champions before bowing out, 2-0.

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