The staff of the world’s top-ranked Women’s National Team are not resting on their laurels.

As the U.S. Women’s National Team continues preparation for October’s 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, which will serve as the World Cup qualifying tournament, the players will do so with the support of a newly-created, dedicated High Performance support team that consists of full-time experts in the fields of sports medicine, sports science and performance analysis to assist players and coaches on a year-round basis.

“One of the High Performance departments objectives is to link the multi-disciplinary teams together more cohesively, so there is more integration of knowledge, of data and of operation,” says James Bunce, Director the High Performance department. “My role is to bring these hugely integral technical and skilled areas together to optimize every area of player health, performance, psychology, conditioning and analysis of team tactical principles to make sure that every player – when they step on that pitch – not only is healthy and fit, but also prepared to win at the highest level.”

So, what exactly is this ‘new’ group, and how does it support the WNT?

Under development since Bunce was brought on in early 2017, the High Performance department is an initiative under U.S. Soccer’s Sport Development umbrella. The High Performance Department is focused on creating the best conditions in the areas of sport science, sport medicine and performance analysis for players, coaches, leaders and referees to develop and perform, through programs that allow them to achieve their ultimate potential.

The High Performance department encompasses three major technical areas:

• Sports Medicine – includes physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors and other medical resources.
• Sports Science and Performance – entails functions such as sports scientists, strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists and psychologists.
• Performance Analysis – looks at technical and tactical data, often using third party technology partners and working closely with National Team coaches to optimize the team’s in-game performance, opposition analysis and pre-game analysis through dedicated performance analysts.

“Each one of those areas offers expert support to the athletes and coaches in their own right,” explained Bunce. “For example, our athletic trainers are making sure our players are staying fit and healthy on and off the pitch. The sports scientists are working closely with the head coach to make sure that we’re optimizing our training loads and recovery. And Performance Analysts are looking to, for example, use data and information to help support the coach in their game plan and team set up.”

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It’s not like the WNT didn’t have some of these functions in the past, it certainly did, but now many positions feature full-time rather than part-time staff, while others are new positions filled by new hires. In addition, the staff now works out of the Federation offices in Chicago when not in training camp or on the road, which provides added benefits, according to Bunce.

“We’re able to meet every day, discuss plans, organize new technologies, develop processes, formulate plans with Jill (Ellis) for the next camp, and integrate new ideas,” he said.

Alex Morgan is in the business of scoring goals. And business is booming.

In her last 18 games playing for the U.S. Women’s National Team, Morgan has scored 17 times. They’ve come in a multitude of ways – from the penalty spot, headers, blistering drives and breakaways. She’s scored game-winners and braces, and against Japan on July 26 at the 2018 Tournament of Nations, she bagged a hat trick. It was the fourth of her career. 

She’s been scoring for the USA since 2010, and since scoring goals is perhaps the most difficult part of the game, there have been periods of great form and a few dry spells. But the past year has been impressive even by the high standards we’ve come to expect from the 29-year-old.

It’s always been clear that when Morgan is in the zone, opposing defenses are in for a long night.

This 18-game run – in which the USA has not lost -- began in the latter half of 2017 after she returned from her six-month stint at Olympique Lyonnais, lasted through the final seven games of 2017, then continued into the first 11 games of 2018.

The current streak began in the final game of the 2017 Tournament of Nations and now almost a year later, she’s still on a roll. She closed 2017 with seven goals in seven games (which made her the team’s top scorer for the year) and has a team-leading 10 goals in 11 games in 2018.

In a span of a few months, Morgan has put herself within striking distance of 100 goals. Currently at 90, she would become the seventh woman in U.S. history to reach the century mark and join a highly exclusive club which features Abby Wambach, Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Michelle Akers, Tiffeny Milbrett and Carli Lloyd. Even more impressively, she is on pace to achieve this feat in less caps (currently at 143 after the Japan game on July 26) than four of those six legends (Wambach and Akers scored goal No. 100 in their 129th cap; Hamm scored in her 155th cap) and could become the third youngest player in WNT history to reach 100. Wambach scored her 100th goal just after her 29th birthday and Hamm reached 100 when she was 26-and-a-half-years old.

Morgan’s first WNT goal came on Oct. 2, 2010 against China PR. She played in eight games that year and scored four goals. She followed that up with six goals in 2011 and had a breakthrough performance at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany.

In 2012, Morgan had one of the best scoring years in U.S. history, tallying a remarkable 28 goals with 21 assists to lead the team in both categories. Her goal total was the third-best in U.S. history behind only Michelle Akers (39 in 1991) and Wambach (31 in 2004) and her assist total was tied for second-best in U.S. history behind only Hamm (22 in 2004) and tied with Carin Gabarra (21 in 1991). She also helped the USA to the gold medal at the London Olympics, scoring the epic 123rdminute game-winner in the semifinal final that is still the latest goal in FIFA history, and earned personal recognition when she finished third for the FIFA Player of the Year award and was named the U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year for the first time.

The next two years for Morgan were unfortunately plagued by injuries. In 2013, she missed a few games but still played 811 minutes in 12 games and scored six goals with four assists. She spent much of 2014 finishing her recovery but returned to play in seven matches, starting four, while scoring five goals with four assists before she suffered an ankle injury in the second match of the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship that kept her out for the rest of the year.

She rounded into shape just in time to participate in her second World Cup at the senior level and she was a key member of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions. She came off the bench in the first two games as she regained her fitness, but then got the start in the final group game against Nigeria and started all four knock-out round games. She played in 22 of the USA’s 26 games that year and scored seven goals. She got back to her old self in 2016 when she found the net 17 times, including what was probably the best goal of the year on March 9 against Germany in the SheBelieves Cup.

Her 2017-18 has been even more impressive, and not just because of her scoring rate, but because the goals are coming against elite talent at a time when the level of play worldwide is increasingly competitive.

There’s still a lot of 2018 left to play, including the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship in October where the USA will look to book its trip to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France. And while the U.S. Women know that nothing is given and everything is earned, with Morgan in her current form, fans are surely looking forward to an entertaining few months ahead.

CHICAGO (Sept. 18, 2018) – U.S. Women’s National Team and Stanford University defender Tierna Davidson will be sidelined 10-12 weeks with a fractured ankle suffered while playing for the Cardinal against the University of North Carolina on Sept. 9.

Davidson, who turns 20 on Sept. 19, has earned 12 caps (all starts) this year as a teenager and leads the USA in minutes played with 1,049. She scored her first international goal at the senior level on Sept. 4 in a 3-0 victory against Chile.

CHICAGO (Aug. 31, 2018) –  Tickets for the semifinals, Third-Place Match and the Championship Game at the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship will go on sale to the public Tuesday, Sept. 4, at 10 a.m. CT through ussoccer.com, by phone at 1-855-492-8053 and at the Toyota Stadium Ticket Office.

All four of those games will take place at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, in a pair of doubleheader events. The two all-important semifinals are set for Oct. 14, with the winners qualifying directly to the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Championship Game on Oct. 17 will be part of a twin-bill with the critical Third-Place match, with the team finishing third in the tournament also qualifying for France and the fourth-place side earning a spot in a two-game playoff against South America third-place finisher Argentina for a final World Cup berth.

Groups of 20 or more can order tickets directly at ussoccer.com.

Coaches Circle and Presidents Circle members supporting the U.S. Soccer Development Fund can receive individual customer support and concierge services for their ticketing needs. Click here or contact circles@ussoccer.org for more information.

The 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship will be played from Oct. 4-17 in three host cities: Cary, N.C., Edinburg, Texas, and Frisco, Texas, home of the new National Soccer Hall of Fame, which is set to open just three days after the completion of the qualifying tournament.

TICKETS ON SALE FOR THE USA’S GROUP A MATCHES IN CARY, N.C.
Tickets for the USA’s Group A matches on Oct. 4, 7 and 10 at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park are currently on sale through ussoccer.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Tickets will not be sold at the stadium except on the day of each event.

FINAL DRAW AND TV COVERAGE
FOX Sports, the home of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, will present 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship coverage across the FOX Sports family of networks.

The Final Draw for the tournament, which will put the eight participating teams into two groups of four for the first round of the competition, will be conducted at Univision Studios on Sept. 4 at 10 a.m. ET. Fans will be able to follow the event through Concacaf.com, Univision Deportes and FOX Sports in the United States, and Yahoo Sports in Mexico and Central America.

FIVE TEAMS IN, THREE TO GO
The top two finishers in each of the four-team groups will cross over to meet the other group’s second-place finishers in the semifinals.