Ertz, Huerta, Naeher and Short make the roster again

CHICAGO – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named Julie Ertz, Sofia Huerta, Alyssa Naeher and Casey Short among 26 players to the preliminary roster for the 2018 SheBelieves Cup. The tournament features FIFA-ranked No.1 USA, No. 2 Germany, No. 3 England and No. 6 France playing in three doubleheader events at three different venues over a seven-day period as four of the world’s premier teams meet over six games in a display of the highest levels of competition in women’s soccer.

• Five Things to Know About the 2018 SheBelieves Cup

The U.S. team will convene in Orlando, Florida on Feb. 19 for a week of training before heading to Columbus, Ohio to kick off the third annual edition of the tournament on Thursday, March 1 at MAPFRE Stadium. England will open against France (4 p.m. ET) followed by the USA against Germany (7 p.m. ET on ESPN2).

All the teams will then travel to New Jersey and Red Bull Arena where the USA will play the first match of the day on Sunday, March 4, taking on France (12 p.m. ET on ESPN2) followed by Germany vs. England (3 p.m. ET). The tournament will finish on Wednesday, March 7, at Orlando City Stadium in Orlando, Florida, as France takes on Germany (4 p.m. ET) followed by the tournament finale featuring the USA against England (7 p.m. ET on ESPNews).

“We had a productive training camp in January and a quality performance against Denmark to open the year, so the goal in the training portion of this camp is to refine our roles and relationships within our style of play,” said Ellis. “We will again have the majority of our core players back in and we’ll have the numbers to be able to play 11v11 before finalizing the tournament roster.”

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position; Caps/Goals
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 2/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 14/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 24/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 14/0), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; 1/0), Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars; 3/0), Hailie Mace (UCLA; 0/0), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 105/2), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 19/0), Taylor Smith (NC Courage; 8/0), Emily Sonnett (Sydney FC, AUS/Portland Thorns FC; 13/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 69/6), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 58/15), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 44/4), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 7/2), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 247/98), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC; 33/6), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 8/0)
FORWARDS (8): Crystal Dunn (Chelsea FC, ENG/NC Courage; 58/23), Ashley Hatch (Melbourne City FC, AUS/Washington Spirit; 1/0), Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC; 1/0), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 135/81), Christen Press (Houston Dash; 97/44), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 30/8), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC; 130/34), Lynn Williams (NC Courage; 16/4)

Ellis named three goalkeepers, eight defenders, seven midfielders and eight forwards to the preliminary roster. Forward Crystal Dunn and midfielder Morgan Brian will remain in Europe with their club teams during training camp in Orlando, but will join the USA in Columbus if named to the final 23-player tournament roster.

All the games in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup will be the USA’s first meetings against these countries since last year’s tournament, starting with Germany, which will once again bring together the world’s top two teams in the FIFA rankings.

“SheBelieves provides us with such an incredible opportunity to compete against the top teams and we are very much looking forward to our opening game against Germany in Columbus,” said Ellis.

TICKETS
Tickets for all three doubleheaders are on sale through ussoccer.com and by phone at 1-800-745-3000. Groups of 20 or more can obtain an order form at ussoccer.com. Ultimate Fan Tickets (special VIP packages that include a premium ticket, a custom-made official U.S. National Team jersey with name and number, VIP access to the field before the game, and other unique benefits) will be available only for the March 4 event at Red Bull Arena exclusively through ussoccer.com. To receive notifications directly and for early ticket access, join U.S. Soccer’s social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat.

Additional Notes:

• Ellis will finalize the 23-player roster for the SheBelieves Cup near the end of camp before the team heads to Columbus.
• The second annual SheBelieves Hero contest is underway, and will run until Feb. 19 as the four finalists vie to earn the title of SheBelieves Hero. More information and voting here.
• For the first time this year, U.S. Soccer is set to host its SheBelieves Summit. Set for March 3 in NYC, the Summit is a day-long event meant to celebrate opportunity, empower attendees and equip young women with the inspiration, tools and connections to pursues and accomplish their goals – in life, in school, on fields and in their future careers. More information here.

• S. captain Carli Lloyd is the most capped player on the roster with 246 games played and is two goals away from becoming the sixth player in U.S. history to score 100 international goals.
• Alex Morgan is the next highest scorer on the roster with 81 goals.
• Mallory Pugh leads the USA in scoring in 2018 after bagging two goals in the opening game of the year, a 5-1 in against Denmark on Jan. 21.

• 2017 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year Julie Ertz comes into the camp with 58 caps and 15 goals.

• Twenty-three of the players on the preliminary roster were part of the USA’s January Camp in Los Angeles with Hailie Mace, who gets her first senior team call-up, as the only newcomer. Morgan Brian has not been in a WNT training camp since last September.
• Mace, a rising senior at UCLA, led the Bruins in scoring last season with 15 goals and three assists while helping her team to the NCAA title game. Up until the last college season in which she played forward, Mace played defense and has trained with the U.S. U-23 WNT in the back as well. She has started 62 consecutive games for UCLA.
• Forward Ashley Hatch earned her first WNT cap on Oct. 19, 2016, while still in college at BYU. She came off the bench against Switzerland in Sandy, Utah, in a 4-0 win, and this is her first WNT call-up since then. Hatch, the second pick in the 2017 NWSL Draft, was the NWSL Rookie of the Year last season for the North Carolina Courage after scoring seven goals with one assist. Hatch, who is playing with Melbourne City FC in Australia during the NWSL off-season, was traded to the Washington Spirit on January 16.
• Forward Savannah McCaskill and defender Tierna Davidson both get call-ups after earning their first caps on Jan. 21 vs. Denmark in San Diego.
• The 2018 SheBelieves Cup will mark the debut of new England head coach Phil Neville, the former Manchester United and Everton star and England National Team defender.
• Three of the four coaches in the tournament are women: the USA’s Jill Ellis, Corinne Diacre of France and Steffi Jones from Germany.
• Defender Becky Sauerbrunn (foot), midfielder Samantha Mewis (knee) and forward Tobin Heath (ankle) are progressing well in their return from injuries, but are not ready for game action.