ORLANDO, Fla. – Jan. 26, 2016—U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis named the 20 players who will represent the USA at the 2016 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Championship running from Feb. 10-21 in Frisco and Houston, Texas, including Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.
“Orlando Pride will be well represented on the U.S. Women’s National Team as they pursue a berth in the Brazil Olympic Games,” said Head Coach Tom Sermanni. “Both Alex and Ashlyn are instrumental to the success of that squad, and we look forward to their performance in the coming tour, as well as in the upcoming preseason for the NWSL.”
The USA opens the tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 10 against Costa Rica (7:30 p.m. CT). After opening Group A play against the Ticas, the USA continues first round action against Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 13 (3 p.m. CT), and finishes group play against Puerto Rico on Monday, Feb. 15 (7:30 p.m. CT).
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 held 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.
All 20 players selected, including Morgan and Harris, were part of the USA’s 26-player roster for January training camp that ended with a 5-0 victory against Ireland on Jan. 23 in San Diego. Morgan made her 100th career appearance for the United States during this match, where she also tallied her 57th career goal just before the stroke of halftime.
“This was an exceptionally challenging roster to select,” said Ellis. “The players all worked and competed very hard in the January camp and that made the final decisions extremely difficult. With only 17 field players allowed on the roster, and minimal time in between matches, I think we have one of the most versatile rosters ever for a qualifying tournament. Most of the field players are capable of playing at least two positions and as CONCACAF competitions generally present teams that will sit low and get numbers behind the ball, it is important to have players that can individually and collectively break teams down to create chances.”
The U.S. will attempt to qualify for a sixth consecutive Olympic Games and win the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying event for the fourth consecutive time. In 2012, the USA won the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Vancouver, B.C. (at the same stadium where it would win the Women's World Cup three years later) and then went on to win the gold medal in London.
Seven teams have already qualified for the 12-team Olympic Football Tournament: Brazil and Colombia from South America, France and Germany from Europe by virtue of their finish at the 2015 Women's World Cup, New Zealand from Oceania due to Papua New Guinea pulling out of the second leg of qualifying, and South Africa and Zimbabwe from Africa. Two teams will qualify from CONCACAF, Africa and Asia and one more will qualify from Europe after a mini-tournament in March featuring Sweden, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland.
U.S. Women’s National Team Olympic Qualifying Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3):Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (7): Jaelene Hinkle (Western New York Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash)
FORWARDS (5): Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Stephanie McCaffrey (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)
For more information about the competition, please visit www.ussoccer.com
