Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz get called up to USWNT for final time
After a disappointing finish at this summer's World Cup, the United States women's national team is back in action this month.
The squad has been anxious to reconvene with the hopes of quickly moving on from its uncharacteristic and disjointed performance in Australia and New Zealand as it looks toward the Paris 2024 Olympics, which begin in less than 12 months.
As it prepares for the Games, the USWNT will play two friendlies against South Africa — in Cincinnati on Sept. 21 and in Chicago on Sept. 24. As U.S. Soccer works through the process of hiring a new head coach — Vlatko Andonovski resigned following the team's round of 16 loss to Sweden — Twila Kilgore will run things in the interim.
Kilgore, who was an assistant on Andonovski's staff, has named a 27-player roster for the upcoming games, which include 21 players from the World Cup squad as well as six new(-ish) faces. Sophia Smith (mild MCL sprain) and Kristie Mewis (lower leg) were not called in due to injuries. Catarina Macario, who tore her ACL more than a year ago and was forced to miss the World Cup, was not called up either. Kilgore said Tuesday that she is still in recovery and working on her return to play with her club team Chelsea.
These two friendlies will mark emotional goodbyes for retiring legends Julie Ertz, who will play her final international match in the first game, and Megan Rapinoe, who will play her last game for the USWNT in the second.
"As we continue the search for our new head coach, we felt it was best to call up all of the World Cup players who are fit to play, while also bringing in some players that we believe can help us moving forward as we start our preparations for the Olympics next year," said U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker. "We're looking forward to having the opportunity to honor the players who have decided to retire but also know these games are valuable as the first steps towards Paris. Once the new head coach comes in, that individual will assess the player pool and make roster decisions that will be focused on building a team for the future."
Forward Ashley Hatch, who was shocked when she did not make Andonovski's World Cup roster, is back and currently tied for second in the NWSL in goals this season with nine. Defenders Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger, as well as midfielder Sam Coffey were called up, too.
Forwards Mia Fishel and Jaedyn Shaw, who has scored five goals for the San Diego Wave this season, have the opportunity to earn their first caps. Kilgore said the coaching staff views the latter two young players – Fishel is 22 years old, Shaw is 18 -- as "high potentials."
"The idea with bringing them into the environment — Mia just for her second camp and Jaedyn for her first — is just to expose them to the current environment, help with their onboarding, get them used to what the expectations are, and make sure they have a pathway for the future," Kilgore said.
This will be the first time the USWNT comes together after the World Cup. As the interim coach, how will Kilgore address the still raw emotions of this summer's setback while also preparing the team for next year's opportunity in Paris?
"It's something we've talked a lot about within the program," Kilgore said. "Player-to-player, coach-to-player, among the staff. And it's really important that we do have a conversation and address what's happened. But also quickly take the learnings from that, close the door and start looking forward towards the Olympics."
Kilgore said she has taken time to reflect on the World Cup and has debriefed with the coaching staff and players.
"The reality is for everybody, we would have liked to perform better, and we can perform better," Kilgore said. "The margin for victory is really small. As we saw, we could have won every single game. And with Sweden being our best performance, that's a pretty clear picture of just how small a margin can be and where maybe we need to grow a little bit.
"So we're just taking all of those learnings and making sure that we bring them with us into this camp and are very forward focused."
USWNT September friendlies roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (9): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars), Kelley O'Hara (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC), Julie Ertz (Unattached), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
FORWARDS (8): Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC, ENG), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.