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Global Aug 01, 2016

USWNT set to open Olympics vs. New Zealand on Wednesday

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USA vs. New Zealand
2016 Olympics – Group G
Mineirão Stadium; Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Aug. 3, 2016

(Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will open play in the 2016 Olympics against New Zealand on Aug. 3 at Mineirão Stadium Belo Horizonte, Brazil (7 p.m. local / 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Universo and NBCOlympics.com). The USA arrived in Brazil the evening of Aug. 28 and will have trained for four days (with one day off) before kicking off its tournament.

+Read: U.S. U-19 Men’s National Team defeats Spain in COTIF Tournament

WATCH THE U.S. WNT ON NBCSN: The Group G matches for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2016 Olympics will be available across a wide array of viewing options, airing on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN), NBC Universo and the Soccer Specialty Channel as well as on NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app. All U.S. WNT matches on NBCSN will be called by NBC Sports Group’s lead Premier League announcer Arlo White (play-by-play) and two-time U.S. women’s soccer Olympic gold medalist Kate Markgraf (analyst). They will be joined by reporter Sebastian Salazar of CSN Mid Atlantic. The Soccer Specialty Channel – which will focus solely on men’s and women’s soccer — will be on nearly every day of the Summer Games, while NBC Universo will provide live coverage in Spanish of all three of the USA’s group stage games. Viewers should contact their TV provider for further information on availability and location of the Soccer Specialty Channel.

12 COUNTRIES VYING FOR GOLD IN WOMEN’S SOCCER: The field for the 12-team Olympic Football Tournament is a strong one, featuring the USA and Canada from CONCACAF; Brazil and Colombia from South America; South Africa and Zimbabwe from Africa; New Zealand from Oceania; France, Germany and Sweden from Europe; and Australia and China PR from Asia. The United States was drawn into Group G with New Zealand, France and Colombia for the tournament taking place from Aug. 3-19 at seven venues throughout Brazil. The U.S. will open Group G play – two days before the Olympic Opening Ceremonies – against New Zealand on Aug. 3 at Mineirão Stadium in Belo Horizonte. The USA will stay in Belo Horizonte to face France at Mineirão Stadium on Aug. 6, and finish group play against Colombia on Aug. 9 at the Amazônia Stadium in Manaus, the same arena in which the U.S. MNT tied Portugal 2-2 during the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and the furthest soccer venue from Rio (more than 1,700 miles). Drawn into Group E with Brazil were China PR, Sweden and South Africa. Group F will consist of Germany, Canada, the tournament’s only debutante Zimbabwe, and Australia.

OLYMPIC COMPETITION FORMAT: The top two finishers in each group will advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams. Should the U.S. advance to the second round by winning the group, it would meet a third-place team from Group E or F. If the USA finishes second in the group, it would face the first-place team from Group F. A third-place finish could mean a possible meeting with the first-place team from Group E.

+Read: U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team set for New Jersey training camp

2016 Olympic Schedule – U.S. Women’s National Team

Date Opponent Venue Kickoff TV
Aug. 3 New Zealand Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Mineirão Stadium) 7 p.m. local / 6 p.m. ET NBCSN
Aug. 6 France Belo Horizonte, Brazil (Mineirão Stadium) 5 p.m. local / 4 p.m. ET NBCSN
Aug. 9 Colombia Manaus, Brazil (Amazônia Stadium) 6 p.m. local / 6 p.m. ET NBCSN

U.S. All-Time Record vs. Group G Olympic Opponents

Team GP W L T GF GA
NZL 13 11 1 1 47 5
FRA 19 16 1 2 51 14
COL 5 5 0 0 18 0
Total 37 32 2 3 116 19

USA UNBEATEN IN 2016 HEADING INTO OLYMPICS: The USA is 14-0-1 in 2016, earning 13 shutouts while allowing just four goals, three of which came against Japan on June 2. The USA started the year with a 5-0 win against Ireland and then won two tournaments early on – taking the title at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament in February and the SheBelieves Cup in March. In the SheBelieves Cup, the USA defeated England 1-0 on March 3 with a spectacular late goal from Crystal Dunn, downed France 1-0 in stoppage time on March 6 off a brilliant pass from Mallory Pugh to Alex Morgan, and then came from behind to defeat Germany, 2-1, in a match it had to win to take the tournament title. The USA played two friendly matches against Olympic Group G opponent Colombia in April,winning 7-0 and 3-0 with seven different players scoring the 10 goals. The USA played two entertaining matches against Japan in June, a wild 3-3 draw on June 2 in Commerce City, Colo., that saw the USA go down 2-0 after 22 minutes, only to roar back to take a 3-2 lead heading into stoppage time. The referee added four minutes and Japan equalized in the third minute of stoppage time. The USA won the rematch 2-0 in Cleveland during a game that was stopped in the 76th minute due to inclement weather. In July, the USA faced fellow Olympic qualifier South Africa on July 9 in the first meeting between the teams, winning just 1-0 as the USA logged a dominating if somewhat uneven performance. The USA dominated Costa Rica in its final Olympic send-off match on July 22, winning 4-0 .

2016 OLYMPIC TEAM SENDS 11 DEBUTANTES: U.S. head coach Jill Ellis named her 18-player Olympic Team on July 12 and seven players make a return to the Olympics after helping the USA to the gold medal in 2012 in London. Fourteen players who were members of the USA’s 2015 Women’s World Cup championship team were named. Midfielders Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath and goalkeeper Hope Solo were named to their third Olympic rosters. Solo was also an alternate in 2004 and will be attending her fourth Games. Midfielder Megan Rapinoe, forward Alex Morgan and defenders Kelley O’Hara and Becky Sauerbrunn will be playing in their second Olympic Games. The remaining 11 players made their first Olympic roster, although forward Christen Press and defender Meghan Klingenberg were alternates on the 2012 team and defender Ali Krieger was an alternate in 2008. Having just turned 18 on April 29, forward Mallory Pugh becomes the USA’s second youngest women’s soccer Olympian. Ellis also named four alternate replacement players that traveled to Brazil in midfielder Heather O’Reilly, who is a three-time gold medalist (2004, 2008 and 2012), goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, defender Emily Sonnett and midfielder Samantha Mewis. O’Reilly and Harris were part of the USA’s World Cup championship team last summer.

+Read: U.S. U-16 Girls National Team heads to camp at Olympic Training Center

SOLO NEARS 200 CAPS: U.S. WNT goalkeeper Hope Solo is on track to earn her 200th cap during the Olympics. She would be the 11th U.S. player to hit the 200 mark and the first goalkeeper in international soccer history to do so. Currently at 198 caps, Solo – the leader for caps by a goalkeeper in world and U.S. history – could reach the historic mark on Aug. 6 against France. Solo became the first goalkeeper in history to earn 100 shutouts when she blanked South Africa on July 9. Solo has earned shutouts vs. 29 different countries.

 

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): 18-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), 1- Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)

DEFENDERS (6): 6-Whitney Engen (Boston Breakers), 8-Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), 7-Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), 11-Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 14-Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), 9-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), 10-Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), 3-Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign)

FORWARDS (4): 16-Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), 12-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars); 2- Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)

Alternates: Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride),Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC), 3-Samantha Mewis(Western New York Flash), 9- Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City)

GRAND OLYMPIC HISTORY: The U.S. Women’s National Team is by far the most successful in Olympic women’s soccer history, having won four gold medals and one silver medal in the five competitions that have been held so far. The USA is 23-2-3 all-time in the Olympics, having lost only in the gold medal game in 2000 and the opening match of the 2008 tournament, both to Norway. In 2016 in Brazil, the USA celebrates the 20th anniversary of its first gold medal which came in the first Olympic Games in which women’s soccer was contested. The Olympic Women’s Soccer Tournament was staged as an eight-team competition in 1996 and 2000 before moving – oddly to a 10-team tournament in 2004 – and then have been 12 teams for the past two Olympic Games.

1996: 4-0-1 – Leading scorers: Tisha Venturini, Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett – 2 goals each
The USA claimed that inaugural gold medal at the Atlanta Games in 1996 with a 2-1 victory against China on goals from former college teammates Shannon MacMillan and Tiffeny Milbrett in front of 76,481 fans in Athens, Ga. The attendance mark, which at the time was the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s athletic event, set the stage for the incredibly successful Women’s World Cup staged in the U.S. in 1999. The gold medal victory culminated an impressive five-game undefeated run through the tournament in which the U.S. Women played in front of packed crowds.

2000: 3-1-1 — Leading scorers: Tiffeny Milbrett – 3 goals; Mia Hamm – 2 goals
As they did in 1996, the U.S. Women had a strong run to the medal stand in 2000, winning the “Group of Death” that included China, Nigeria and Norway. In the gold medal match in Sydney, Australia, the USA put together an excellent performance as Milbrett scored both goals, including a last gasp equalizer in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, but a spirited Norway side produced a controversial “golden goal” in overtime to win the gold. Norway scored its three goals on just three shots on goal in the thrilling 3-2 triumph.

2004: 5-0-1 – Leading scorers: Abby Wambach – 4 goals; Kristine Lilly – 3 goals; Mia Hamm – 2 goals
The 2004 Athens Games were a fitting end for a number of U.S. veterans, including Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett, who left the sport as they came into it: as champions. The never-say-die team won both its semifinal and final matches in overtime, courtesy of a Heather O’Reilly strike against Germany and an Abby Wambach header against Brazil to claim the gold.

2008: 5-1-0 – Angela Hucles – 4 goals; Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly – 2 goals each
Four years later, the U.S. came into the Olympics without Wambach, the team’s top scorer, who broke her leg in the final preparation match. With Pia Sundhage leading the team into her first world championship as head coach, a new class of players including Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd and surprise leading scorer Angela Hucles led the team to gold with a 1-0 victory over Brazil. Lloyd scored the dramatic overtime game-winner in the 96th minute.

2012: 6-0-0 – Abby Wambach – 5 goals; Carli Lloyd – 4 goals; Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe – 3 goals each
In 2012, the U.S. Women won every game at an Olympic tournament for the first time, going 6-0-0 and Sundhage ended her time with the USA as a two-time Olympic champion. The USA’s run included a thrilling come-from-behind semifinal victory against Canada, with Alex Morgan scoring the game-winner in the 123rd minute in what was the latest goal scored in a FIFA competition. In the gold medal match, Lloyd scored both goals in the 2-1 victory against Japan and the USA became the first country – in either men’s or women’s soccer – to earn a fourth gold, while avenging its defeat in the Women’s World Cup Final a year earlier. The match was watched by more than 80,000 fans at the famed Wembley Stadium in London.

OLYMPIC OPENERS: The USA is 4-1-0 all-time in Olympic openers, losing its only in 2008 by a 2-0 score to Norway, but the Americans still went on to win the gold medal. The USA had an interesting start to the last Olympics, falling behind 2-0 to France early in the game before roaring back with four unanswered goals to win, 4-2.

U.S. WNT OLYMPIC OPENERS: 1996-2012

Date Opponent Result U.S. Goals Location Attendance
July 21, 1996 Denmark 3-0 W Venturini, Hamm, Milbrett Orlando, Fla. 25,303
Sept. 14, 2000 Norway 2-0 W Milbrett, Hamm Melbourne, Australia 16,043
Aug. 11, 2004 Greece 3-0 W Boxx, Wambach, Hamm Herakalio, Greece 16,000
Aug. 5, 2008 Norway 0-2 L Qinhuangdao, China 17,673
July 25, 2012 France 4-2 W Wambach, Morgan (2), Lloyd Glasgow, Scotland 18,090

2016 U.S. OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM NOTES:

  • The Olympic roster is broken down into two goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and four forwards, but numerous players on the roster can and have played multiple positions for the USA.
  • The U.S. WNT has won a record 11 consecutive games in the Olympic Football Tournament. Their last dropped game was a 2-0 loss to Norway in the 2008 opener. If the USA wins against New Zealand, it will double the next best series of victories, set by the Norwegians between 2000-08.
  • Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo and Tobin Heath join a list of 12 other U.S. players to be named to three Olympic rosters. Christie Rampone is the only U.S. player to play in four Olympic Games.
  • Solo and Lloyd are tied for the most Olympic appearances on the current roster with 12 each.
  • Lloyd scored the winning goal in the gold medal game at each of the last two Olympics. In 2008, she scored the USA’s lone goal in a 1-0 overtime victory against Brazil, and in 2012 she scored both goals in the USA’s 2-1 victory against Japan. Lloyd is the team’s leading scorer heading into the Olympics with 88 career goals.
  • With 224 caps, Lloyd is the most-capped soccer player at the 2016 Olympic Games.
  • The 11 players making their first Olympic Team: goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, defenders Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg, Julie Johnston and Ali Krieger, midfielders Allie Long, Lindsey Horan and Morgan Brian, and forwards Mallory Pugh, Crystal Dunn, and Christen Press.
  • Krieger was an alternate in 2008 and most likely would have made the 2012 team, but suffered an ACL tear during the qualifying tournament. Krieger, who will be 32 when the Olympics begin, becomes the oldest first-time U.S. Olympian for women’s soccer.
  • Long, Horan, Dunn and Pugh are the only players on the 2016 Olympic Team who were not members of the 2015 Women’s World Cup team. At the 2012 Olympics in England, there was just one player on the roster who was not on the 2011 Women’s World Cup team: Sydney Leroux.
  • Pugh is the second youngest women’s soccer Olympian in U.S. history as she will be about a month older than Cindy Parlow was at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Pugh will be 18 years, 3 months and 5 days old when the USA opens the Olympics on Aug. 3rd. Parlow was 18 years, 2 months and 13 days old when the USA opened the 1996 Olympics in Orlando, Fla.
  • Should Pugh score in the Olympics, she would be the youngest U.S. player to score in the competition as Parlow did not find the net in 1996.
  • Pugh leads the USA in assists this year with seven. She is also the only amateur player on the roster, with the other 17 being professional players.
  • Naeher is the least-capped player on the team with seven international appearances, while Long has just 10 caps. Pugh has earned her first 14 caps this year, playing in every game but one in 2016. Johnston was the least capped player on the 2015 WWC Team, being named to the team when she had just nine.
  • There are four players on the roster from California (Rapinoe, Press, Engen and Morgan) with two players each hailing from Georgia (O’Hara and Brian), New Jersey (Heath and Lloyd), New York (Long and Dunn) and Colorado (Horan and Pugh).
  • Six players on the roster have been capped more than 100 times, led by Lloyd, who has played 224 times for the USA; Heath (119), Morgan (112), Rapinoe (113), Becky Sauerbrunn (109) and Solo (198) are the other five.
  • The average age of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team when the USA opens play onAug. 3 will be 27.8 years old.
  • The average number of caps on the roster heading into the Olympic opener is 77.
  • The U.S. roster has a combined 53 Olympic appearances and 12 goals, all scored by Lloyd (6), Morgan (4) and Rapinoe (2).
  • Of the 16 field players on the roster, only Sauerbrunn has yet to score an international goal.
  • Thirteen of the 18 players on the roster have played for the USA in a FIFA Women’s World Cup at the youth level.
  • Of the 14 players who played in the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final, 11 were named to the Olympic roster.
  • Heather O’Reilly, who was chosen as an alternate, scored the earliest goal in Olympic history when she tallied against New Zealand in 2008 just 42 seconds into the game.
  • Morgan owns the latest goal in Olympic, FIFA and U.S. history, tallying after 122 minutes and 22 seconds against Canada to notch the game-winning goal in the semifinal of the 2012 Olympics.
  • Nine of the 10 NWSL clubs are represented on the roster, with only the Western New York Flash without a player, although Samantha Mewis was chosen as an alternate.
  • Portland Thorns FC lead the way with four players, followed by the Chicago Red Stars with three and Seattle Reign FC, the Houston Dash and the Washington Spirit with two each. Sky Blue FC, FC Kansas City, the Orlando Pride and the Boston Breakers have one each.

U.S. TEAM AND ROSTER NOTES:

  • With her game-winning goal against Costa Rica on July 22, Crystal Dunn has 10 goals in 2016 which is good for second most on the team this year. Dunn has scored 14 goals in the last 22 games.
  • Before the match against Puerto Rico on Feb. 15 in the Olympic Qualifying tournament, Dunn had scored five goals for the U.S. WNT. She doubled that total vs. Puerto Rico, notching five goals to tie a U.S. record for most goals scored in a match. She became the seventh U.S. player to achieve that feat. The other six were: Brandi Chastain (1991), Michelle Akers (1991), Tiffeny Milbrett (2002), Abby Wambach (2004), Amy Rodriguez (2012) and Sydney Leroux (2012). It was Dunn’s first multi-goal game for the WNT.
  • Against South Africa on July 9, Carli Lloyd made her return to action – playing the entire second half — after missing the two previous games against Japan in June. Lloyd, the reigning FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year and U.S. Soccer Player of the Year, has fully recovered from an MLC strain suffered while playing for the Houston Dash on April 23and went the full 90 minutes on July 22 vs. Costa Rica while scoring her 88th international goal. Lloyd, who has nine goals this year, is third in the team in goals behind Dunn’s 10 and Alex Morgan’s 11. The June games were the first Lloyd had missed since the very beginning of 2014 when she did not play in the first match of the year, a 1-0 victory vs. Canada in Frisco, Texas on Jan. 31, due to a red card received in the final match of the previous year. Lloyd is now just 12 goals away from becoming the sixth player in U.S. history to score 100 or more.
  • Lloyd has scored 25 goals her last 26 matches starting with the Round of 16 game at the WWC, 20 of them coming while playing in a withdrawn forward position.
  • After having ACL surgery in mid-December of last year, midfielder Megan Rapinoe made a steady recovery, was named to her first roster since the injury for the USA’s training in Chicago and participated fully in training for the first time. Her progress was good enough for Jill Ellis to name her to the 2016 Olympic Team.
  • Hope Solo has earned wins in 12 of the USA’s 15 games so far, with one tie, while Alyssa Naeher has the other two victories.
  • Solo is on 198 caps and against France during Group G play, she would become the first goalkeeper in soccer history to play 200 times for her country.
  • Alex Morgan’s two goals on June 2 marked her 18th career multi-goal game. She now has 67 career goals, 11 of which have come in her 13 games played so far in 2016. The only other time Morgan scored double-digit goals for the USA in a calendar year was in 2012 (28 goals), which, coincidently, also happened to be an Olympic year.
  • OnJan. 23, Morgan became the 34th female player in U.S. history to play 100 times for her country. Morgan debuted for the USA on Oct. 2, 2010, vs. China. She has averaged 0.59 goals per game in her international career.
  • Morgan’s goal 12 seconds into the match against Costa Rica on Feb. 10 was the earliest in U.S. WNT history. She also scored the latest goal in U.S. history, tallying after 122 and 22 seconds against Canada in the semifinal of the 2012 Olympics. It was also the quickest in CONCACAF qualifying history, besting Abby Wambach (35 seconds vs. Dominican Republic on Jan. 20, 2012).
  • Morgan scored three goals in the Olympic Qualifying semifinal match against Trinidad & Tobago on Feb. 19. It was her third career hat trick and the first since Nov. 28, 2012 against Ireland.
  • After earning her first two caps at the 2013 Algarve Cup, now 22-year-old Lindsey Horan got her first three starts at the end of last year, switching positions to holding midfielder where she excelled in the Olympic Qualifying tournament and the SheBelieves Cup. Horan, who was the first American female player to skip college and head overseas to play professionally, left for Europe in July of 2012 after she graduated from high school and spent more than three years in France with Paris Saint-Germain. She scored her first WNT goal against T&T at the end of last year and scored her second to break open a tight match against Canada in the championship of Olympic Qualifying. Her third was one to remember, coming off the bench in her hometown of Denver on June 2 to head home an apparent game-winner in the 89th minute, but Japan equalized in the third minute of stoppage time.
  • Horan’s goal against Japan on June 2 was her second of 2016 and third of her career.
  • Midfielder Allie Long earned her fifth cap in her third start and scored the first two goals of her international career on April 6 against Colombia. Long scored twice on headers. Her most recent start before that match was also at Pratt & Whitney Stadium, on June 19, 2014, in a 2-2 draw with France. She came off the bench on April 10 vs. Colombia to earn her sixth cap and started against Japan on June 2 and June 5 to earn her seventh and eighth. Her start against South Africa on July 9 gave her nine caps before she was named to the 2016 Olympic Team, the only field player on the team in single digits but she hit 10 career caps on July 22 vs. Costa Rica.
  • Tobin Heath scored her third goal of 2016, and 15th of her career, on a blistering volley vs. Colombia on April 6. Heath’s two goals in the February Olympic Qualifying tournament were her first since the Women’s World Cup Final and were remarkably similar, both coming off spinning left-footed blasts after making runs into the box from the right side and both coming off excellent and similar passes from Pugh who had made dynamic runs down the left side.
  • With an assist on Morgan’s second goal on June 2 against Japan, Heath now has four assists in 2016 and 25 for her career with the WNT.
  • Christen Press has scored 34 international goals in 70 caps, moving her past Lindsay Tarpley into 16th place on the U.S. WNT all-time goals list. She is averaging just under a goal for every two games she plays (0.48 goals per game) for the WNT.
  • Julie Johnston’s two goals against Colombia on April 10 upped her career total to seven, all coming off set plays. It was her first multi-goal game for the USA.
  • Against Canada on Feb. 21 in the championship game of the Olympic Qualifying tournament, U.S. co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn became the 35th U.S. female player to reach 100 caps. She also picked up the third assist of her career, lofting a perfect pass to Lindsey Horan to score off a header. Sauebrunn got her second assist of the year and the fourth of her career on Carli Lloyd’s header goal off a free-kick against Costa Rica on July 22.
  • Mallory Pugh achieved a rare feat of helping two different teams qualify for a world championship in the same cycle. Last December, she captained the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team to a 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup berth and the CONCACAF title at the qualifying tournament in Honduras. Pugh was called up by Jill Ellis for the USA’s January training camp this year, making her one of the youngest field players called into the full U.S. WNT in the past 15 years. Pugh was a starter at the age of 16 in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada and will compete in the U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea at the end of this year.
  • Pugh scored in her senior team debut (the 19th U.S. WNT player to score in her first cap) on Jan. 23 vs. Ireland at 17 years, 8 months and 25 days old, becoming the youngest player to debut for the U.S. in the last 11 years.
  • Pugh earned her second cap with the WNT on Feb. 10, coming on for Crystal Dunn in the 68th minute against Costa Rica in her first Olympic qualifying match and thus became the youngest female player in WNT history to play in an Olympic Qualifying match at 17 years, 9 months and 12 days old.
  • Pugh earned her first start against Puerto Rico on Feb. 15 and picked up her first WNT assist while also creating a PR own goal. She has played in 14 of the USA’s 15 games this year. She has started 10 of the last 12 matches while scoring three goals and picking up seven assists, best on the team.
  • Pugh, who turned 18 on April 29, is fifth all-time for most U.S. caps before the age of 18 (11). She is third for most goals before the age of 18 (2), fourth in most starts before the age of 18 (7) and first for most assists before the age of 18 (5).
  • Meghan Klingenberg played the most minutes in Olympic Qualifying with 384 out of 450, while Lloyd played 380 and Morgan played 379. Dunn led the team with six goals, while Morgan scored five and Lloyd scored four. Brian and Pugh shared the team lead in assists over the five games with three each.
  • The USA placed eight players on the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Best XI: Solo, O’Hara, Sauerbrunn, Horan, Brian, Heath, Morgan and Lloyd.
  • Twenty-three-year old Samantha Mewis made her debut at the 2014 Algarve Cup, played in one match last year and has seven caps this year while scoring her first WNT goal during Olympic Qualifying. She scored her second WNT goal, which was the game-winner, in a 2-1 victory against Germany to clinch the SheBelieves Cup title.
  • Emily Sonnett, 22, earned her first cap on Oct. 25 against Brazil, playing on 90 minutes in the center of the defense, and has since earned eight more caps including five this year with three starts. She played the entire 90 minutes in the opening game of the SheBelieves Cup against England.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS:

  • U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo became the first goalkeeper in history to earn 100 shutouts when she blanked South Africa on July 9. Solo has 12 wins in 2016, 10 by shutout, and also has a good chance to surpass her high of 13 shutouts in a calendar year achieved in another Olympic year, 2008. In the semifinal of the WWC, she earned her fifth straight World Cup clean sheet for the USA and 10th in World Cup play, tying the record for most by a U.S. goalkeeper and most in World Cup play with Brianna Scurry. Solo has earned shutouts vs. 29 different countries.
  • With 198 caps, Hope Solo is the leader for caps by a goalkeeper in world and U.S. history and is three away from becoming the first goalkeeper in U.S. and world history to hit 200, which she will likely reach in the Olympics. Briana Scurry earned 173 caps in her career (1994-2008).
  • Solo has the most starts by a WNT goalkeeper with 190 and is in 8th place on the WNT’s all-time starts list behind Lloyd, who has moved into seventh place with 192.
  • Solo has 150 goalkeeper wins and is the all-time leader in wins for a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Brian Scurry had 133 during her career (1994-2008).
  • Carli Lloyd is the 10th woman in U.S. history to reach 200 caps, achieving the feat at the WWC quarterfinal match against China PR on June 26. She is the third active player to reach that mark. Christie Rampone and Heather O’Reilly are the other two. She also became the third player in U.S. history to score in her 200th appearance. Wambach and O’Reilly are the other two.
  • Lloyd is the highest active goal scorer in U.S. history with the players ahead of her, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett and Michelle Akers all retired.
  • Lloyd is in eighth place on the USA’s all-time caps with 224.
  • With her two assists against Colombia on April 6, Lloyd moved into a tie for ninth place on the U.S. all-time assist list with Aly Wagner at 42 each.
  • Lloyd is in sixth place on the U.S. WNT’s all-time goal scoring list. Now with 88 goals, she is the highest-scoring midfielder in U.S. history even though she has scored 20 of her last 25 goals playing as more of a withdrawn forward. She scored her first two goals in the 2015 World Cup playing center-midfield; scored from the penalty spot while playing center-midfield against Puerto Rico on Feb. 15; scored against Colombia on April 6 while also playing center-midfield, and scored against Costa Rica on July 22 while playing center-midfield.
  • Alex Morgan has 67 goals and is in eighth place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. Next up for Morgan is Cindy Parlow’s 75 career goals.
  • Against France on March 6, Morgan Brian earned her 50th cap at the young age of 23. She became the 52nd female player in U.S. history to reach 50 caps. She currently has 53.
  • Against France on March 6, Kelley O’Hara hit 75 caps, making her the 40th U.S. female player to hit that mark. With her 76th cap on March 9 vs. Germany, she moved past Sydney Leroux into 39th on the all-time caps list and now has 81 to go along with her two international goals.
  • The three goals for each team during the 3-3 draw on June 2 against Japan equaled the highest-scoring draw in USWNT history. It has occurred only three previous times, most recently vs. Germany in 2013.

FOUR SCORE AND HEADED FOR BRAZIL: The USA’s triumph at the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in which it won all five games by shutouts, and out-scored its opposition 23-0, marked the fourth consecutive time the Americans have won the tournament. 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. In 2008, the USA won the tournament in Mexico and went on to win gold in Beijing. In 2004, the U.S. won the tournament in Costa Rica and went on to win gold in Athens, Greece. The U.S. qualified for the 1996 Atlanta Games as host and for the 2000 Sydney Games as a top-7 finisher at the 1999 Women’s World Cup. The WNT remains unbeaten in all-time CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying with an 18-0-1 record.

USA IN NWSL: Following the Olympics, the U.S. players will return to their clubs to finish the NWSL season.

BY THE NUMBERS:
0.27 Goals per game the USA allowed in 2016
1 USA’s FIFA ranking and numbers of players that made their WNT debut in 2016 (Pugh)
3.50 Goals per game the USA scored in 2015
7 Players on the 2016 U.S. Olympic roster who were on the 2012 Olympic Team
11 Number of different U.S. players to score a goal in 2016
12 Goals Carli Lloyd needs to reach 100
14 Players on the 2016 Olympic roster who were on the 2015 Women’s World Cup Team
99 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Abby Wambach in her career
100 Shutouts by Hope Solo, an all-time U.S. WNT record
102 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Alex Morgan in her career
130 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Mia Hamm in her career

Featured Players

Defender, Midfielder
Defender, Midfielder
Midfielder
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