USWNT opens second set of fall friendlies against Colombia in Utah
Coming off a pair of victories over South Africa during the September international window, the U.S. Women’s National Team is preparing for its second set of fall international friendlies, the first of which takes place on Thursday, October 26, against Colombia at America First Field in Sandy, Utah.
The match kicks off at 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcast nationally on TBS and Universo. It will also be available to stream in English on Max and in Spanish on Peacock.
Powered by goals from Trinity Rodman, Lynn Williams and Emily Sonnett, the USWNT defeated South Africa 3-0 and 2-0 in its two September friendlies, which marked the team’s first action since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. Now the USA prepares to face a Colombia squad that will be playing its first games since its historic run to the World Cup quarterfinals.
Following the match in Sandy, the teams will head to San Diego where they will square off on Oct. 29 at Snapdragon Stadium in a match presented by AT&T 5G. Sunday’s game in San Diego kicks off at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT with coverage available on TNT, Max, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock and FDP Radio.
U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 15), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 96)
DEFENDERS (9): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 27/1), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC; 138/24), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage; 35/1), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 22/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 31/0), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars; 40/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 216/0), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign; 79/2), M.A. Vignola (Angel City FC; 1/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 4/0), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC; 4/0), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 135/29), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 26/3), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 51/3)
FORWARDS (9): Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC, ENG; 1/0), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 20/5), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC; 213/121), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 24/4), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 24/6), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC; 0/0), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 34/14), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC; 7/0), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 57/17)
KILGORE CALLS UP 27-PLAYER ROSTER
Of the 27 players called up for these October Friendlies by interim head coach Twila Kilgore, all but three were in camp for the September friendlies. Veteran defender Becky Sauerbrunn returns to the U.S. roster for the first time since April after recovering from a foot injury that kept her out of the 2023 World Cup while forward Sophia Smith could see her first action since the World Cup, having returned to fitness following a minor knee injury.
The newest – and youngest — addition to this roster is 18-year-old midfielder Olivia Moultrie, who earns her first call-up to the senior National Team. Moultrie, who debuted for Portland Thorns FC in 2021 at the age of 15, is a longtime member of the U.S. Women’s Youth National Teams and represented the USA at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. Moultrie is one of three teenagers on this roster, joining fellow 18-year-old Jaedyn Shaw, who earned her first call-up in September but did not get into either game, and Alyssa Thompson, the youngest player on the USA’s World Cup roster.
Twenty-three players will suit up for each of the matches against Colombia.
BEEHIVE STATE BEGINNINGS
Thursday’s game in Sandy will mark the USA’s eighth match all-time in the state of Utah and the sixth at what is now America First Field, home to Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and the Utah Royals, which return to the NWSL for the 2024 season, and who will be coached by former USWNT star and 2015 World Cup Champion Amy Rodriguez. The U.S. has won all seven of its previous matches in Utah, the most recent of which came on June 28, 2022, a 2-0 victory over Colombia in the USA’s final match before the 2022 Concacaf W Championship.
Utah also holds additional significance for five players on this roster – Alex Morgan, Ashley Hatch, Casey Krueger, Andi Sullivan and Lynn Williams – all of who earned their first caps for the USWNT in Sandy. Morgan made her debut in a memorable way, playing in ankle deep snow against Mexico on March 31, 2010, while Hatch, Krueger, Sullivan and Williams all debuted on October 19, 2016, in the USA’s 4-0 win over Switzerland. The match will be a homecoming of sorts for Hatch, who not only earned her first cap in Sandy, but also played her college soccer at nearby BYU in Provo.
DOMINANT DEFENSE
The USWNT enters Thursday’s match in Utah having allowed just two goals this year, which came against Brazil in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup finale on Feb. 22 and against the Netherlands in the World Cup group stage on July 27. With just the two goals allowed through 14 matches for a rate of 0.14 goals allowed per match, the U.S. is on pace to break the currently single-year program record (min. 10 games) of 0.40 goals allowed per match which was set in 2016 when the USA allowed 10 goals in 25 matches. With just four games remaining on the schedule for 2023, the USA will set a new single-year record if it allows fewer than six goals over the final four matches of the year.
The USA has kept 12 shutouts this year, eight credited to Alyssa Naeher and four to Casey Murphy. Naeher’s career-high for shutouts in a calendar year with the USWNT is nine, a mark she hit in both 2018 and 2019 while Murphy had a career-best six shutouts in 2022, her first full year of action for the USA.
Along with stellar goalkeeping, the USA defense has been dominant, allowing just two shots on goal during the entire 2023 World Cup. The USA held South Africa to just one shot on goal combined in the two September friendlies and has allowed just 17 total shots on goal in 14 matches so far this year, the fewest in any complete year (min. 10 games) since at least 2017 and the fewest overall since 2020 when the USA allowed 15 shots on goal in nine matches as the international calendar was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
INSIDE THE SERIES: USA VS. COLOMBIA
Colombia and the USA have played 10 times previously, with the U.S. holding a 9W-1D-0L advantage overall in the series. Four of the previous 10 meetings between the USA and Colombia have come at World Championship events – twice at the World Cup and twice at the Olympics. The lone draw between these teams came during the group stage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, a 2-2 tie against Las Cafeteras on Aug. 9, 2016.
Since that game in Brazil, the USA and Colombia have played four more times, all of them in friendly competitions. The teams played twice in January of 2021 in the USA’s first domestic games following the resumption of play after the COVID-19 pandemic, with the U.S. winning by scores of 4-0 and 6-0 in Orlando, Florida.
The teams met most recently in June of 2022 in the USA’s final games prior to the Concacaf W Championship, at which it qualified for both the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Summer Olympics. The USA kicked off the two-game set with a 3-0 win on June 25 in Commerce City, Colo., powered by a brace from Colorado-native Sophia Smith. The teams then traveled to Sandy, Utah, where the USA prevailed 2-0 on June 28 behind an own goal and a late strike from defender Kelley O’Hara.
Overall, the USA has won its last 15 matches against CONMEBOL opposition, with wins against Brazil (5), Colombia (4), Chile (3), Paraguay (2) and Argentina (1) during that span. During the 15-game winning streak, the USA has outscored its CONMEBOL competition 61-5 and kept clean sheets in 12 of the last 13 matches.
PATHWAY TO PARIS
With only nine months until the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, the USWNT is in the midst of its preparations for that tournament and its pursuit of a fifth Olympic gold medal. The Olympic Football Tournament features 12 teams and will be contested in seven different venues across France from July 24 to August 10: Parc des Princes in Paris, Stade de Lyon, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne, Stade de Marseille, Stade de Nice, Stade de Bordeaux and Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes. The USA is one of just five teams to have already qualified for Paris, joining hosts France, South American qualifiers Brazil and Colombia and Canada, which secured Concacaf’s second berth to the Olympics berth by beating Jamaica in a two-game playoff during the September international window.
The USA qualified for Paris by virtue of winning the 2022 Concacaf W Championship in Monterrey, Mexico, which served as the region’s qualification for the Olympics as well as the 2023 World Cup. Eighteen players on this September camp roster were a part of the USA’s squad for that tournament, which saw the USA run through the group stage, defeat Costa Rica 3-0 in the semifinal and then top Canada 1-0 in the championship game to secure an automatic berth to the 2024 Summer Games.
The remaining seven teams in the Olympic Field (two from Europe, two from Asia, two from Africa and one from Oceania) will be determined in early 2024 with the Official Draw to follow.
USA ROSTER NOTES
- The most capped player on this roster is Becky Sauerbrunn (216 caps), followed by Alex Morgan (213), Crystal Dunn (138) and Lindsey Horan (135).
- The least capped players are Alyssa Thompson (7), Sam Coffey (4), Savannah DeMelo (4), Aubrey Kingsbury (1), M.A. Vignola (1), Mia Fishel (1), Olivia Moultrie (0) and Jaedyn Shaw (0).
- This roster features three teenagers in Thompson, Shaw and Moultrie, 16 players in their 20s and eight players in their 30s.
- Seven players on this roster – Naomi Girma, Sophia Smith, Mia Fishel, Trinity Rodman, Thompson, Shaw Moultrie – were born after the historic 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will celebrate its 25th anniversary next year.
- Morgan is the top scorer on the roster in international play with 121 goals. Horan (29), Dunn (24), Lynn Williams (17) and Smith (14) are the other players on this roster with double-digit goals.
- Twelve different players have scored for the USA so far in 2023, led by seven goals from Mallory Swanson, four from Rodman, three goals each from Horan and Williams, two goals each Rose Lavelle, Morgan and Smith and one goal each from Emily Sonnett, Emily Fox, Alana Cook, Ashley Hatch and Taylor Kornieck.
- Nine different players have tallied an assist for the USA this year, led by five from Morgan, four from Lavelle, three from Rodman, two from Smith and one apiece from Horan, Williams, Ashley Sanchez, Andi Sullivan and Sofia Huerta.
- Eleven total clubs are represented on this roster – Olympique Lyon from France, Chelsea FC from England and nine different NWSL clubs, led by five players each from the Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns. The San Diego Wave and OL Reign have three players each.
IN FOCUS: COLOMBIA | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
FIFA World Ranking: 22
CONMEBOL Ranking: 2
Olympic Appearances: 2 (2012 & 2016)
Best Olympic Finish: Group stage
Record vs. USA: 0W-1D-9L (GF: 2; GA: 35)
Last Meeting vs. USA: June 25, 2022 (2-0 win for USA in Sandy, Utah)
Head Coach: Angelo Marsiglia (COL)
COLOMBIA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION
Goalkeepers (3): Natalia Giraldo(America de Cali), Stefany Castaño (Club Independiente Santa Fe), Sandra Sepulveda (Independiente Medellin)
Defenders (8): Daniela Arias (America de Cali), Carolina Arias (Club Independiente Santa Fe), Angela Baron (Atlético Nacional), Jorelyn Carabali (Brighton & Hove Albion, ENG), Daniela Caracas (RCD Espanyol, ESP), Ana Maria Guzman (FC Bayern Munich, GER), Monica Ramos (Gremio, BRA), Manuela Vanegas (Real Sociedad, ESP)
Midfielders (6): Lorena Bedoya (Real Brasilia FC, BRA), Gabriela Huertas (Club Independiente Santa Fe), Daniela Montoya (Atlético Nacional), Marcela Restrepo (Atlético Nacional), Camila Reyes (Club Independiente Santa Fe), Leicy Santos (Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Forwards (6): Lady Andrade (Real Brasilia FC, BRA), Elexa Bahr (America de Cali), Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid CF, ESP), Ivonne Chacon (Valencia C.F., ESP), Yisela Cuesta (Ferroviária, BRA), Ingrid Guerra (Clube Atlético Mineiro, BRA)
COLOMBIA ROSTER NOTES
- Colombia’s 23-player roster for these October matches features 19 players from the 2023 World Cup squad.
- At the 2023 World Cup, Colombia made history and delighted fans around the world as they won a group that included Germany, Morocco and South Korea. Not only did Colombia win the group by virtue of a 2-1 win over Germany and a 2-0 win over South Korea (and despite a 1-0 loss to Morocco), it also won a knockout game, downing Jamaica, 1-0, and gave eventual finalist England all it could handle before falling 2-1 in the quarterfinal.
- In the opening game win over South Korea, Catalina Usme – who is unavailable for these games due to injury – and teenage sensation Linda Caicedo etched their names in their country’s women’s soccer history with goals. But there would be more history to come as Caicedo scored in the 52nd minute, Germany equalized in the 89th on a penalty kick from Alexandra Popp and Manuela Venegas stunned the world with a goal in 90+7 to earn the epic win in the second group stage match.
- Like the USA, Colombia qualified for the 2024 Olympics back in July of 2022 and for Las Cafeteras, it came at the Copa America Feminina, which Colombia hosted. After sweeping all of its matches to win Group A, Colombia defeated Argentina, 1-0, in the semifinal, and even though it fell 1-0 to perennial South American power Brazil in the championship game, the Olympic berth was secured.
- At the Copa America, Colombia spread the goals around as Daniela Arias, Caicedo, Daniella Montoya, Mayra Ramirez and Manuela Vanegas all scored twice in the tournament.
- Caicedo, who was just 17 at the time, the Golden Ball as the tournament’s top player.
- These will be the first matches under new head coach Angela Marsiglia, who replaced Nelson Abadía, who lead Colombia to World Cup glory during the summer. Marsiglia was the assistant at the WWC and had to step in as head coach for the opening match win vs. South Korea game when Abadía serving a suspension.
