Kansas City Current Defender Hailie Mace Called to USWNT Roster for Friendlies against England and Spain
September 29, 2022 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) – Kansas City Current News Release
KANSAS CITY – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has named Kansas City Current defender Hailie Mace to a 24-player BioSteel Training Camp Roster for two away friendly matches in October as the USA faces England on Friday, Oct. 7 at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London (2 p.m. CT / 8 p.m. local on FOX) followed by a match against Spain on Tuesday, Oct. 11 at El Sadar Stadium in Pamplona (1:30 p.m. CT / 8:30 p.m. local on ESPN2). Andonovski will name 23 players to suit up for each of the matches.
This is Mace’s second call to join the USWNT in the past two months. In two September friendlies, she played 20 minutes and 10 minutes as the US defeated Nigeria 4-0 in Kansas City on Sep. 3 and 2-1 in Washington D.C. on Sept. 6.
“These are big tests for our team in front of crowds cheering against us and after long travel, but our players absolutely love games like these,” said Andonovski. “The group we are bringing to Europe includes players who have a lot of experience against top European teams and some that don’t, so these games are even more critical for our growth as our team. Our whole squad needs to get a clear picture of what these games are like as we continue to prepare for the World Cup.”
The Current have organized a watch party so fans can watch the USWNT at Wembley Stadium. The team will host a USWNT vs. England Watch Party at KC Live! at Power & Light District in Downtown KC. The highly anticipated match will be shown on the KC Live! videoboard. The event is free and open to the public.
Like the USA, both England and Spain have qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The USA earned its berth in July at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, which it won to also qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Defender Crystal Dunn, who trained with the USA during its Sept. FIFA window but was not on the roster for the friendly games against Nigeria, makes her first full training camp roster since the birth of her son in mid-May and will be available for selection.
Forward Alex Morgan, who is currently on 198 caps, was ruled out of the trip due to a knee injury.
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position (Club) – October European Tour:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (7): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Hailie Mace (Kansas City Current), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave FC), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)
FORWARDS (6): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Alyssa Thompson (Total Futbol Academy)
Additional Notes:
Forward Alyssa Thompson, who played for the USA at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, gets her first senior team call-up. The 17-year-old high school senior, who plays club for the U-17 Total Futbol Academy boys’ team in MLS Next, is the first player born in 2004 ever called up to the USWNT. She had a goal and an assist at the U-20 World Cup in Costa Rica in August.
Thompson is the youngest player to be called up for a full National Team camp since 16-year-old Sophia Smith was called up in April of 2017 for the training camp prior to matches against Russia in Texas.
Thompson has eight U-20 caps with four goals and is age-eligible for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Thompson’s younger sister Gisele, who is an outside back, is currently with the U.S. U-17 WYNT preparing for the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India.
This will be the USWNT’s first visit to Wembley Stadium since the gold medal match at the 2012 Olympic Games, a 2-1 victory for the USA over Japan, and the first-ever meeting between the United States and England Women’s National Teams at London’s green cathedral of soccer.
The match at Wembley will feature a capacity crowd of 80,000+ fans and will mark the largest ever to watch the USA in a friendly match and likely the second largest ever to watch the USWNT in any match behind only the 90,185 fans who filled the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. for the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final.
The current attendance record for a friendly match for the USWNT is the 49,504 fans who saw the USA play Portugal at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia after winning the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The crowd at Wembley will more than double the largest attendance to watch the USWNT outside the United States, which was the 40,000 who saw China PR defeat the USA, 2-0, in Wuhan in 2003.
The USA and England most recently met at the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, a 2-0 U.S. victory at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Fla., on goals from Christen Press and Carli Lloyd.
El Sadar Stadium in Pamplona, named after a river near the stadium, is home to La Liga club Club Atlético Osasuna, which currently sits fifth in the La Liga standings. The stadium seats just under 24,000 fans.
The match with Spain will be just the fourth-ever meeting between the teams and the second in Spain. The teams most recently met at the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, a 1-0 U.S. victory which featured a dramatic 87th minute game-winning header from Julie Ertz.
Eight of the 24 players on this roster were on the USA’s roster for the 2020 SheBelieves Cup, which marked the most recent meetings against both England and Spain. Alyssa Naeher, Becky Sauerbrunn, Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe saw action in both matches, while Mallory Pugh and Andi Sullivan were on the tournament roster but did not see game action.
Twenty-two of the 24 players play in the NWSL and nine of the 12 NWSL clubs are represented on this roster, along with 2021-22 UEFA Women’s Champions League winners Olympique Lyon, which features 118-capped midfielder Lindsey Horan, and the Los Angeles youth club Total Futbol Academy.
Racing Louisville midfielder Savanna DeMelo and Thompson are the only uncapped players on the roster.
The Washington Spirit lead the way with five players on the roster followed by OL Reign and Portland Thorns FC with four each.
Eighteen of the 24 players on this roster saw action in the USA’s most recent friendlies against Nigeria in early Sept.
• Discuss this story on the National Women’s Soccer League message board…
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
