USWNT Friendlies --> April-May-June 2025

Emma Hayes tells @thegoalkeeper that Korbin Albert, Jaedyn Shaw and Mia Fishel will travel to Germany with the United States u23 squad.

 

Is the new u23 roster posted yet?

 

Out tomorrow.

 

Lo'eau Labonta!!!! Wow! I'm so happy for her; I really thought her USWNT chances had passed her by. If she gets on the field, she'll be the oldest player to debut for the USWNT (passing Zerboni who currently holds that record).

 

I think we need another Emily on defense so the USWNT can field a backline of Emilys.

 

That's great for Labonta. But, it makes me wonder why Hatch can't get a sniff.

 

Omissions: Albert, Shaw, Hatch (over Sentnor)

Interesting to see GT listed as a forward. Not against it, but it would be great if she could make it as an FB. If she can handle the defensive part of being an FB, she's like a 3rd AW in the attack.

 

These rosters have little to do with what actually happens. I remember Dunn, on at least one roster just before the last WC we did well in, being listed as a forward, which she can play well, but she played the entire tournament at left back and she was the absolute best left back in the tournament.
But I do believe she was listed as a back on the final official roster. Also, many years ago, Akers was often listed as a forward while she mainly played defensive midfield for the last half of her career. Also Chastain started life as a forward and ended up being a left back most of the time.

What shows up on a roster should always be treated as speculation except in goalkeeper. I do not remember a player listed as a goalkeeper and playing anywhere else. But my old feeble brain might not remember that far back perfectly.

 

It happened in a victory tour game-- Solo, IIRC, had to play forward.due to injuries et al...

 

You may be thinking of when Barnhart made her debut for the USWNT but as a field player because the US was otherwise out of subs when there was an injury towards the end of the match. It was during the 2004 Olympics' victory tour. She didn't get her first cap at goalkeeper until the Algarve Cup the next year. But, obviously Barnhart wasn't actually listed on the roster as a forward; she just had to go in as one.

 

The U-23 (+ 5 overage) roster:

20 Players Named for U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Trip to Germany for Two Matches against the Hosts | U.S. Soccer Official Website

 

back in the 90's, I did a temp job with a gal who had been called into NT camps. I asked her who was the best player she'd ever played with. She didn't answer the question directly, but said that the best athlete she'd ever played with was Nicole Barnhardt.

 

Not big deals, but things I'm curious about.
No Turner (is Morris better than Turner?)
No Huff?? She made the last U-23 roster and has been killing it in league, was on Safoascore's NWSL TotW this past week.. Wonder if Shaw's demotion to the U-23's bumped Huff
No Kennedy Fuller?? Fuller is the biggest surprise to me.
Flint, not getting picked on the NT roster - I guess Emma just doesn't like her game. If she's not getting picked now .... But, Fuller is leading the league in assists, and is otherwise playing very well. I like them both, but why Hutton over Fuller?

The last U-23 roster, with Omissions bolded, promotion in purple. From what I can tell, this roster has 9 fewer spots for U-23's than the last roster? and there are 14 omissions. So, there has been some unforced turnover - 3 keepers + Gisele going up.

Goalkeepers (3): Izzy Lee (Illinois; Western Springs, Ill.), Nona Reason (Clemson; Noblesville, Ind.), Stephanie Sparkowski (Unattached; East Meadow, N.Y.)
Defenders (8): Zara Chavoshi (Orlando Pride; Potomac, Md.), Eva Gaetino (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA; Dexter, Mich.), Savy King (Angel City FC; West Hills, Calif.), Emily Mason (Seattle Reign; Flemington, N.J.), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC; Hingham, Mass.), Evelyn Shores (North Carolina; Atlanta, Ga.), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; Studio City, Calif.), Amelia Van Zanten (Florida State; Buffalo Grove, Ill.)
Midfielders (6): Meg Boade (Washington Spirit; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Abi Brighton (Juventus FC, ITA; Beaufort, S.C.), Taylor Huff (Bay FC; Mansfield, Ohio), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage; Roswell, Ga.), Yuna McCormack (Florida State; Mill Valley, Calif.), Sally Menti (Seattle Reign; Seattle, Wash.)
Forwards (7): Maddie Dahlien (Seattle Reign; Edina, Minn.), Caiya Hanks (Portland Thorns FC; Kailua-Kona, Hawaii), Jameese Joseph (Chicago Stars; Beltsville, Md.), Quincy McMahon (San Diego Wave; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Makenna Morris (Washington Spirit; Germantown, Md.), Sarah Schupansky (Gotham FC; Pittsburgh, Pa.), Reilyn Turner (Portland Thorns FC; Aliso Viejo, Calif.)

Also, is there an age-group camp coming up for which Trinity Ar

 

"So, there has been some unforced turnover - 3 keepers + Gisele going up." Got interrupted, didn't finish this statement. It wasn't really going anywhere anyway. Feel free to ignore it.

Also, if anyone knows what's going on with Savy King, like have I missed an announcement, other than "heart abnormality"? And, did they do CPR on the field?

 

Thanks for detailing who missed the call up after the previous camp. Regarding comparisons with their club success, I suspect some of them did not perform well enough at the last U23 camp and that is why they were left off.

Savy King had surgery on her heart, was released from the hospital and is recovering at home. She released a statement about getting back on the field. No idea when, but sounds encouraging.

 

Something is off with this timeline because Nicole Barnhart started college in 2000.

 

ya, my memory was off. I guess I was a loser w/ a temp job later in life than I had thought. I looked up the gal that I worked with. Her college timeline was same as Barnhart's. So, my temp job days were in the 2000s

 

I am afraid you are in for more of the same. As we age memory is the first thing to go, I forget what the second is!!
That is why I usually qualify things I "remember" with things like "If I am remembering correctly."
Of course I am a good deal older than you and I know all my memories are "real" but i also tend to jumble them up so that they are not always the same memories. As I think i said in another thread: "You know how you can walk into a room and forget why you went there? Well, I can walk into a room and forget what room it is."

But thanks all for the info people have provided. I really did not know, or at least did not remember, If the USA ever fielded a GK (By profession) at any field position. I do clearly remember, and have verified, that Mia Hamm once played GK in a major tournament as Scurry received a red card late in a match and the USA had used all their subs. I was a bit surprised by that as I think Akers and Chastain were, I think, still in the match but then I remembered of one tendency I had as a coach in that I tended to play my "flakes" either all the way up or all the way back so, maybe the coach felt that Mia was the "flaky" one to put in goal for the last few minutes of the match.

 

Akers wasn't in that match. She got a concussion and twisted her knee in the first WWC match in 1995 (in the first 10 minutes of that match), and didn't make it back until the semifinal. Chastain also definitely wasn't in the match as she didn't make the 1995 WWC roster.

The story goes that the coaches were actually prepared with an emergency keeper, based on throwing some field players into a "tryout" of sorts as well as observation when field players would play around at the goalkeeper drills. Hamm was apparently really good at reading flighted balls into the box and obviously very athletic. Based on that and knowing Hamm would likely be on the field late in a match as well as a team player who wouldn't balk at being thrown into goal if it was needed, she was the first option. I think the coaches have said that they had a second option, too, for emergency keeper, but I can't remember who it was. Venturini, maybe?

 

Plus, if you are going to use a non-keeper keeper, you are going to pull someone back from the top rather than short yourself on the back line or midfield. You are going to have to button up somewhat and don't want to create two weak spots defensively.

Of course, Lil was a receiver in Pop Warner football, which might have made her somewhat tempting...

 

Three players in this roster have just won the inaugural AFC Asian Women's Champions League with Wuhan Jiangda.
Wang Shuang, in particular, has scored both a crucial PK in the regular time (at 90'+8', actually) and another crucial one, as Wuhan's last, in the penalty shootout.

 

Emma on Gisele: “She's always putting herself in strong positions on that right-hand side. But I'm bringing her in as a wide player because I want to see her attacking qualities, particularly against low blocks. So I'm getting a chance to do that this camp.” Emma Hayes labels USWNT star ‘one of the NWSL’s best’ ahead of doubleheader