Four OL Reign players named to USWNT roster to face Nigeria

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski named four OL Reign players to his roster for a pair of upcoming friendlies against Nigeria. Defenders Alana Cook and Sofia Huerta, midfielder Rose Lavelle, and forward Megan Rapinoe will report to camp following the Reign’s upcoming game this Friday at Orlando. OL Reign are off the following weekend, so the quartet will not miss any club games. All 23 players called into this camp were involved in the squad which won the Concacaf W Championship in July.

“All the players on the roster performed well in Mexico at qualifying and have carried that form for their clubs, so we’ll continue the process of growing as a team with this group in what will be two challenging games against Nigeria,” said Andonovski in a federation release. “Preparing for the World Cup is a long process, and I’ve been very happy with how our team understands that process, is willing to do the work and is making positive strides every camp to get us to where we want to be next summer.”

The first match will take place on Sept. 3 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City. That game kicks off at 10:30 AM PT and will air on FOX. The second will be on Sept. 6 at Audi Field in Washington, DC, with kickoff scheduled for 3 PM PT on ESPN2.

U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB) – SEPT. FRIENDLIES VS. NIGERIA:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (6): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns 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 (7): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC)