Rose Lavelle return headlines USWNT roster for summer friendlies against Ireland, Canada
Rose Lavelle is back with the U.S. women's national team for the first time in six months, joining a national team roster of mostly domestic players for a trio of friendlies as head coach Emma Hayes makes good on her promise to give most of the team's European-based players a break this summer.
Hayes announced her 25-player roster on Wednesday for three friendlies spanning June and July. The team will first travel to Commerce City, Colo., and then Cincinnati, Ohio, for a pair of matches against Ireland on June 26 and June 29, before heading to Washington, D.C., to face continental rival Canada at Audi Field on July 2.
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Hayes continues to find ways to deepen the USWNT player pool, tapping a quartet of players who are being called into this national team environment for the first time. Six players on this roster have yet to be capped.
Lavelle brings veteran leadership to the squad, returning to the international stage for the first time in 6 1/2 months after recovering from ankle surgery. The veteran midfielder recently returned to the pitch for Gotham, subbing on in the 74th minute in her team's 2-1 loss to the Kansas City Current.
The USWNT manager said 23 players will suit up for each of the three games.
USWNT June and July friendlies roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Angelina Anderson (Angel City FC), Claudia Dickey (Seattle Reign FC) Mandy McGlynn (Utah Royals)
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DEFENDERS (10): Kerry Abello (Orlando Pride), Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC), Naomi Girma (Chelsea FC), Lilly Reale (Gotham FC), Tara McKeown (Washington Spirit), Avery Patterson (Houston Dash), Izzy Rodriguez (Kansas City Current), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), Sam Meza (Seattle Reign FC), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC)
FORWARDS (6): Lynn Biyendolo (Seattle Reign FC), Michelle Cooper (Kansas City Current), Yazmeen Ryan (Houston Dash), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC)
Lavelle's anticipated return
Hayes recently teased Lavelle's return to the national team, alluding to the veteran midfielder's value as one of the most experienced players on her roster. 'She's had, as she calls it, a very lengthy layoff,' Hayes told ESPN last week, joking Lavelle was 'bored senseless' at home. 'We miss her experience, and very much looking forward to her coming back.'
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The World Cup and Olympic champion has 110 caps under her belt, as well as 24 international goals, including in the 2019 Women's World Cup final. She last played for the USWNT in the last match of 2024 against the Netherlands.
It's likely that Lavelle's return to the pitch will be measured, with a near guarantee she'll feature in Cincinnati. The 30-year-old is considered one of the most popular local athletes from the region in the last decade, and a product of Notre Dame High School.
Lavelle is also one of only six players on this roster to have played in a world championship at the senior level, offering Hayes a chance to blend varying experience levels across these three upcoming friendlies. Other players with similar international experience include midfielder Bethune, forward Biyendolo, defender Sonnett, midfielder Coffey and defender Girma.
Like Lavelle, fellow midfielder Bethune, the 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Year, returns to the national team roster a long recovery from surgery. Bethune, who is returning from a knee injury, last played with the USWNT at the Olympics in France.
A roster of mostly NWSL talent
Hayes' decision to rest most of her European-based talent offers those players, including regular starters like Arsenal's Emily Fox and Lyon's Lindsey Heaps, a much-needed break as the USWNT looks ahead to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
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Many of these players haven't had significant time off in two years as they pushed through long seasons and various international competitions in that time. Chelsea's Girma, who made her return to the USWNT in the last FIFA window, is the only European-based player to be called into this upcoming window.
Hayes is continuing to test the depth of USWNT's player pool during this window, the former Chelsea manager has stressed.
'We want to continue to improve our understanding of how we want to play and widen the player pool, and those are some of the key goals of this three-game window,' Hayes said in her announcement. 'On this roster, we have players with a varied amount of experience, and my priority is to deepen the exposures required for international soccer. These are three challenging matches and as always, we want to win, but also to make sure we are ready for the next steps.'
Hayes' roster features four players earning their first call-ups in defenders Bugg, Reale and Rodriguez, and midfielder Meza. That brings the number of players receiving first-time callups under Hayes up to 27. Bugg, Reale and Rodriguez all played in the U-20 Women's World Cup, while Meza was on the U-17 WWC roster.
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While this roster features 19 players with fewer than 10 caps, a handful of these players have become regular call-ups for Hayes in recent windows, especially as the team remains without some of its biggest stars up front, including the entirety of the Triple Espresso. (Hayes said last week she anticipates Trinity Rodman's return to the NWSL in July, while Sophia Wilson and Mal Swanson have announced their pregnancies.)
That's not to say that Hayes is without strong attacking options, however. Utah's Ally Sentnor notched her first brace on June 3 against Jamaica in the most recent window and is a player Hayes has expressed extreme confidence in. She and the other five forwards on this roster (Biyendolo, Cooper, Ryan, Sears, Thompson) have a combined 19 goals in the NWSL so far this year. Houston's Ryan is also returning to the fold after being unavailable in the last FIFA window because of an injury.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
US Women's national team, Women's World Cup
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