Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson headline USWNT's first roster since Olympics
Eighteen members of the United States women's national team that won the Olympic gold medal in August will be saluted by home fans in the Americans' first matches since the Summer Games in Paris.
USWNT coach Emma Hayes on Thursday named a 26-player roster for three stateside friendlies in late October.
The U.S. will take on Iceland on Oct. 24 in Austin, Texas and again on Oct. 27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The three-match schedule concludes against Argentina three days later in Louisville, Kentucky.
"The summer was brilliant, and we want to make these three games about celebrating some amazing accomplishments and players," Hayes said in the press release announcing the list. "I love that we get to see most of our Olympic team again after a few months, but I also love getting to work with some newer players and evaluate how they perform in our environment."
The squad is headlined by star forwards Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson. Trinity Rodman, the third member of the Americans' "Triple Espresso" front line that accounted for 10 of the USWNT'S 12 goals at the 2024 Olympics, won't participate this month. World Cup-winners Crystal Dunn and Tierna Davidson are the other gold medalists who'll miss out. So will midfielder Croix Bethune, who served as one of Hayes' four alternates in France.
The full 26-woman roster is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell, Houston Dash; Casey Murphy, North Carolina Courage; Alyssa Naeher, Chicago Red Stars
Defenders: Emily Fox, Arsenal (England); Eva Gaetino, Paris Saint-Germain (France); Naomi Girma, San Diego Wave; Casey Krueger, Washington Spirit; Hailie Mace, Kansas City Current; Alyssa Malonson, Bay FC; Jenna Nighswonger, Gotham FC; Emily Sams, Orlando Pride; Emily Sonnett, Gotham
Midfielders: Korbin Albert, Paris Saint-Germain; Sam Coffey, Portland Thorns; Hal Hershfelt, Washington Spirit; ,Lindsey Horan, Olympique Lyon (France); Rose Lavelle, Gotham; Olivia Moultrie, Portland Thorns; Ashley Sanchez. North Carolina Courage
Forwards: Yazmeen Ryan, Gotham; Emma Sears, Racing Louisville; Jaedyn Shaw, San Diego Wave; Sophia Smith, Portland Thorns; Mallory Swanson, Chicago Red Stars; Alyssa Thompson, Angel City; Lynn Williams, Gotham
Forward Jaedyn Shaw returns after missing the Olympics with the muscle injury she suffered on the eve of the Games. Shaw was the youngest player on the Olympic roster and is one of three teenagers on this one, joining fellow 19-year-olds Moultrie and Thompson.
Thompson, the youngest member of the Americans' 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad, was left off the Olympic roster but has been on fire in NWSL play lately, with five goals in her last eight games. She is one of 22 U.S. based players picked by Hayes, with the other four employed by European clubs.
Hayes invited six uncapped players in Eva Gaetino, Hal Hershfelt, Alyssa Malonson, Yazmeen Ryan, Emily Sams, and Emma Sears. While Sams has never appeared for the USWNT, she was an unused sub at two games during the Paris Games and received a gold medal as a result.
Carli Lloyd breaks down USWNT Olympic gold medal run
The Olympic triumph was the fifth in program history. The U.S. has also won a record four World Cups, making it the most successful country in women's soccer history by far.
These three October games will be the last for the USWNT on home soil in 2024. Hayes' side will close out the calendar year with November exhibitions at England and The Netherlands.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered U.S. men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
