Sports stats



NWSL Sky Blue FC

Kelley O'Hara Named to U.S. WNT Roster for June Friendlies

May 26, 2017 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Sky Blue FC News Release


U.S. Women's National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named 21 players to travel to Scandinavia for matches against Sweden on June 8 at Gamla Ullevi Stadium in Gothenburg (1:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and UDN) and against Norway on June 11 at Komplett Arena in Sandefjord (1 p.m. ET on FOX), which is located on the southeast coast about 75 miles south of Oslo. Ellis will name 18 players to the game day roster for each of the matches.

OLD RIVALS The match against Sweden will mark the first meeting between the teams since the quarterfinal of the 2016 Olympics, which saw Sweden triumph in a penalty kick shootout after a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime. Gamla Ullevi seats just over 18,000 fans and is known as the national stadium for the Sweden Women's National Team.

The match against Norway will be the 50th meeting between the historic rivals who combined to win the first five FIFA world championships for women. Komplett Arena seats about 6,500 fans.

SAID ELLIS: "I have enjoyed watching the league games, but it will be great to get the players back together," Ellis said. "This will be a quick trip against two very good teams in final preparations for the Euros, so I'm looking forward to seeing how we respond to these two quality opponents."

USA vs. SWEDEN The USA has played Sweden 37 times dating back to 1987 and is 20-6-11 all-time against the Swedes. Only China PR (13 draws) has tied the USA as many times as Sweden. In the last 12 matches with Sweden dating back to 2010, the USA is 4-3-5, making for one of the most competitive rivalries among the top teams in recent years.

USA vs. NORWAY The USA has played Norway 49 times - dating back to 1987 - which is the most games against any opponent besides Canada and China PR. The USA is 28-19-2 all-time against Norway. The 19 wins for Norway are the most for any country against the USA; however, the USA is riding a five-game winning streak against Norway. The most recent win for the Norwegians came in the opening match of the 2008 Olympics, a 2-0 win in Qinhuangdao, China.

EUROPEAN FRIENDLIES These will be the first friendly matches in Europe for the USA since February of 2015 (the USA won the Algarve Cup in March of that year in Portugal), when it faced France in Lorient (a 2-0 loss) and England in Milton Keynes (a 1-0 win). Before that, the USA played friendlies in Europe against Germany (a 3-3 tie) and the Netherlands (a 3-1 win) in April of 2013. The U.S. Women went on a similar trip to this one in the summer of 2008 but played in Norway first, a 4-0 win in Fredrikstad, before heading to Skelleftea and earning a 1-0 victory against Sweden.

• Discuss this story on the National Women's Soccer League message board...

National Women's Soccer League Stories from May 26, 2017


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.

OurSports Central