Sports stats

NWSL Sky Blue FC

Loyden, Rampone Named to U.S. WNT Roster for January Training Camp

January 3, 2014 - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Sky Blue FC News Release


MORRISTOWN, N.J. (Jan. 3, 2014) - The U.S. Women's National Team will begin its 30th year of existence with a training camp running from Jan. 8-15 at U.S. Soccer's National Training Center in Carson, Calif., as head coach Tom Sermanni has called up 28 players. Sky Blue FC goalkeeper Jill Loyden and defender Christie Rampone are among the players named to the roster.

The camp, which will consist of six full days of training, will be the final event before Sermanni chooses a roster for the first match of 2014, taking place on Jan. 31 against Canada at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. Kickoff for the match is 9 p.m. ET and it will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.

Loyden appeared in four matches for Sky Blue FC during the 2013 NWSL season, after suffering a left hand injury prior to the season. Defender Christie Rampone heads to camp as the second most-capped player in U.S. history and the most-capped active player in the world with 287 career games played.

Twenty-five of the players named attended the USA's two-week December camp, with midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Morgan Brian and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris being added. Harris has recovered from minor knee surgery in early December while Rapinoe was released for this camp by her French club Lyon, which does not play until Jan. 19 against rival Paris Saint-Germain. Brian was invited to the December camp, but her collegiate soccer and academic schedule precluded her participation.

"Our two-week December training camp was extremely productive and valuable, and the week in January will help sharpen our players up after the holiday break," said Sermanni. "Fortunately, we had quite a few players who performed well in 2013 and we head into 2014 with a lot of options all over the field. We're looking forward to getting a quality start to a year that will end with World Cup qualifying."

Forward Alex Morgan will be unavailable to participate in the training camp as she continues to rehabilitate a nagging left ankle injury. Morgan, who was originally injured during training in San Antonio, Texas, at the end of October, has a stress reaction and will be in a protective boot for several weeks as the U.S. medical staff continues to evaluate her progress.

The roster also includes two of the three finalists for the 2013 MAC Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the top player in college soccer. Brian, a rising senior at the University of Virginia, gets another call-up, as does defender Crystal Dunn, who has finished her eligibility at North Carolina and will be playing in the National Women's Soccer League in the upcoming season.

U.S. Women's National Team Roster - Detailed Roster

GOALKEEPERS (5): Nicole Barnhart (FC Kansas City), Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Jill Loyden (Sky Blue FC), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)

DEFENDERS (9): Rachel Buehler (Portland Thorns FC), Stephanie Cox (Seattle Reign FC), Crystal Dunn (North Carolina), Whitney Engen (Tyresö), Meghan Klingenberg (Tyresö), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kristie Mewis (Boston Breakers), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Yael Averbuch (Washington Spirit), Morgan Brian (Virginia), Amber Brooks (Portland Thorns FC), Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), Julie Johnston (Santa Clara), Carli Lloyd (WNY Flash), Heather O'Reilly (Boston Breakers), Megan Rapinoe (Lyon), Erika Tymrak (FC Kansas City)

FORWARDS (5): Sarah Hagen (Bayern Munich), Sydney Leroux (Seattle Reign FC), Christen Press (Tyresö), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Abby Wambach (WNY Flash)

Additional Notes:

The 2014 schedule begins with the 51st meeting between the USA and Canada. The USA is 42-3-5 all-time against the hosts of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Eighteen players on the training camp roster played in the NWSL last season. So far, 24 are signed with NWSL clubs for next season while Julie Johnston and Crystal Dunn should be high draft picks. Megan Rapinoe will join the Seattle Reign after the completion of her French league season.Five players on the training camp roster were allocated today to NWSL clubs for the upcoming season, including: Yael Averbuch (Washington Spirit), Stephanie Cox (Seattle Reign FC), Whitney Engen (Houston Dash), Meghan Klingenberg (Boston Breakers) and Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars). All nine NWSL clubs are represented on the roster. FC Kansas City has the most players with five. Since taking over as the U.S. Women's National Team head coach in January of 2013, Tom Sermanni has seen 44 players take part in at least one training camp. Of those 44 players, 32 have earned at least one cap. Sermanni has thus far also given 10 players their first caps. After Abby Wambach, who has 163 career goals, midfielder Carli Lloyd is the top scorer on the roster with 46 career international goals.



National Women's Soccer League Stories from January 3, 2014


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