USWNT manager Emma Hayes named her first major tournament roster on Wednesday, selecting the 18 players tasked with chasing Olympic gold in Paris this summer.
Goalkeepers: Casey Murphy (NC Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
Defenders: Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Jenna Nighswonger (Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC)
Midfielders: Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), Catarina Macario (Chelsea)
Forwards: Crystal Dunn (Gotham FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars)
Alternates: Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit), Lynn Williams (Gotham FC)
Big picture: With Hayes’s selections, the team appears to be going big on potential and versatility, while conceding a certain amount of experience.
The group has an average age of 26.8, which is the USA’s fourth-youngest Olympic roster and the youngest overall since 2008.
The roster averages 58 international caps per player, down from 111 at the Tokyo Olympics.
19-year-old Shaw is just the fifth teenager to ever make a USWNT Olympic roster, and the first since Swanson in 2016.
Only eight players from 2021’s Olympic team punched their tickets to Paris, with two of those eight having served on that year’s expanded 23-player roster.
Murphy, Fox, Girma, Nighswonger, Albert, Coffey, Rodman, Shaw, and Smith will all be first-time Olympians, while Swanson returns to the Summer Games for the first time since Rio.
Hayes appears to be thinking about the future, but this group will be looking to improve upon a disappointing 2023 Women’s World Cup showing — or even top their bronze medal placement at the last Olympics.
“Everything we’re doing is a step-by-step approach to get us as close as we possibly can to our best level, to our best version of ourselves,” Hayes told media on Wednesday. “As I explained so far, this is a team that’s making really good progress in doing that, and my interest and investment is getting our performances right.”
