Ellis Names 25 Players for Japan Friendlies – U.S. Soccer (press release) (registration) (blog)

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (4): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)

DEFENDERS (10): Whitney Engen (Boston Breakers), Jaelene Hinkle (Western New York Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Gina Lewandowski (FC Bayern Munich), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle (Wisconsin), Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash), Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City)

FORWARDS (4): Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)

Additional Notes:

• The USA’s 2016 Olympic roster will feature 18 players made up of 16 field players and two goalkeepers.
• In Commerce City, Colo., the USA will be looking to tie its best ever start to a calendar year. In 1991 and 1997, the USA started the year 12-0-0, scoring 80 goals in 1991 through the first 12 games while allowing only one goal, and scoring 55 goals through the first 12 games in 1997 while allowing six.
• The USA is 11-0-0 in 2016 and has out-scored its opponents 42-1, winning 10 games by shutout. The only goal the USA has allowed this year came in a 2-1 victory against Germany in the SheBelieves Cup.
• Of the 25 players called into camp, 24 have been with the U.S. team in 2016. The other, defender Gina Lewandowski, recently helped FC Bayern Munich sew up the 2015/2016 Women’s Bundesliga title. She earns her second career call-up after earning her first cap last October during the Women’s World Cup Victory Tour when she came on as a sub against Brazil.
• Goalkeeper Adrianna Franch, who is currently starting for Portland Thorns FC, and midfielder Rose Lavelle, a rising senior at Wisconsin, get their first call-ups since January.
• The USA and Japan have met in the last three world championship finals – the 2011 Women’s World Cup, the 2012 Olympics and the 2015 Women’s World Cup – but Japan failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics at the very difficult Asia qualifying tournament earlier in March.
• This will be the USA’s fourth visit to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park and fifth to the Denver area. The WNT has won all four games, playing at DSG Park in 2008 (1-0 vs. Brazil), 2012 (6-2 vs. Australia) and 2014 (2-0 vs. China PR). The USA defeated Brazil 6-0 at Mile High Stadium back in 1999 following the Women’s World Cup triumph on home soil.
• This will be the USA’s third visit to Cleveland and the first in over six years, with the previous two matches at FirstEnergy Stadium (formerly Cleveland Browns Stadium) coming in June 2007, a 2-0 win against China PR, and May 2010, a 4-0 victory over Germany.
• These will be the first matches of the year against a team from the Asia Confederation, with the previous 11 games coming against CONCACAF, European and South American teams.
• Japan, which is currently ranked 7th in the world, has a new head coach after parting ways with long-time head coach Norio Sasaki, who led the team to its greatest triumphs.
• Asako Takakura has been appointed as the first-ever female coach of Japan’s senior Women’s National Team. The four-time Asian Women’s Coach of the Year was a midfielder in her playing days and earned 79 caps for Japan, appearing in 1991 and 1995 World Cups as well as the 1996 Olympics. She has been an integral part of the Japanese coaching infrastructure for years, having coached every age group from Under-13 upwards. She led Japan to the 2014 Under-17 Women’s World Cup title and the 2015 Asian U-19 Championship while also serving on the FIFA technical study group at last year’s World Cup.
• Fifteen players on the U.S. roster were members of the 2015 Women’s World Cup championship team.