The Countdown Continues: USWNT23

With 53 days until the official start of the 2015 Women’s World Cup, U.S. Soccer released the official 23 woman roster for the tournament. The list didn’t contain any surprises as all the players on the roster were with the squad for the Algarve Cup in March, the friendlies in February in Europe, and the friendly in St. Louis 2 weeks ago (with a few exceptions for injuries and the incident with Hope Solo). The roster is as follows:

Goalkeepers

Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC), Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers)

Defenders

Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), Whitney Engen (Western NY Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Houston Dash), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)

Midfielders

Shannon Boxx (Chicago Red Stars), Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)

Forwards

Sydney Leroux (Western NY Flash), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Abby Wambach (unattached)

For keepers Ashlyn Harris and Alyssa Naeher and players Whitney Engen, Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg, Morgan Brian, Sydney Leroux, and Christen Press, it will be their first time competing in the tournament. Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, Tobin Heath, Lauren Holiday, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Amy Rodriguez were part of the 2011 squad and will be competing in their second consecutive tournament. Lori Chalupny who was left off the 2011 team will also be competing in her second tournament as she was part of the 2007 Women’s World Cup team. It will be the third consecutive World Cup for Hope Solo, Carli Lloyd, and Heather O’Reilly, and fourth for veterans Abby Wambach and Shannon Boxx. Christie Rampone who was part of the famed 1999 World Cup team will make her fifth consecutive roster appearance. The USWNT begins their 3 game send off series on Sunday May 10th vs. the Republic of Ireland. They follow up with games May 17th vs. Mexico and May 30th vs. Korea Repbulic. Then it all begins. The countdown is coming to a close so stay tuned for more with the final preparations for the 2015 Women’s World Cup.