Utah Royals FC Send Three Players For USWNT Duty

Feb 12, 2019, 10:27 AM | Updated: 10:27 am

Utah Royals FC forward Katie Stengel (24) celebrates after the match with teammates as the Utah Royals defeat the Washington Spirit 1-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. Stengel scored the winning goal. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)

BY TREVOR ALLEN, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SANDY, Utah – Utah Royals FC announced that Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara and Christen Press have been called to the U.S. Women’s National Team for the inaugural 2019 SheBelieves Cup, ahead of the FIF Women’s World Cup.

The national team will begin the SheBelieves Cup against Japan on February 27 at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pennsylvania. They will head to Nashville, Tennessee on March 2 to face England at Nissan Stadium.

The tournament will wrap-up on March 5 against Brazil, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

“The SheBelieves Cup is a positive event in many ways, but it’s extremely valuable to get three challenging games against World Cup-bound teams in a short time span that can simulate navigating through group play,” said USWNT head coach Jill Ellis. “These are all teams that can go deep in the tournament this summer and provide the kind of tests we need as we continue to work to crystalize our lineup and our final roster for the World Cup.”

The Royals trio all are veterans with the national team, with Sauerbrunn and O’Hara in their third season, while Press is in her second World Cup year. All three players were a part of the Women’s World Cup championship team in 2015.

Leading up to the 2015 Women’s FIFA World Cup, the hashtag SheBelieves trended on social media. The USWNT encouraged action for women to set high goals for themselves within their careers and work field. The SheBelieves Cup was established by U.S. Soccer as a four-team international tournament, to enrich women to make a difference beyond the soccer field and strive to strengthen the community.