Three Royals Named To USWNT Olympic Qualifying Roster
Jan 17, 2020, 10:22 AM
(Photo by Martin Rose/Getty Images)
HERRIMAN, Utah – United States Women’s National Team head coach Vlatko Andonovski announced that three Utah Royals FC players were selected to the team’s Olympic qualifying roster.
The USWNT Olympic qualifying roster was released on Friday, January 17.
Andonovski named Utah’s Christen Press, Kelley O’Hara, and Becky Sauerbrunn among the 20 players to represent the United States at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament.
The United States enters the tournament with eyes on reaching the Olympic Games for a seventh consecutive time. The USWNT has won the qualifying tournament five straight times.
The three players participated in January’s training camp and survived cuts from the camp roster to make the qualifying team.
Nothing friendly about this 😤
Squad set, time to go to work » https://t.co/wJaAYdXszg pic.twitter.com/rxjerMliCu— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) January 17, 2020
O’Hara and Sauerbrunn look to reach the Olympic Games for the third time and earn their second gold medals as a result. Press is attempting to reach the Olympics for the second time in his career.
The forward and two defenders were members of the USWNT’s 2019 FIFA World Cup championship squad. Each player has played in two World Cup tournaments.
Press has posted 123 appearances for the national team. During her time with Team USA, Press has recorded 49 goals and 30 assists. The forward has played for the Royals since 2018.
Sauerbrunn has played in 164 matches for the United States. She’s recorded 7 assists in those appearances. Sauerbrunn has been a member of the Utah Royals FC since 2017.
O’Hara has appeared in 124 matches for Team USA. During those matches, she’s scored two goals and recorded 17 assists. O’Hara’s played for Utah since 2018.
#URFC trio named to the @USWNT Olympic qualifying roster
📰 https://t.co/w7obO9twlQ pic.twitter.com/NLX5c8TJi2
— Utah Royals FC (@UtahRoyalsFC) January 17, 2020
The Royals players and the rest of the U.S. team will kick off the tournament when they face Haiti on Tuesday, January 28. The tournament takes place in California and Texas and runs from January 28-February 9.