Ashley Hatch, Olivia Moultrie coming to Utah with U.S. Women’s National Team
Former BYU star Ashley Hatch will return to Utah after being called up by the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Hatch was one of the 27 players included on the October friendlies roster released by U.S. Soccer on Tuesday. The news comes days after Hatch’s Washington Spirit were eliminated from National Women’s Soccer League playoff contention.
Tuesday’s announcement marks the second time the U.S. has called Hatch up since she was snubbed from the team’s World Cup roster. She was included on the U.S. roster for matches against South Africa on Sept. 21 and Sept. 24 for Julie Ertz and Megan Rapinoe’s retirement games.
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She entered the Sept. 21 match as a substitute but didn’t dress for the second match, according to U.S. Soccer.
The October matches are another opportunity for Hatch to prove she belongs on the U.S. roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which ESPN doesn’t think is likely, as the Deseret News previously reported.
When are Ashley Hatch and the USWNT playing in Utah?
Hatch and the national team will play in Utah on Oct. 26 at America First Stadium. They will face Colombia, the same opponent from their last game in Utah in 2022.
The team will then play Colombia again on Oct. 29 in San Diego.
What has Ashley Hatch said about not making the World Cup roster?
In September, Hatch was a guest on the “Hey Spirits” podcast, where she said she believes she did everything she could have to earn a spot on the World Cup roster, the Deseret News previously reported.
“I feel like I did everything within my power that I could have done to make the roster, and like you said that was kind of my role the last year and a half to be the backup nine (to Alex Morgan),” she said. “I feel like I fulfilled my role to the best of my ability and made the most of the opportunities that I did get. It’s all coach’s opinion at that point. So I could say that I feel like I did enough, but if the coach doesn’t think so, then it wasn’t enough.”
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When will the new USWNT coach be hired?
The U.S. Women’s National Team’s upcoming two matches will most likely be the last coached by interim head coach Twila Kilgore. She took over the team after Vlatko Andonovski stepped down following the team’s historic World Cup elimination.
The team is expected to have a new head coach before December training camp starts, Matt Crocker, U.S. Soccer sporting director, told reporters in September, according to ESPN.
“I am really happy with where we are with the search,” he said. “We have an unbelievably diverse pool of exciting candidates and we are on track — comfortably on track — to be in a position to have the head coach in place and ready to support the team from that early December camp.”
The team will play two games against China on Dec. 2 and Dec. 5.
Who else is on the USWNT October roster?
Teenager Olivia Moultrie was included on the roster, marking her first call-up to the senior national team. Moultrie, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sparked the teenage soccer movement that has taken over the National Women’s Soccer League.
In 2021, she became the youngest player in the NWSL when she signed with the Portland Thorns at 15 years and 286 days old, as the Deseret News previously reported.
She began practicing with the Thorns at age 13, but NWSL rules at the time prevented her from joining the league until she was 18. In May 2021, she filed an antitrust law against the league and won, signing with the Thorns two weeks later.
The following players were included on the roster:
Goalkeepers:
Aubrey Kingsbury.
Casey Murphy.
Alyssa Naeher.
Defenders:
Alana Cook.
Crystal Dunn.
Emily Fox.
Naomi Girma.
Sofia Huerta.
Casey Krueger.
Becky Sauerbrunn.
Emily Sonnett.
M.A. Vignola.
Midfielders:
Sam Coffey.
Savannah DeMelo.
Lindsey Horan.
Olivia Moultrie.
Ashley Sanchez.
Andi Sullivan.
Forwards:
Mia Fishel.
Ashley Hatch.
Alex Morgan.
Midge Purce.
Trinity Rodman.
Jaedyn Shaw.
Sophia Smith.
Alyssa Thompson.
Lynn Williams.
