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Olivia Moultrie named to U.S. roster for SheBelieves Cup

Krysyan Edler
·3 min read
United States forward Olivia Moultrie warms up before a CONCACAF Gold Cup women's soccer tournament match against Mexico, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif.
United States forward Olivia Moultrie warms up before a CONCACAF Gold Cup women's soccer tournament match against Mexico, Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in Carson, Calif. | Ryan Sun

Olivia Moultrie will once again suit up for the U.S. women’s national soccer team to compete in April’s SheBelieves Cup.

Interim head coach Twila Kilgore on Tuesday released a youthful 23-player roster for the event.

Only four of the players have at least 100 caps for the national team, and seven, including Moultrie, have fewer than 10, according to U.S. Soccer.

“This is a roster that comes at a time in transition between cycles,” Kilgore said in a press conference Tuesday. “Deepening the (player) pool was really important as well as keeping a good level of veteran stability — veteran leadership — but ultimately, we’re just looking for the best and right combination of players leading into the Olympics.”

Kilgore said the team is excited about the expanding player pool and the number of young players making the decision to turn professional.

One of those young players is 16-year-old Lily Yohannes. Born in Springfield, Virginia, Yohannes moved to the Netherlands with her family when she was 10 and signed a contract with her current team, AFC Ajax, at age 15.

“She is somebody that we’re talking about now and in the future with,” Kilgore said. “This is solely about us and her future and exposure with the U.S. women’s national team.”

Who was left off the USWNT 2024 SheBelieves roster?

Notable absences include former BYU Cougar Ashley Hatch, Becky Sauerbrunn, Midge Purce and Rose Lavelle.

Kilgore noted that Lavelle was unavailable for the camp due to an injury and Purce’s injury status is unknown but, if cleared for play, could be a potential injury substitute.

Hatch was last on the national team roster for its December friendlies, which is the only time she has been on the team’s roster following the announcement that Emma Hayes would be the new head coach. She was also left off the team’s World Cup roster last summer under former head coach Vlatko Andonovski.

The SheBelieves roster isn’t necessarily indicative of who will be left off the 2024 Paris Olympics team.

Kilgore said those players who were left off “absolutely” still have a chance of representing the U.S. this summer, but the Olympic roster will have to be trimmed down to 18 players.

“There’s nobody that’s out of the mix. We have a lot of faith in a lot of different players, and this is the roster that we’re going with now,” she said. “Part of the game of futbol is also that change does happen and also injuries do occur — hopefully, there won’t be any — but there’s a lot of different ways that roster spots open up, including just quality, quality play that represents the type of style and play that we need from players.”

Who is on the USWNT 2024 SheBelieves roster?

The following players were named to the roster for the U.S.’s SheBelieves matches against Japan on April 6 and either Brazil or Canada on April 9:

Goalkeepers:

  • Jane Campbell.

  • Casey Murphy.

  • Alyssa Naeher.

Defenders:

  • Abby Dahlkemper.

  • Crystal Dunn.

  • Tierna Davidson.

  • Emily Fox.

  • Eva Gaetino.

  • Naomi Girma.

  • Casey Krueger.

  • Jenna Nighswonger.

Midfielders:

  • Korbin Albert.

  • Sam Coffey.

  • Lindsey Horan.

  • Olivia Moultrie.

  • Emily Sonnett.

  • Lily Yohannes.

Forwards:

  • Catarina Macario.

  • Alex Morgan.

  • Trinity Rodman.

  • Jaedyn Shaw.

  • Sophia Smith.

  • Mallory Swanson.