Rose Lavelle returns to U.S. soccer roster after six-month hiatus
Veteran midfielder Rose Lavelle (L) last played for the United States Women's National Team on Dec. 3 in The Hague, Netherlands. File Photo by Mike Theiler/UPI | License Photo
June 18 (UPI) -- Rose Lavelle was one of 25 players named to the United States Women's National Team roster for three upcoming friendlies, ending a 6 1/2-month injury hiatus, coach Emma Hayes announced Wednesday.
"We want to continue to improve our understanding of how we want to play and widen the player pool, and those are some of the key goals of this three-game window," Hayes said in a news release.
"On this roster, we have players with a varied amount of experience, and my priority is to deepen the exposures required for international soccer. These are three challenging matches and as always, we want to win, but also to make sure we are ready for the next steps."
The Americans will take on Ireland to start the friendly trio at 9 p.m. EDT June 26 in Commerce City, Colo. They will face Ireland again at 3 p.m. June 29 in Cincinnati, and will play Canada at 7:30 p.m. July 2 in Washington, D.C.
Lavelle, 30, scored 24 goals in 110 international appearances. The veteran midfielder, who previously won a World Cup and gold and bronze Olympic medals, was out with an ankle injury. She last appeared in a 2-1 win over the Netherlands on Dec. 3 in The Hague.
Fellow midfielder Croix Bethune, the 2024 National Women's Soccer League Rookie of the Year who led the league with 10 assists, is also set to return from a knee injury. She last played for the Americans since a 2-1 group-stage win over Australia at the 2024 Summer Olympics on July 31 in Marseille, France.
The USA's latest roster features 24 players from the NWSL and Chelsea defender Naomi Girma. Nearly all of the other European-based players who are typically on the national team were not included because they are resting during the FIFA window.
The roster, which features an average age of 24.5, will be among the most-inexperienced in the history of the U.S. women's team. Defenders Jordyn Bugg (18) and Gisele Thompson (19) and midfielders Olivia Moutrie (19) and Claire Hutton (19) are the youngest players on the roster.
Bugg and fellow defenders Lilly Reale and Izzy Rodriguez and midfielder Sam Meza earned their first senior national team call-ups.
The U.S. women's June 26 game will air on TBS, truTV and Max. The June 29 game will air on TNT, truTV and Max. The USA-Canada game will air on TNT, truTV and Max.O
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