Fox Among Seven Tar Heels Called In For USWNT Duty

CHICAGO, ILL. – U.S. Women's National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named a 24-player roster for a two-game European tour that will see the USA travel to face Portugal in Lisbon on November 8 and Scotland in Paisley on November 13.

Seven of the 24 players on the roster played collegiately at the University of North Carolina, including current sophomore defender Emily Fox, an Ashburn, Va. native. The other players who competed at UNC during their collegiate careers include goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), defenders Crystal Dunn (North Carolina Courage) and Merritt Mathias (North Carolina Courage), midfielder Allie Long (Seattle Reign) and forwards Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns) and Jessica McDonald (North Carolina Courage), all current players in the National Women's Soccer League.

Defender Emily Fox, a veteran of the USA's last two FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup teams and one of the top outside backs in the college game, gets her first senior team call-up. The University of North Carolina sophomore earned 34 caps and scored four goals at the U-20 level.

Ellis and her staff will name 18 players to the gameday roster for each match. These will be the first friendly matches for the USA since it secured a berth to the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Eighteen of the 24 players on the squad who helped the USA qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup at the recently completed 2018 Concacaf Women's Championship were named to this roster. Two additional players on the Europe-bound roster, goalkeeper Adrianna French and defender Merritt Mathias, both of whom have seen consistent time with the USA this year, trained with the team during the qualifying tournament.

Allie Long returns to the team for this trip. She was last with the USA at the 2018 Tournament of Nations this past summer. Forward Jessica McDonald, who had a stellar 10-goal season with NWSL champion North Carolina Courage and then scored twice in the semifinal and twice in the championship game to help her club claim the title, gets her first call-up since the 2017 SheBelieves Cup. McDonald also led the NWSL in assists with eight.

These will be the final games of a highly competitive 2018 schedule in which the USA has compiled a 16-0-2 record. The next victory for the U.S. Women's National Team will mark an impressive milestone as it will be the 500^th win in program history. Since its inception in 1985, the U.S. WNT has compiled a record of 499 wins, 65 losses and 74 ties.

NATIONAL TEAM CAPS: Ashlyn Harris 18, Crystal Dunn 73 (24 goals), Emily Fox 0, Merritt Mathias 1, Allie Long 39 (6 goals), Tobin Heath 142 (25 goals), Jessica McDonald 1

Players Mentioned

Emily Fox

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