Five Tar Heel Alumnae Named To 2019 U.S. World Cup Team

CHICAGO, ILL. - With 40 days until the USA's opening match of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, U.S. Women's National Team head coach Jill Ellis has named the 23 players who will represent the United States in France this summer. The roster will not become official until it is submitted to FIFA on May 24, which is the deadline for all teams to submit their final squads.

Five alumnae who played their collegiate women's soccer at the University of North Carolina for legendary Tar Heel head coach Anson Dorrance were named to the team. All five of those former Tar Heels currently play in the National Women's Soccer League. Following is a list of the five Tar Heels who will compete in the World Cup which begins in France on June 11.

Ashlyn Harris, Goalkeeper, Second World Cup Selection, UNC Class of 2010, plays for Orlando Pride in NWSL
Crystal Dunn, Defender, First World Cup Selection, UNC Class of 2014, plays for NC Courage in NWSL
Allie Long, Midfielder, First World Cup Selection, UNC Class of 2009, plays for Reign FC in NWSL
Tobin Heath, Forward, Third World Cup Selection, UNC Class of 2010, plays for Portland Thorns FC in NWSL
Jessica McDonald, First World Cup Selection, UNC Class of 2010, plays for NC Courage in NWSL

North Carolina leads all American colleges in 2019 U.S. World Cup selections with five. Virginia and Stanford have three players each on the team. Penn State and UCLA have two selections each. Oklahoma State, Santa Clara, Wisconsin, Rutgers, California and Portland each have two players on the team. Two of the selections did not play collegiately.

2019 United States FIFA Women's World Cup Roster by Position (Club)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch* (Portland Thorns FC), Ashlyn Harris** (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher** (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper* (NC Courage), Tierna Davidson* (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn* (NC Courage), Ali Krieger*** (Orlando Pride), Kelley O'Hara*** (Utah Royals FC), Becky Sauerbrunn*** (Utah Royals FC), Emily Sonnett* (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Morgan Brian** (Chicago Red Stars), Julie Ertz** (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan* (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle* (Washington Spirit), Allie Long* (Reign FC), Samantha Mewis* (NC Courage)
FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath*** (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd**** (Sky Blue FC), Jessica McDonald* (NC Courage), Alex Morgan*** (Orlando Pride), Christen Press** (Utah Royals FC), Mallory Pugh* (Washington Spirit), Megan Rapinoe*** (Reign FC)* First Women's World Cup
** Second Women's World Cup
*** Third Women's World Cup
**** Fourth Women's World Cup

"Selecting a World Cup team is a long process, and I want to thank the players - the ones that made the final team and the ones that didn't - for all of their hard work over the past two and a half years," said Ellis. "They all pushed each other in every training session and every game and challenged the coaches to make some tough decisions. These 23 players have been through adversity and success, and it's a group that has the talent, confidence, experience and desire to help us win the World Cup."

Forward Carli Lloyd was named to her fourth Women's World Cup roster, becoming the ninth U.S. Women's National Team player to be selected for four or more tournaments. Six players were named to their third consecutive World Cup roster in defenders Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O'Hara and Ali Krieger and forwards Tobin Heath, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. Ellis also named five players who make a second World Cup roster and 11 for whom this will be their first. Ellis selected 12 players who were part of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup championship squad. The roster averages 80 international caps per player and has a combined total of 94 Women's World Cup appearances.

THREE MORE HOME GAMES BEFORE FRANCE
The Women's World Cup roster will make up the squad for the USA's final three matches before departing for Europe. The Send-Off Series, Presented by Volpi Foods, takes place in May and will start when the USA faces South Africa on Sunday, May 12, at 1:30 p.m. PT at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. From there, the USA will travel to St. Louis, Missouri for its second match, facing New Zealand on Thursday, May 16, at 7 p.m. CT at Busch Stadium.
The U.S. players will then have their final break before the World Cup and regroup in New Jersey to conclude the Send-Off Series vs. Mexico on Sunday, May 26, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. The match will kick off at 12 p.m. ET.
Fans can follow all the upcoming WNT matches on @uswnt (Twitter, Instagram) and U.S. Soccer on Facebook.

USA KICKS OFF GROUP F ON JUNE 11
This summer, the USA will face Thailand, Chile and Sweden in Group F at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup. The U.S. will open Group F play against Thailand on June 11 (3 p.m. ET) at Auguste Delaune Stadium in Reims. The USA then faces Chile on June 16 (12 p.m. ET) at Parc des Princes in Paris, followed by Sweden on June 20 (3 p.m. ET) at Stade Océane in Le Havre.

"The growth of the women's game around the world is not something that's taken us by surprise. We've seen it first hand, especially over the past five years," said Ellis. "Our players have been steeled in this highly competitive environment and that's helped develop an entire roster that has the depth and versatility we need to navigate what will be a tremendously difficult and exciting tournament."

The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup runs from June 7-July 7, and all 52 games will be shown live on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2 and on tablets and mobile devices through the FOX Sports app.

WORLD CUP HISTORY
The 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup will be the eighth time FIFA stages the event and the second to include 24 nations. Sixteen teams participated in the four World Cups held from 1999-2011. The 1991 and 1995 WWC featured 12 teams. The format calls for seven matches to win the tournament, including four in the knockout rounds, up from six matches it took to win the Women's World Cups for all the tournaments from 1991-2011.
The USA is making its eighth appearance in a FIFA Women's World Cup and is one of seven countries to appear in all eight editions of the tournament. The others are Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway and Sweden.

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