Kelley O’Hara in action against the Czech Republic on Thursday night. (Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)
CHICAGO – Coming off a scoreless draw in its opening match at the SheBelieves Cup, the U.S. women’s national team will look to respond with a better performance on Sunday when it squares off against New Zealand at 3 p.m. ET at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif.
The match against the Football Ferns will be broadcast on ABC and PrendeTV.
Iceland sits atop the tournament standings entering the second match day after beating New Zealand, 1-0, on a first-minute goal in the opener. The USA and Czech Republic are behind on a point apiece, followed by New Zealand. The Football Ferns are co-hosts of the 2023 Women’s World Cup with Australia.
The Czech Republic and Iceland will meet in Sunday’s second doubleheader at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN3. The tournament will then head to Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas for the third and final matchday. New Zealand and the Czech Republic will square off at 6 p.m. ET (ESPN3) followed by USA-Iceland at 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2 and PrendeTV).
The U.S. roster is made up almost entirely of players who attended the USWNT January training camp in Austin, Texas, with the addition of midfielder Catarina Macario, who missed the event due to an important match in France with her club Olympique Lyonnais, and veteran Becky Sauerbrunn, who missed the camp due to a minor injury. Sauerbrunn came on late in the second half against the Czech Republic to earn her historic 200th cap while 19-year-old Trinity Rodman was a 60th-minute subbstitute to make her USWNT debut. Rodman became the fourth teenager since 2010 to earn a cap for the USWNT, joining Tierna Davidson, Mallory Pugh and Lindsey Horan and is the 11th player to earn a first cap under USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski.
The USA has played New Zealand 18 times and leads the all-time series, 16-1-1. The most recent matchup came in the group stage at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where the USA recorded a 6-1 victory as Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan, Christen Press and Alex Morgan all scored while the USA forced the Football Ferns into two own goals. Hassett scored the lone goal for New Zealand in the 72nd minute.
Prior to that game in Japan, the teams’ most recent meeting in the United States came on May 16, 2019, with the USA beating New Zealand, 5-0, in front of 35,761 fans in St. Louis during the Send-Off Series for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Carli Lloyd netted a brace with goals in the 61st and 83rd minutes, while Tobin Heath, Lavelle and Samantha Mewis also found the back of the net.
USWNT roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 0), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 3), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 78)
DEFENDERS (7): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 5/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 46/1), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC; 9/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 9/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 149/2), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 64/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 200/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Gautrat (Chicago Red Stars; 88/8), Jaelin Howell (Racing Louisville FC; 2/0) Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 69/18), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais, FRA; 13/3), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 34/4), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 3/0), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 23/2)
FORWARDS (6): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 4/2), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 68/18), Margaret Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 10/2), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 1/0), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 11/1), Lynn Williams (Kansas City Current; 45/14)
New Zealand roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Erin Nayler (Umea IK, SWE), 21-Victoria Esson (SC Sand, GER), 23- Lily Alfed (Wellington Phoenix FC)
DEFENDERS (8): 3-Claudia Bunge (Melbourne Victory FC, AUS) 4-CJ Bott (Unattached), 5-Meikayla Moore (Liverpool FC, ENG), 6-Rebekah Stott (Melbourne Victory FC, AUS), 7-Ali Riley (Angel City FC, USA), 8-Abby Erceg (North Carolina Courage, USA), Elizabeth Anton (Perth Glory FC, AUS), 22-Ashleigh Ward (Actonians LFC, ENG)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 2-Ria Perecival (Tottenham Hotspur FC, ENG), 12-Betsy Hassett (Stjarnan, ISL), 14-Katie Bowen (North Carolina Courage, USA), 15-Daisy Cleverley (Unattached), 20-Malia Steinmetz (West Sydney Wanderers FC, AUS)
FORWARDS (7): 9-Gabi Rennie (Arizona State University, USA), 10-Jacqui Hand (Unattached), 11-Olivia Chance (Celtic FC, SCO), 13-Paige Satchell (Sydney FC, AUS), 16-Emma Rolston (Unattached), 17-Hannah Wilkinson (Melbourne Victory FC, AUS),18-Ava Collins (St John’s University, USA)
