Photo: ISI Photos
USA vs. Costa Rica
2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Feb. 10, 2016
U.S. WNT READIES FOR OLYMPIC QUALIFYING: Following an intense 17-day camp at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in January, the U.S. Women’s National Team opened its 2016 campaign on Jan. 23 with a 5-0 victory against Ireland at Qualcomm Stadium. The match served as the USA’s only tune-up for the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship that begins for the USA on Wed., Feb. 10 against Costa Rica (7:30 p.m. CT on NBC Live Extra). Fans can also follow all the action from #USAvCRC on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt and @ussoccer_esp, and follow the team along its journey on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt). The match against Costa Rica pits the teams that met in the championship game of the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup Qualifying tournament in Oct. of 2014 after both nations had booked their tickets to the Women’s World Cup in Canada by winning their semifinal matches. The USA won 6-0 in that game and Costa Rica will surely be looking for some redemption. U.S. head coach Jill Ellis has named 20 players to the Qualifying roster and will be allowed three substitutes per match in the tournament.
U.S. Women’s National Team Olympic Qualifying Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), 20-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), 1- Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (7): 19-Jaelene Hinkle (Western NY Flash), 8-Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), 7-Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns FC), 11-Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), 6- Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 14-Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), 9-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), 10-Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), 3- Samantha Mewis (Western NY Flash)
FORWARDS (5): 16-Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), 15-Stephanie McCaffrey (Boston Breakers), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), 12-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars); 2- Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado)
PATH TO BRAZIL: The USA will open the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship in Group A against Costa Rica on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. CT (NBC Live Extra). The USA will then face Mexico on Saturday, Feb. 13 (3 p.m. CT on NBC Live Extra with an 8:30 p.m. CT replay on NBCSN) and finish the first round against Puerto Rico on Monday, Feb. 15 (7:30 p.m. CT on NBCSN & NBC Live Extra). The two venues for the competition are BBVA Compass Stadium, home to the Houston Dash of the NWSL and the Houston Dynamo of MLS, and Toyota Stadium, located in the Dallas suburb of Frisco and home to FC Dallas of MLS. The round-robin stage of the tournament will be conducted with three doubleheaders in each group. Group A will play doubleheaders at Toyota Stadium on Feb. 10, 13 and 15 and Group B – which features Canada, Guatemala, Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana – will play doubleheaders at BBVA Compass Stadium on Feb. 11, 14 and 16. The all-important semifinal matches will be on Feb. 19 in Houston, with the winners qualifying for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. The championship game on Feb. 21 will also be in Houston. Ticket info is available here. The U.S. will attempt to qualify for a sixth consecutive Olympic Games and win the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship for the fourth consecutive time.
2016 U.S. WNT SCHEDULE/RESULTS:
Date
Opponent
Time
TV/Result
Venue
Jan. 23
Ireland
—
5-0 W
Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego, Calif.
Feb. 10
Costa Rica*
7:30 p.m. CT
NBC Live Extra
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Feb. 13
Mexico*
3 p.m. CT
NBC Live Extra
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Feb. 15
Puerto Rico*
7:30 p.m. CT
NBCSN/NBCLE
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
March 3
England SB
7:30 p.m. ET
FS1
Tampa, Fla.
March 6
France SB
2 p.m. CT
ESPN3
Nashville, Tenn.
March 9
Germany SB
7:30 p.m. ET
ESPN3
Boca Raton, Fla.
SB SheBelieves Cup
* 2 016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship
QUEST FOR RIO: The U.S. will attempt to qualify for a sixth consecutive Olympic Games and win the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying event for the fourth consecutive time. In 2012, the USA won the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Vancouver, B.C. (at the same stadium where it would win the Women’s World Cup three years later) and then went on to win the gold medal in London. In 2008, the USA won the tournament in Mexico and went on to win gold in Beijing. In 2004, the U.S. won the tournament in Costa Rica and went on to win gold in Athens, Greece. The U.S. qualified for the 1996 Atlanta Games as host and for the 2000 Sydney Games as a top-7 finisher at the 1999 Women’s World Cup.
SEVEN IN; FIVE TO GO: Seven nations have already qualified for the 12-team Olympic Football Tournament: Brazil and Colombia from South America, South Africa and Zimbabwe from Africa, New Zealand from Oceania and France and Germany from Europe by virtue of their finish at the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Two teams will qualify from CONCACAF and Asia and one more will qualify from Europe after a mini-tournament in March featuring Sweden, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Long-time African power Nigeria, which gave the USA a strong match in the Women’s World Cup, fell in the third round of African qualifying to Equatorial Guinea, which in turn fell to South Africa, which earned its second straight Olympic berth.
CONCACAF OLYMPIC TV INFO: All 15 matches of the tournament will be streamed live on NBC Sports Live Extra, with four also airing on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN). Should the U.S. WNT advance to the semifinal match on Feb. 19 in Houston, the match will be broadcast live on NBCSN at 7:30 p.m. CT. The tournament’s two semifinal winners will advance to this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio. The tournament final on Feb. 21 will be streamed on NBC Sports Live Extra at 4 p.m. CT with a replay to follow on television at 10 p.m. CT on NBCSN. A cable subscription is required to access NBC Live Extra online. Additionally, all 15 matches will be streamed with Spanish language commentary on NBC En Vivo Extra with the USA’s Group A game against Mexico, both semifinals and the tournament final broadcast on NBC Universo.. The U.S. is attempting to qualify for a sixth consecutive Olympic Games and win the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying event for the fourth straight time.
U.S. WNT 2016 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Schedule (all times CT):
Date
Match
Time | TV
Location
Feb. 10
USA vs. Costa Rica
7:30 p.m. | NBC Live Extra
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Feb. 13
USA vs. Mexico
3 p.m. | NBC Live Extra
8:30 p.m. Replay | NBCSN
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
Feb. 15
USA vs. Puerto Rico
7:30 p.m. | NBCSN & NBC Live Extra
Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas
LLOYD AND SAUERBRUNN NAMED WNT CAPTAINS: Midfielder Carli Lloyd and defender Becky Sauerbrunn, two of the top performers at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, were named as the new captains of the U.S. Women’s National Team in January by U.S. head coach Jill Ellis. The duo becomes the 13th and 14th players officially named captain of the U.S. WNT over the 31 years of the program, although many others have worn the captain’s band during a match. When Lloyd and Sauerbrunn are on the field at the same time, Lloyd will wear the armband. They take over from Christie Rampone, who is currently sidelined after undergoing minor knee surgery before Christmas, and Abby Wambach, who has retired. “Christie and Abby have been phenomenal leaders for this team for a long time, and we are forever grateful for their far-reaching contributions,” said Ellis. “As we move into the next phase of this program, I’ve selected two captains who I know will represent us extremely well on and off the field and will help facilitate the positive direction of this team. They are two extremely professional players in both game and training environments and they embody the DNA of this program.” Lloyd currently has 212 caps, the eighth most in U.S. history, and was far and away the leader in goals scored for the USA in 2015 with 18. She opened 2015 with a bang, scoring a hat trick in 28 minutes against Ireland on Jan. 23. Without Rampone or Wambach on the field, she captained the USA in four matches at the Women’s World Cup, including the championship game. Sauerbrunn, 30, is on 96 caps and during Olympic qualifying in February, could become the 35th U.S. female player to hit 100. She co-captained FC Kansas City to the past two NWSL titles and won the NWSL Defender of the Year award in all three years of the league’s existence.
CARLI LLOYD AND JILL ELLIS WIN FIFA AWARDS: OnJanuary 11 at the FIFA Gala Awards in Zurich, Switzerland, Carli Lloyd, the co-captain of the U.S. Women’s National Team, was named the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, and Jill Ellis, who led the USA to the 2015 Women’s World Cup title, was named as the 2015 World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer. It marked the fourth time an American woman has been named FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year following Abby Wambach in 2012 and Mia Hamm’s selection in 2001 and 2002, the first two years the award was presented. Lloyd finished first in voting by coaches and captains of women’s national teams from around the world. Each ballot allowed the coaches and captains to name their top three players, with a first-place nomination worth five points, and positions two and three rewarded with three points and one point, respectively. Lloyd came out on top with 35.28% of all votes, ahead of German Célia Å aÅ¡ić (12.60%) and Japan’s Aya Miyama (9.88%). Ellis becomes the second coach of a U.S. team to win the award, which was instituted in 2008, but the first American. Swede Pia Sundhage won the award in 2012 after leading the USA to the Olympic gold medal in London. Ellis led the USA to a 20-2-4 record in 2015, losing only the first and last matches of the year. In between, the USA went unbeaten in 24 consecutive games which included the championship at the prestigious Algarve Cup in Portugal and the seven-game run to the FIFA Women’s World Cup title. Ellis and her staff deftly managed the team to first place in the “Group of Death” at the Women’s World Cup, improving every match before winning three knockout games by shutout and then scoring four goals in first 16 minutes of the World Cup Final to effectively close out the match in the first half.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: All 20 players who made the roster for Olympic Qualifying were a part of the USA’s 26-player January training camp, but the roster that will attempt to earn a spot in Rio 2016 has a bit of a different look than the squad that won the Women’s World Cup. The roster features three goalkeepers (a requirement by tournament regulations) and 17 field players, which includes seven defenders, five midfielders and five forwards, although many players on the roster can play more than one position. Thirteen of the 20 players chosen by Ellis were on the USA’s 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup championship team and just seven players were on the USA’s roster for 2012 Olympic qualifying: goalkeeper Hope Solo, defenders Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara and Ali Krieger, midfielders Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath and forward Alex Morgan. Solo, Heath and Lloyd are the only players on the roster who also participated in qualifying for the 2008 Olympics. Of the seven players in their first major tournament at the senior level, five have represented the USA in CONCACAF Qualifying or a World Cup at the youth level.
OFF THE FIELD: Of the 23 players on the 2015 Women’s World Cup Team, just 16 attended the January training camp. The seven WWC players not attending including four players who have retired (Shannon Boxx, Lori Chalupny, Lauren Holiday and Abby Wambach) and two players who are injured. Long-time U.S. captain Christie Rampone underwent arthroscopic surgery on her left knee before Christmas and midfielder Megan Rapinoe is doing well in her rehab from ACL surgery. Forward Amy Rodriguez is pregnant with her second child and will be off the soccer field for a large part of the year. The USA is getting a bit younger as the average age of the January training camp roster is 26.1 years old. The average of the Women’s World Cup Team was 29.2 years old and the average age of the starting lineup in the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final was 28.0 years old.
PUGH MAKES JUMP TO SENIOR SIDE: Mallory Pugh, who will turn 18 in April of 2016, was called up for January training camp, making her one of the youngest field players called into the full U.S. WNT in the past 15 years. She does have extensive experience with the USA’s Youth National Teams, having been a starter at the age of 16 in the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada and she recently captained the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team to a 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup berth and the CONCACAF title at the qualifying tournament in Honduras.Heather O’Reilly debuted for the WNT just a few months past her 17th birthday in 2002 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal. Amy Rodriguez debuted at the 2005 Algarve Cup just a few months past her 18th birthday. Lauren Holiday first trained with the senior team a few months shy of her 18th birthday in 2005. In January of 2013, 17-year-old goalkeeper Jane Campbell was a member of the USA’s training camp in Los Angeles. Campbell, a member of the U.S. Under-23 WNT player pool, will play her senior season at Stanford next fall. Pugh made her full WNT debut on Jan. 23 vs. Ireland, coming on for Alex Morgan in the 58th minute and then scored, making her the 19th U.S. female player to score in their debut. She signed a letter of intent on Feb. 3 to play at UCLA starting fall 2016.
DUNN MAKING A RUN : Crystal Dunn, who was among the final 25 players vying for Women’s World Cup spots before the roster was trimmed to the 23 that represented the USA in Canada, returned to the team for the final seven games of the Victory Tour and started them all, scoring four goals with three assists. After not making the WWC Team, she took advantage of the increased opportunities with her club to lead the NWSL in scoring with 15 goals (along with three assists) while starting in 19 of the Washington Spirit’s 20 games and winning the league MVP. She doubled the number of shots of her next closest teammate, firing 84, which led the league. She also led the NWSL in shots on goal with 48.
VICTORY TOUR OPENS DOORS: The latter part of the Victory Tour gave increased opportunities to numerous young players who were not on the WWC Team including Lindsey Horan, who ended up getting the first three starts of her career at the end of last year. Horan, who was the first American female player to skip college and head overseas to play professionally, left for Europe in July of 2012 after she graduated from high school and spent more than three years in France with Paris Saint-Germain. Samantha Mewis, a NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist with the Western NY Flash who started 20 games while scoring four goals with four assists, played in one match last year and has four caps. Three players made their WNT debuts during the Victory Tour in 22-year-old left back Jaelene Hinkle, who played every minute of all 20 matches last season with the Western NY Flash and 22-year-old defender Emily Sonnett, who was the first pick taken in the 2016 NWSL Draft by the Portland Thorns out the University of Virginia. Hinkle earned her first cap on Oct. 21 against Brazil, coming on at left back and playing well in the last 20 minutes. Sonnett earned her first cap on Oct. 25 against Brazil, playing on 90 minutes in the center of the defense. Twenty-two-year-old forward Stephanie McCaffrey, who started 17 of the 19 matches she played this past season with the Boston Breakers while scoring three goals with three assists, previously trained with the U.S. team during an extended training camp January of 2015, but made her first game roster for the USA’s Oct. 25 match against Brazil. She had an excellent debut, coming on at halftime and creating danger down the right flank. She then became the 18th U.S. player to score in their first cap, volleying home a perfect far post cross from Megan Rapinoe in the fourth and final minute of stoppage time.
HISTORY IN FRISCO: The three U.S. WNT games in group play during the Olympic Qualifying tournament will double the number of games it has played in Frisco. The USA has played at this stadium (formerly Pizza Hut Park and FC Dallas Stadium) three times, in 2007 (6-2 W) and 2014 (1-0 W) vs. Canada and in 2012 vs. New Zealand (2-1 W). The USA won all three games, the most recent two played in freezing temperatures. Against New Zealand, the USA needed two late goals from Alex Morgan to come from behind and win. In 2014, the USA scored late against as a 79th minute goal from Sydney Leroux off a brilliant assist from Becky Sauerbrunn provided the margin of victory.
U.S. ROSTER NOTES:
OnJan. 23, Alex Morgan became the 34th female player in U.S. history to play 100 times for her country, and she scored her 57th goal. Morgan debuted for the USA on Oct. 2, 2010, vs. China.
The U.S. roster is a nice mix of youth and experience. Of the 20 players on the qualifying roster, nine have 21 or less caps and seven have 70 or more caps. Eight of the players named to the roster have eight caps or less.
Thirteen of the 20 players on roster have appeared for the USA in a U-19 or U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament.
Four players on the roster have played 100 times for more for the USA, led by Carli Lloyd’s 212 caps. Hope Solo has 186 caps followed by Tobin Heath’s 107 and Alex Morgan earned her 100th on Jan. 23 against Ireland. Becky Sauerbrunn could hit 100 during the qualifying tournament as she is currently at 96.
Five players scored their first WNT goals in 2015: Julie Johnston (who got five, including her first against France in the Algarve Cup Final), Kelley O’Hara (on June 30, 2015 against Germany in the Semifinal match of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup), Lindsey Horan (on Dec. 10 against T&T), Crystal Dunn (on Sept. 17 vs. Haiti) and Stephanie McCaffery, who scored against Brazil in her debut on Oct. 25. All of Johnston’s goals came off set pieces, with the first three assisted by the now-retired Lauren Holiday and one each by Megan Rapinoe and Kelley O’Hara.
Of the 17 field players on the roster, four players do not have an international goal and three are defenders: Emily Sonnett, Becky Sauerbrunn and Jaeline Hinkle. The other is five-capped Samantha Mewis.
Lloyd’s 18 goals in 2015 were a career high for her in a calendar year and eight more than her closest teammate Christen Press, who had 10. With three in the first game of the year against Ireland, she is once again leading the team early on.
Carli Lloyd has scored 19 goals in the USA’s last 14 matches starting with the Round of 16 game at the WWC.
OLYMPIC QUALIYFING NOTES:
Carli Lloyd has the most Olympic qualifying appearances or anyone on the roster, playing in nine games (2008 & 2012) while scoring eight goals. Hope Solo has played in eight Olympic qualifying matches (2008 & 2012).
For the 2012 Olympic qualifying roster, 19 of the 20 players were on the 2011 Women’s World Cup Team. For the 2016 Olympic Qualifying roster, 13 players were on the 2015 WWC Team.
Seven players on the roster have previous Olympic qualifying experience and three players have scored in an Olympic qualifying tournament: Carli Lloyd (8), Alex Morgan (4) and Tobin Heath (3).
Seventeen-year-old midfielder Mallory Pugh will be playing in her second CONCACAF qualifying tournament in a three-month span. She also captained the USA to the title at the CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship in early December in Honduras, earning a berth to the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup at the end of the year in Papua New Guinea.
Pugh is the youngest player ever named to a U.S. Olympic qualifying roster.
The USA has never lost a match in Olympic qualifying, but it did tie Canada 1-1 in the title game of the 2008 tournament before prevailing in penalty kicks.
As host, the USA did not have to qualify for the 1996 Olympics, and the 1999 Women’s World Cup served as qualifying for the 2000 Olympic Games. They USA then won qualifying tournaments for 2004, 2008 and 2012.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS:
Carli Lloyd became the 10th woman in U.S. history to reach 200 caps, achieving the feat at the WWC quarterfinal match against China PR on June 26. She is the third active player to reach that mark and 10th overall American. Christie Rampone and Heather O’Reilly are the other two. She also became the third player in U.S. history to score in her 200th appearance. Wambach and O’Reilly are the other two.
Lloyd is the highest active goal scorer in U.S. history with the players ahead of her, Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, Kristine Lilly, Tiffeny Milbrett and Michelle Akers all retired.
Lloyd is in eighth place on the USA’s all-time caps with 212.
Lloyd is in sixth place on the U.S. WNT’s all-time goal scoring list. Lloyd, now with 82 goals, is the highest-scoring midfielder in U.S. history although she has scored her last 19 goals playing as more of a withdrawn forward.
Hope Solo recorded her 89th career shutout against Germany in the semifinal of the WWC. It was the fifth straight World Cup clean sheet for the USA, and Solo’s 10th in World Cup play, tying the record for most by a U.S. goalkeeper and most in World Cup play with Brianna Scurry. She earned her 91th against Ireland on Jan. 23 in San Diego.
Solo earned her 177th cap against Japan in the World Cup Final on July 5. With 186 caps, she is the leader for caps by a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Briana Scurry earned 173 caps in her career (1994-2008).
Solo has the most starts by a WNT goalkeeper with 179. Solo is also in 9th place on the WNT’s all-time starts list behind eighth place Carli Lloyd, who has 182.
Solo has 139 goalkeeper wins and is the all-time leader in wins for a goalkeeper in U.S. history. Brian Scurry had 133 during her career (1994-2008).
With her game-winning goal against England on Feb. 13, Alex Morgan became the 10th player in U.S. history to score 50 or more goals. She now has 57 and is in ninth place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. Next up for Morgan is Shannon MacMillan’s 60 career goals.
BY THE NUMBERS:
0.46 Goals per game the USA allowed in 2015
1 USA’s FIFA ranking
2.85 Goals per game the USA scored in 2015
4 Number of players that made their WNT debut in 2015 (Hinkle, Lewandowski, Sonnett, McCaffrey)
18 Goals Carli Lloyd needs to reach 100
18 Players that will make the Olympic roster should the USA qualify
19 Number of different U.S. players to score a goal in 2015
20 Players on the Olympic qualifying roster
91 Shutouts by Hope Solo, an all-time U.S. WNT record
99 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Abby Wambach in her career
106 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Alex Morgan in her career
130 Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Mia Hamm in her career
AND THE WINNER IS: Current U.S. WNT players that won 2015 NWSL post-season awards are Crystal Dunn (Golden Boot and MVP), Defender of the Year Becky Sauerbrunn, and NWSL Best XI members Julie Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Dunn and Christen Press. U.S. WNT players that made the NWSL Second XI are Lauren Holiday, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe.
JILL ELLIS FACT FILE : After leading the USA to the Women’s World Cup title, U.S. head coach Jill Ellis was rewarded with a multi-year contract extension on Aug. 5, 2015. She is the third U.S. coach – and first female coach — to win a Women’s World Cup at the senior level, following Anson Dorrance (1991) and Tony DiCicco (1999). Ellis was named the 2015 FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Soccer on Jan. 11 at the FIFA Awards Gala in Zurich, Switzerland. She was also named the CONCACAF Female Coach of the Year. Ellis, who previously served two stints as interim head coach of the U.S. WNT, is the eighth official head coach in U.S. history. She coached seven games as interim coach in 2012 (5-0-2) and two games (1-0-1) as interim in 2014 before she officially came on board, which gave her a 6-0-3 record before she ever was formally named the head coach in May of 2014. She has gone 31-3-7 since then for an overall record of 37-3-10. When named head coach in 2014, Ellis stepped away from her job as Development Director for the U.S. Women’s National Teams, a job to which she was appointed in January of 2011, but still consults with U.S. Women’s National Team Technical Director April Heinrichs who oversees the USA’s youth teams.
Prior to becoming head coach, Ellis had extensive experience in the U.S. Women’s National Team programs having served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Women’s National Team under Pia Sundhage, helping the team to a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics. She has served two stints as head coach of the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team, guiding the squad to the CONCACAF title in 2010 and to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Germany.
Ellis also had two stints as the head coach of the U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team, the second starting in the middle of 2005, after which she guided the team to the Nordic Cup in Sweden. She also coached the U-21s to the Nordic Cup title in Germany in 2000.
Ellis was a scout for the USA at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and has served as an assistant coach with the U.S. U-21s and U-16 Girls’ National Teams.
Ellis joined U.S. Soccer full-time after a highly successful 12-year run as the head women’s soccer coach for the UCLA Bruins. Ellis led UCLA to eight NCAA Final Fours, including seven in a row from 2003-2009, and won six straight conference titles from 2003-2008. She finished her time in Westwood with a record of 229-45-14. Ellis, who was also head coach at the University of Illinois, has an all-time collegiate coaching record of 248-63-14.
She was the 2000 NSCAA National Coach of the Year after leading the Bruins to the NCAA Final in just her second season as head coach.
Ellis arrived in Westwood after heading the University of Illinois women’s soccer program for two years. In 1998, she brought the Fighting Illini to a 12-8 record and a first Big Ten Tournament berth. Prior to coaching at Illinois, Ellis served as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia for one year (1996-97), at Maryland for three years (1994-96) and at North Carolina State for another three years (1988-90). As an assistant coach at North Carolina State, Ellis helped the Wolfpack secure the 1988 ACC title and an NCAA Final Four appearance.
A forward during her playing days at the College of William & Mary from 1984-87, Ellis was a Third-Team All-American in 1987. In 1984, Ellis helped Braddock Road in Virginia to the Under-19 club national championship.
Ellis grew up in Portsmouth, England, and came to the United States in 1981 at the age of 15. She also lived in Singapore for two years while her father helped to develop a national soccer program in that country. She earned her B.A. in English Literature and Composition from the College of William & Mary in 1988 and currently resides in Los Angeles. She has a USSF “A” coaching license.
IN FOCUS: COSTA RICA
Federación Costarricense de Fútbol
Founded: 1921 (Joined FIFA in 1927)
Current FIFA World Ranking: 34
CONCACAF Ranking: 4
Olympic Finals Appearances: None
Best Olympic Qualifying finish: 4th place (2004, 2008)
Record vs. USA: 0-12-0
Head Coach: Amelia Valverde
COSTA RICA WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Dinnia Diaz (Moravia), 18-Yolian Salas (Moravia), 13-Yalitza Sánchez (UCEM)
DEFENDERS (7): 2-Gabriela Guillén (Saprissa), 5-Diana Saénz (South Florida, USA), 4-María Benavides (Moravia), 6-Carol Cruz (Moravia), 8-Daniela Cruz (Red Star, Serbia), 12-Lixy Rodríguez (Santa Teresa CD, Spain), 19-Fabiola Sánchez (Martin Methodist, USA)
MIDFIELDERS (5): 3-Gloriana Villalobos (Saprissa), 10-Shirley Cruz (Paris Saint-Germain, France), 20-Wendy Acosta (U.D. Granadilla, Spain), 16-Katherine Alvarado (Saprissa), 15-Cristin Granados (Moravia)
FORWARDS (4): 7-Melissa Herrera (Moravia), 9-Carolina Venegas (Madrid FF, Spain), 11-Raquel Rodríguez (Sky Blue FC, USA), 14-María Barrantes (Moravia)
COSTA RICA NOTES:
After participating in the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in 2015, Costa Rica will be looking to continue its progress by making its first appearance in the Olympic Games. At the World Cup, the Ticas distinguished themselves, tying two games in group play (1-1 with Spain and 2-2 with South Korea) while losing one (0-1 to Brazil). Melissa Herrera and Karla Villalobos, as well as Raquel Rodriguez netted once each at the World Cup.
In the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship semifinals, Costa Rica prevailed over Trinidad & Tobago, 3-0 on penalty kicks, after a 1-1 draw, to earn a place at Canada 2015.
To reach the 2016 CWOQ tournament, CRC captured the top spot in Central American qualifying with a 3W-0D-0L record as Melissa Herrera and Karla Villalobos finished as the tournament’s co-top scorers with three goals each. Melissa Herrera and Karla Villalobos, as well as Raquel Rodriguez netted once each at the World Cup.
Costa Rica’s star performer is midfielder Shirley Cruz, who plays with Paris Saint-Germain in France. She has scored eight goals in 50 UEFA Women’s Champions League games. Cruz finished as runner-up to the USA’s Abby Wambach voting for the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Player of the Year award.
Representative of the improving level of CONCACAF women’s soccer, eight players play outside of Costa Rica, including three in the United States.
USA VS. COSTA RICA
The WNT is 12-0-0 all-time vs. Costa Rica and recently played Las Ticas in two matches at the beginning of the Victory Tour, winning 8-0 in Pittsburg, Pa. and 7-2 in Chattanooga, Tenn. Costa Rica was playing without several of its top players during those matches including captain Shirley Cruz, who plays in France with PSG and is a former teammate of Lindsey Horan and Tobin Heath, as well as forward Raquel Rodriguez, who helped Penn State to the NCAA title this past fall and won the Hermann Trophy as college soccer’s top player.
Of the 12 meetings between the teams only one has come in Costa Rica. That was during qualifying for the 2004 Olympics when the USA won 4-0 in San Jose to earn its Olympic berth. Seven meetings have come in the USA, three in Mexico and one in Vancouver during qualifying for the 2012 Olympics.
Seven of the 12 meetings have come during CONCACAF qualifying tournaments with the teams meeting twice in 2010 in qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
LAST TIME…
On the field for the USA:
Jan. 23, 2016 – Qualcomm Stadium; San Diego, Calif.
USA 5 Lloyd 6, 21, 28; Morgan 45; Pugh 83
IRL 0
Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 11-Ali Krieger, 27-Emily Sonnett (5-Kelley O’Hara, 58), 6-Whitney Engen, 7-Meghan Klingenberg; 29-Samantha Mewis, 31-Lindsey Horan (26-Jaelene Hinkle, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd (12-Christen Press, 46); 25-Crystal Dunn (9-Heather O’Reilly, 46), 13-Alex Morgan (capt.) (22-Mallory Pugh, 58), 17-Tobin Heath (28-Stephanie McCaffrey, 46)
Subs Not Used: 18-Ashlyn Harris, 21-Alyssa Naeher
Head coach: Jill Ellis
IRL: 1-Emma Byrne (capt.), 2-Sophie Perry (11-Julie Ann Russell, 46), 3-Megan Campbell, 4-Louise Quinn, 6-Karen Duggan (17-Meabh De Burca, 72), 7-Diane Caldwell (14-Jessica Gleeson, 46), 8-Aine O’Gorman, 9-Ruesha Littlejohn (18-Megan Connolly, 65), 10-Denise O’Sullivan, 13-Stephanie Roche (21-Fiona O’Sullivan, 46), 15-Katie McCabe (12-Siobhan Killeen, 65)
Subs Not Used: 5-Ciara Rossiter, 16-Niamh Reid Burke, 19-Clare Shine, 20-Grace Wright, 22-Savannah McCarthy
Head coach: Sue Ronan
On the field for the USA vs. Costa Rica:
Aug. 19, 2015 – Finley Field; Chattanooga, Tenn.
International Friendly – Victory Tour
USA 7 Lloyd 7, 20; O’Reilly 13, 23; Wambach 18; Moran 81, Own Goal
CRC 2 Granados 41; Villalobos 69
Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo (21-Alyssa Naeher, 46); 5-Kelley O’Hara, 6-Whitney Engen, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 16-Lori Chalupny (capt.); 9-Heather O’Reilly (8-Amy Rodriguez, 46), 12-Lauren Holiday, 17-Tobin Heath (7-Shannon Boxx, 64), 15-Megan Rapinoe (22-Meghan Klingenberg, 46), 10-Carli Lloyd (23-Christen Press, 46); 20-Abby Wambach (13-Alex Morgan, 56)
Subs Not Used: 3-Christie Rampone, 11-Ali Krieger, 14-Morgan Brian, 18-Ashlyn Harris, 19-Julie Johnston
Not available: 2-Sydney Leroux
Head coach: Jill Ellis
CRC: 1-Dinnia Diaz (18-Yolian Salas, 78); 3-Fabiola Villalobos (2-Gabriela Guillén, 67), 5-Diana Saenz, 20-Wendy Acosta, 4-Mariana Benavides (19-Maria Paula Coto, 86), 6-Maria Paula Elizondo (8-Daniela Cruz, 63), 10-Katherine Alvarado (capt.), 15-Cristin Granados, 7-Melissa Herrera, 9-Carolina Venegas, 17-Karla Villalobos (14-Mayra Almazán, 74)
Subs Not Used: 12-Lixy Rodriguez, 21-Noelle Sanz
Head coach: Amelia Valverde