Alyssa Naeher and Crystal Dunn to Join Victory Tour In Two Matches Against Haiti
Soccer News: The 2015 Women’s World Cup champions will continue their Victory Tour with matches against Haiti on Sept. 17 in Detroit (7 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports Go) and Sept. 20 in Birmingham, Alabama (1:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2, WatchESPN). The matches are the third and fourth of the tour which started with two convincing victories against Costa Rica in August.
All 23 players from the Women’s World Cup winning group will be in Detroit, including Boston Breakers goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. U.S. head coach Jill Ellis has also added NWSL leading scorer Crystal Dunn to the roster for both matches. Forward Christen Press will miss the game in Alabama due to a family commitment.
“We are sincerely appreciative to Haiti for organizing their team to come for these two matches and they will enjoy the environments in Detroit and Birmingham,” said Ellis. “For us, it’s another opportunity to get the group together, stay connected and focus on our performance as we continue to prepare for Olympic qualifying. Many of the players have had a short break since the end of the NWSL season and others will be coming out of the semifinals, so we’ll take that all into account. We’re looking forward to putting on entertaining matches for our fans to continue to celebrate the success this summer.”
More than 31,000 tickets have been sold for each of the matches. Tickets for both games are on sale online. For the Detroit contest, tickets are also available by phone at 1-877-212-8898 and at the Ford Field ticket office (Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.). For the match in Birmingham, tickets are also available by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and at all Ticketmaster ticket centers (including Publix and Walmart locations). [Note: Tickets are not sold at Legion Field except on the day of the event.]
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster By Position
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (9): Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Whitney Engen (Western NY Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Houston Dash), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (unattached), Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)
FORWARDS (5): Sydney Leroux (Western NY Flash), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press* (Chicago Red Stars), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Abby Wambach (unattached)
*Only on roster in Detroit.
