Coming off a 3-0 victory over Colombia on Saturday night in Commerce City, Colorado, the U.S. Women’s National Team will take on Las Cafeteras again on Tuesday, June 28 at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Kickoff is slated for 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT with broadcast coverage on ESPN as the USA plays its final friendly match before kicking off its qualifying campaign for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and 2024 Summer Olympics. Powered by a second-half brace from forward and Colorado-native Sophia Smith and a goal from midfielder Taylor Kornieck in her international debut, the USA improved to 5-0-1 on the year and recorded its fifth shutout of 2022. The match in Colorado also marked the return to international action for veteran forwards Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who made their first appearances for the USA since October 26, 2021. Morgan came on at the half and was active in the attack while Rapinoe entered the match in the 77th minute and wasted little time making her impact felt on the scoresheet, assisting Kornieck’s goal in stoppage time with a stellar set-piece service.
Following the match in Sandy, the USA will head to Monterrey, Mexico for the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. The competition runs from July 4-18 and will serve as the region’s qualifying tournament for the 2023 World Cup. New this year, the tournament champion will also secure its spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris as well as a berth to the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. The USA kicks off Group A action on July 4, taking on Haiti at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT (CBS Sports Network, Paramount+, ViX).
Fans will also be able to follow the action via Twitter (@USWNT) , Instagram (@USWNT) , Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App .
GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 1), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 5), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 80)
DEFENDERS (8): Alana Cook (OL Reign; 10/0), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC; 14/0), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC; 1/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 13/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 153/2), Carson Pickett (North Carolina Courage; 0/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 203/0), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 65/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC; 0/0), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 110/25), Jaelin Howell (Racing Louisville: 5/1), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Wave FC; 1/1), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 72/20), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 39/5), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 8/2), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 28/3)
FORWARDS (7): Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 9/4), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC; 191/115), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 73/23), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 14/3), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign; 188/62), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit; 3/1), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 16/6)
On June 13, head coach Vlakto Andonovksi announced his 26-player roster for these two games vs. Colombia and a 23-player roster the Concacaf W Championship. The rosters bring proven international experience in the form of World Cup winners like Rapinoe, Morgan, defender Becky Sauerbrunn and goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, while also featuring an energetic crop of younger talent eager to establish themselves on the world stage. With Kornieck making her debut on Saturday in Colorado, 29 different players have now seen action for the USWNT in 2022. That number could increase should defender Carson Pickett or midfielder Sam Coffey – the only uncapped players on this roster – see action in Sandy. Twenty-three players will suit up for the match on Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s matchup in Utah will be the 10th meeting all-time between the USA and Colombia and the fourth between the teams in the last two years. With Saturday’s victory in Colorado, the USA improves to 8-0-1 overall in the head-to-head series, which has now seen the nations square off five times in friendlies and twice each at the World Cup and Olympics. The USA’s only blemish in the overall series against Las Cafeteras came during the group stage of the 2016 Summer Olympics, a 2-2 tie on Aug. 9, 2016. After that meeting in Brazil, the teams did not square off again until January of 2021, when they played twice in Orlando, Florida, resulting in a 4-0 victory for the USA on Jan. 18, followed by a 6-0 win on Jan. 21 to close out the two-game set. The USA has now won its last 13 matches overall against CONMEBOL competition, with wins over Brazil (4), Colombia (3), Chile (3), Paraguay (2) and Argentina (1) during that span. The USWNT has pitched a shutout in 11 of its last 13 games against South American opposition, with an overall goal differential of 57-4 during the 13-game win streak.
The 2022 U.S. Women’s National Team Media Guide is available for download. The Media Guide features all the history and statistic for the USWNT, as well as full bios on technical staff and the current top players, information on the USA’s Youth Women’s National Teams and general important information on U.S. Soccer.
Playing in her first match for the USWNT in her home state of Colorado, Sophia Smith made it a homecoming for the ages. The Windsor, Colorado native scored twice in a span of six minutes in the second half to lift the USA to victory in front of a sell-out crowd at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. The brace marked the second multi-goal game of Smith’s international career – the previous coming in a hat trick vs. Uzbekistan on April 9 – and continues what has been an impressive goalscoring run for the 21-year-old. Smith, who ranks second in the NWSL in scoring this season, has now scored seven goals in her last four games combined for club and for country, tallying twice in each of her last three games.
After scoring just one goal in her first 13 appearances for the USWNT, Smith – who was the first player born in the 2000s to appear for the full U.S. Women’s National Team – has now scored five goals in her last three appearances in the crest, giving her a total of six goals in 16 caps. Only four USWNT players in the last 15 years have reached six goals quicker for the USWNT - Leroux (6 games), Christen Press (7 games), Morgan (14 games) and Rapinoe (15 games).
Saturday’s match against Colombia was an historic one in several ways for midfielder Taylor Kornieck, who became just the 21st player in USWNT history to score in her first cap. The Las Vegas-native who is participating in her first-ever camp with the USWNT, entered the match in the 73rd minute to become the fourth different player to debut for the USA in 2022 and the 248th player all-time to earn a cap with the USWNT. At 6-foot-1, Kornieck is now the tallest field player to ever represent the USWNT, surpassing 6-foot World Cup champion Samantha Mewis. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy, who recorded a clean sheet against Colombia, is also 6-1 and holds the distinction of being the tallest goalkeeper to play for the USWNT. The already memorable night took additional significance when, on just her ninth touch of the night, Kornieck headed in a set-piece service from Rapinoe for her first international goal. Kornieck is the first player to score in her USWNT debut since 2016, when Kealia Ohai scored in her first cap, against Switzerland on October 23.
The USA heads into Tuesday’s match in Utah on a 68-game home unbeaten streak, which includes 61 wins and seven draws. During this unbeaten streak, the USA has outscored its opponents 258-28, including a 128-4 margin during its last 30 matches at home, all but two of which have been wins save for a 0-0 draw with Korea Republic on Oct. 21 and a scoreless draw vs Czech Republic on Feb. 17. The match against South Korea ended the USA’s home winning streak at 22 consecutive games, the second-longest such streak in USWNT history. The USA's longest home winning streak was 23 games and spanned from April 1993 to February 1996.
The USA is 6-0-0 all-time when playing in Utah, outscoring the opposition by a combined margin of 21-1 during that span. The USWNT’s most recent match in the Beehive State came on June 8, 2018, defeating China PR by a score of a 1-0. The lone goal in that match was scored by Alex Morgan and assisted by Megan Rapinoe. Morgan is one of three players on this roster who earned their first cap in Utah, as she made her international debut against Mexico at a snowy Rio Tinto Stadium on March 31, 2010. Ashley Hatch and Andi Sullivan earned their first caps at the same venue six years later in a match against Switzerland on October 19, 2016. Sullivan, who was in college at Stanford at the time, started the game and earned Woman of the Match honors for her performance. Hatch, also still in college at the time in the midst of a standout career at Brigham Young University, came on in the 75th minute for her USWNT debut.
As part of its “One Nation” social responsibility platform to promote diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), U.S. Soccer, with support from Volkswagen, has partnered with the You Can Play Project for the fourth consecutive year to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride month during its friendly matches in June. The You Can Play Project is an organization dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, coaches and fans no matter their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
The U.S. Women’s National Team will be wearing jerseys with rainbow-colored numbers in recognition of Pride Month for both matches against Colombia. Autographed authentic Pride jerseys will be auctioned off, with all proceeds going to You Can Play to help promote a safe and inclusive environment for the LGBTQ+ community. Fans can bid now at ussoccer.com/youcanplay and the auction will run through June 30. Last year, the campaign raised a record-breaking $85,000 to contribute to making sport safe and inclusive for LGBTQ+ athletes, coaches, referees and fans.
Qualifying for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand, kicks off on July 4 at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship. Following the matches against Colombia, the USA will depart directly to Mexico to prepare for the Concacaf W Championship, which will run from July 4-18 and will be played entirely in Monterrey. The tournament’s 16 matches will be split across two stadiums: Estadio Universitario and Estadio BBVA, the latter of which is one of Mexico’s three venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The USA was drawn into Group A and will face Haiti on Monday, July 4 at 6 p.m. local (7 p.m. ET), Jamaica on Thursday, July 7 at 6 p.m. local (7 p.m. ET) and Mexico on Monday, July 11 at 9 p.m. local (10 p.m. ET). The Semifinals will take place on Thursday, July 14 with the Third-Place Match and Championship Game being held on Monday, July 18. All the matches of the tournament will be available in English on Paramount+ and in Spanish on TelevisaUnivision’s streaming service ViX. The USA’s opening match against Haiti will also be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
The top two teams from each group will clinch a spot in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Two more Concacaf representatives will advance to a 10-team intercontinental playoff tournament to determine the final teams in the expand 32-team field for 2023. Along with qualifying for the World Cup, at conclusion of the Concacaf W Championship, the winning nation will also guarantee its place in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament and the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup. The runner-up and the third-place nations will progress to a Concacaf Olympic play-in to be played in September of 2023. The winner of the play-in will also guarantee their place in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games and the 2024 W Gold Cup
The USA is looking to qualify for its ninth consecutive FIFA Women’s World Cup, having played in every tournament since the competition’s inception in 1991 and winning a record four titles. The USA will also have the opportunity to qualify for an eighth consecutive Summer Olympics.
IN FOCUS: COLOMBIA | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW Current FIFA World Ranking: 28
2023 World Cup Qualifying: CONMEBOL qualifying begins in July
Best World Cup Finish: Round of 16 (2015)
Record vs. USA: 0-8-1 (W-L-D)
Last Meeting vs. USA: June 25, 2022 (USA won, 3-0 in Commerce City, CO)
Coach: Nelson Abadía (COL)
Goalkeepers (3): 1-Catalina Perez (Real Betis, ESP), 12-Sandra Sepulveda (Hapoel Marmorek Rehovot FC, ISR), 13- Luz Katherine Tapia (Independiente Santa Fe)
Defenders (7): 2-Manuela Vanegas (Real Sociedad, ESP), 3-Daniela Arias (Pachuca, MEX), 14-Nancy Acosta (Independiente Santa Fe), 17-Carolina Arias (Deportivo Cali), 19-Jorelyn Carabali (Deportivo Cali), 20-Monica Ramos (Gremio, BRA), 22-Daniela Caracas (Espanyol, ESP)
Midfielders (8): 4-Diana Ospina (América de Cali), 5-Lorena Bedoya (Atlético Nacional), 6-Daniela Montoya (Atlético Junior), 7-Ana Gabriela Huertas (Independiente Santa Fe, 8-Angie Castañeda (CP. Caceres, ESP), 10-Leicy Santos (Atlético de Madrid, ESP), 16-Maria Morales (Deportivo Cali), 21-Liana Salazar (Corinthians, BRA)
Forwards (5): 9-Mayra Ramirez (Sporting Club de Huelva, ESP), 11-Catalina Usme (América de Cali), 15-Tatiana Ariza (Deportivo Cali), 18-Linda Caicedo (Deportivo Cali), 23-Elexa Bahr (Racing de Santander, ESP)