Game Notes: WNT and Brazil Ready for Victory Tour Rematch in Orlando

Game Notes: WNT and Brazil Ready for Victory Tour Rematch in Orlando
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WORLD CHAMPIONS COME TO ORLANDO TO FACE LONG-TIME RIVAL BRAZIL IN SIXTH MATCH OF VICTORY TOUR: Following its historic run to the championship of the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada, the U.S. Women’s National Team has embarked on a 10-game Victory Tour across the country that will serve the dual purpose of celebrating the USA’s third Women’s World Cup title with the fans, while also preparing the team for the 2016 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament that will take place in early February of next year. The Victory Tour hit its mid-point on Oct. 21 when the USA faced Brazil at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. The Americans gave up a third-minute goal to Monica off a corner kick, but as she has all year (and for many years), Carli Lloyd scored a clutch goal in the 85th minute to earn a 1-1 draw. The teams traveled to Florida on Oct. 22 for the second match of the two-game set on Oct. 25 at the Orlando Citrus Bowl (2:30 ET on FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports GO). Fans can follow all the action from #USAvBRA on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt and @ussoccer_esp, and follow the team along its journey on Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).

After the Brazil matches, the USA has four games remaining on the Victory Tour – all in December. The USA will play Trinidad & Tobago on Dec. 6 in Honolulu and Dec. 10 in San Antonio, and then will finish the tour on Dec. 13 at the University of Phoenix Stadium against China PR before playing the 10th and final game of the Victory Tour against China on Dec. 16 in New Orleans. The U.S. team has lost just one match this year, that being its first game of 2015 against France in Lorient, a 2-0 defeat in early February that the USA flipped one month later when the teams met in the championship game of the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal. The USA is 17-1-4 this year, including a record of 7-0-2 on home soil.

BOXX SAYS GOODBYE IN SEATTLE; HOLIDAY AND CHALUPNY BID ADIEU IN ORLANDO: Three members of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team have officially announced their retirements from the National Team: midfielders Shannon Boxx and Lauren Holiday and defender Lori Chalupny. Boxx played her 195th and final match for the USA against Brazil on Oct. 21 in Seattle and was honored before the match. She played 40 minutes before exciting to a standing ovation. She will travel to Orlando with the team, but will not play in the final four matches in December. Holiday and Chalupny will play their final match in Orlando against Brazil on Oct. 25. Boxx is 38, Holiday is 29 and Chalupny is 31. All three have played crucial roles in some major achievements in U.S. WNT history and all three will retire as Olympic and Women’s World Cup champions. Holiday really goes out on top after winning the Women’s World Cup and her second consecutive NWSL title with FC Kansas City.

EIGHT PLAYERS ADDED TO ROSTER: U.S. head coach Jill Ellis has added eight players to join the 23-player Women’s World Cup roster that will be together for the two Brazil matches. One of those eight is NWSL Golden Boot winner and league MPV Crystal Dunn, who started both games against Haiti in September and scored two goals with three assists. Dunn also got the start against Brazil, her third in a row, and played 71 minutes before giving way to Samantha Mewis, who earned her fourth cap. Dunn was among the final 25 players vying for Women’s World Cup spots before the roster was trimmed to the 23 players that represented the USA in Canada. She took advantage of the increased opportunities with her club to lead the league in scoring with 15 goals (along with three assists) while starting in 19 of the Washington Spirit’s 20 games. 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. The two games in September marked Dunn’s first WNT action of the year since a 12-minute stint against England last February.

FEW CAPPERS: Four of the players called up that were not members of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Team previously have earned caps with the senior side: forward Lindsey Horan (two caps at the 2013 Algarve Cup), who is currently playing professionally in France with Paris Saint-Germain; Samantha Mewis (three caps in 2014), a NWSL Rookie of the Year finalist with the Western NY Flash who started 20 games while scoring four goals with four assists; midfielder Christine Nairn of the Washington Spirit (two caps and a goal in 2009 when she was 18) who had five goals and four assists this past NWSL season; and Crystal Dunn, who is up to 15 caps to go with her two scores.

NEWBIES: Three players were called to their first WNT camp in 22-year-old defender Jaelene Hinkle, who played every minute of all 20 matches last season with the Western NY Flash; 22-year-old defender Emily Sonnett, a senior captain at the University of Virginia; and 30-year-old defender Gina Lewandowski, currently of FC Bayern Munich, who has played in Germany since 2007 and won a UEFA Champions League title with Ali Krieger and FFC Frankfurt in 2008. Lewandowski and Krieger are the only Americans to win a UEFA Champions League title. Sonnett will not be available for the Oct. 25 match as she will return to UVA for its weekend game. Hinkle earned her first cap on Oct. 21 against Brazil, coming on at left back and playing well in the last 20 minutes.

WELCOME BACK, STEPH: 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 last January.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): 18-Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), 21-Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), 1-Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (12): 16-Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), 25-Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), 6-Whitney Engen (Western NY Flash), Jaelene Hinkle (Western NY Flash), 19-Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), 22-Meghan Klingenberg (Houston Dash), 11-Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Gina Lewandowski (FC Bayern Munich), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), 3-Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Emily Sonnett (Univ. of Virginia)
MIDFIELDERS (9): 7-Shannon Boxx (unattached), 14-Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), 17-Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), 12-Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), 10-Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (Western NY Flash), Christine Nairn (Washington Spirit), 9-Heather O’Reilly (FC Kansas City), 15-Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)
FORWARDS (7): Lindsey Horan (Paris Saint-Germain), 2-Sydney Leroux (Western NY Flash), Stephanie McCaffrey (Boston Breakers), 13-Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), 23-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), 8-Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), 20-Abby Wambach (unattached)

WNT EXTENDS HOME UNBEATEN STREAK TO 101 GAMES: With the draw against Brazil on Oct. 21, the USA extended its current home unbeaten streak to 101 games (89-0-12) which is a team record. The last loss at home came to Denmark on Nov., 6, 2004, in Philadelphia during the team’s post-Olympic tour to celebrate the winning the gold medal in Athens, Greece. The 3-1 loss was one of just two games the USA has lost in which Abby Wambach scored a goal. The next-highest streak is 50 games (48-0-2) from Feb. 10, 1996, through April 22, 1999. The USA tied the record on May 14, 2011 (2-0 win against Japan at Columbus Crew Stadium) and broke the record with the 51st game on May 18, 2011 (another 2-0 win against Japan at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina). The USA’s current streak started on Dec. 8, 2004, in a 5-0 win against Mexico at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., which was also the final match for Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Brandi Chastain. The U.S. women are 231-16-25 all-time on home soil. Nine of those 16 losses came from 1985 (the program’s inception) through 1993, meaning the USA has lost just seven games at home over the past 22 years. The most home wins in a calendar year came in 1999 when the USA went 23-1-1 in domestic games. The U.S. WNT went 18-1-1 at home in 1996. Not coincidentally, those were two years when the USA hosted world championships. The USA has gone unbeaten at home in 19 years of its 31-year existence.

THE WORLD’S BEST: U.S. Women’s National Team players Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo and Megan Rapinoe were among the 10 players included on the shortlist for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. WNT head coach Jill Ellis was also included on the 10-person list of finalists for the 2015 World Coach of the Year for women’s soccer. The final decisions for the winners will be made by the captains and head coaches of the world’s women’s national teams as well as international media representatives selected by FIFA. The voting period for the awards begins on Oct. 26 and closes on Nov. 20, 2015. The three finalists for both awards will be announced on November 30 with the winners announced on January 11, 2016, at the annual FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala in Zurich.

U.S. WNT JERSEY AUCTION RAISES 63K TO BENEFIT THE CHATTANOOGA HEROES FUND:  The U.S. Women's National Team's autographed game-worn jerseys from the Victory Tour match against Costa Rica on Aug. 19 in Chattanooga raised $63,924.05 with all proceeds going to benefit the Chattanooga Heroes Fund that supports the families of those who lost their lives in the tragic shootings on July 16th as well as those who were wounded. The USA defeated Costa Rica, 7-2, at the match in Chattanooga where the players were led out on the field by members of the military. There was also a moment of silence before the game and the players wore black armbands in remembrance.

LONG HISTORY IN ORLANDO: Orlando is an important city in the history of the U.S. Women’s National Team as the USA was in residency training here for the 1995 and 1999 Women’s World Cups and 1996 Olympics, two of which were won by the Americans. The U.S. WNT holds a 9-0-0 all-time record in Orlando, Fla., at four different venues, with its most recent match a 4-1 victory against Brazil Nov. 10, 2013, at the Citrus Bowl. The USA is 5-0-0 at the Citrus Bowl, which includes two matches at the 1996 Olympics, and has outscored its opponents 16-2 in that venue. The USA’s first match in Orlando took place on Feb. 24, 1995, with a 7-0 win against Denmark at Showalter Field. Sunday’s match will be the U.S. WNT’s 22nd in the state of Florida, having also played in Boca Raton, Jacksonville, Pensacola, Tampa and Miami (also during the 1996 Olympics). This will be the third match against Brazil in Orlando. The USA also played Brazil in Orlando on May 22, 1999, a match in which Mia Hamm broke what was at the time the world’s all-time scoring record with her 108th career goal in the 3-0 win.

WELCOME PRIDE: The National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) announced on Oct. 20 the founding of its tenth club and second expansion team, the Orlando Pride. The Pride is owned and operated by Orlando City SC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and will begin play with the start of the 2016 NWSL season. The NWSL is preparing for its fourth season in 2016, a milestone that the two previous women’s professional leagues did not achieve. The roster for the Pride will be constructed using the following mechanisms, including Discovery Signings (domestic and international), Expansion Draft and 2016 NWSL College Draft. Orlando will also receive the first pick in each round of the 2016 NWSL College Draft as well as the top spot in the Discovery and Waiver Tie-Breakers.

CROWDS ARE FAN-TASTIC: During its run in Canada, the USWNT played in front of what felt like seven straight home crowds, averaging 37,732 fans per game, all of which it seemed were wearing red, white and blue. The knock-out round matches were the most impressive, with electric atmospheres at each game including crowds of more than 50,000 for the semifinal in Montreal and championship game in Vancouver.

The USA opened the Victory Tour on Aug. 16 against fellow Women’s World Cup participant Costa Rica at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and rolled to an 8-0 victory in front of 44,028 fans, which set a record for a stand-alone domestic friendly for the U.S. WNT. The teams played again on Aug. 19 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in front of a crowd of 20,535 that was, at the time, largest ever to watch the U.S. Women in a stand-alone friendly match in the southeastern United States. The Victory Tour continued against another CONCACAF opponent when Australia pulled out of two September matches due to a dispute with its players. Haiti agreed to be a replacement and the USA won 5-0 on Sept. 17 in front of 34,538, the largest ever to watch a soccer game in Detroit, and 8-0 on Sept. 20 in Birmingham, Alabama, in front of 35,753 that set a new record for a stand-alone WNT friendly match in the southeastern United States. The crowd of 23,603 for the mid-week 1-1 draw with Brazil at CenturyLink Field on Oct. 21 was the largest to ever watch the U.S. WNT in the state of Washington.

HUGE TV RATINGS FOR WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup was record setting for TV ratings and increased for every U.S. match. FOX scored a new high for its soccer coverage when an average audience of 5.7 million tuned in to watch the United States beat China in the quarterfinal match on June 26. The match was also the third most-watched women’s soccer match on record in the United States, after the 1999 and 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals. Four days later, that record was broken as the USA vs. Germany semifinal on June 30 hit an average of 8.4 million viewers, establishing yet another soccer record as the most viewed semifinal ever in the U.S. (men or women) and third-most watched women’s soccer match of all time. The first six USA matches on FOX and FOX Sports 1 averaged 5.3 million viewers, 121% better than the 2011 tournament averaged through the semifinals (2.4 million).

The Final
The USA’s 5-2 victory over Japan in the World Cup Final averaged 25.4 million viewers, making it the most-watched soccer match in U.S. history, according to Nielsen and an increase of 88% from the 2011 WWC Final (13.5 million) and up 41% from the USA-China on ABC in 199 (18 million). The match posted a 12.9 household rating/share with 25.4 million viewers and peaked at 30.9 million in the second half between 8:30-8:45 p.m. ET. The previous U.S. viewing record was 18,220,000 for the USA-Portugal game on ESPN at the 2014 World Cup. The average audience exceeded every game of the NBA Finals and pushed the 2015 tournament average to 1.824 million viewers per each of the tournament’s 52 matches across all networks (FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2), up 21 percent over 1,511,000 averaged on ESPN and ESPN2 for the 32 matches played in 2011. The match earned the second-largest soccer audience ever in the U.S. — trailing only last year’s Germany/Argentina World Cup Final on ABC and Univision (26.5M).

At the end of the Women’s World Cup, the USA-Japan match ranked as the fifth-most watched sporting event outside of the NFL. Only the three-game College Football Playoff and the Duke/Wisconsin NCAA Basketball Tournament title game (28.2M) scored larger numbers. The match had a larger audience than every NBA game since Spurs-Heat Game 7 in 2013 (26.6M on ABC and ESPN Deportes), every Major League Baseball game since Rangers-Cardinals Game 7 in 2011 (25.4M on FOX), and every hockey game since the Canada-United States final in the 2010 Olympics (27.6M on NBC).

En Espanol
Telemundo’s broadcast of the Final reached 1.27 million viewers, making it the highest viewed Spanish-language game in Women’s World Cup history. During this broadcast, Argentine announcer Andres Cantor’s famed “Goooooool” call for Carli Lloyd’s fantastic hat-trick goal from midfield went on for just under forty seconds.

ONE NATION. ONE TEAM. 23 STORIES: Prior to the Women’s World Cup in Canada, U.S. Soccer produced its "One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories." series so fans could get to get to know the players U.S. Women’s World Cup Team. Fans certainly know them now, but the videos are still piling up the views. Sprinkled with humor, fun and heartfelt stories, the videos give fans insight into the players’ personalities, families, motivations, and some of the challenges they’ve experienced on the different roads they’ve traveled to earn the right to represent the United States in the ultimate competition for a soccer player.

One Nation. One Team. 23 Stories.: Watch all 23 Videos

CARLI LLOYD AND HOPE SOLO WIN FIFA GOLDEN BALL, SILVER BOOT AND GOLDEN GLOVE: Two U.S. players picked up post-tournament hardware in Canada as Carli Lloyd won the Golden Ball as the best player in the tournament. She becomes just the third American to win the award and second at a senior level tournament, following Carin Gabarra at the 1991 Women’s World Cup. Lloyd also won the Silver Boot as the second leading scorer in the tournament. Lloyd and Germany’s Celia Sasic both scored six goals with one assist, but Saskic (who scored three goals in a 10-0 pasting of Ivory Coast in the opening match of the tournament) was awarded the Golden Boot based on less minutes played during the tournament. Lloyd did not get credit for an assist from FIFA for playing the short pass to Megan Rapinoe that she took on an almost half-field run and scored to clinch the USA’s opening match against Australia. The awards and her World Cup performance, which included the historic hat trick in the Final, make Lloyd one of the front-runners for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year. U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo, who played every minute of the tournament and registered five shutouts, received the Golden Glove as the best net-minder in the tournament, an honor she also won at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Defender Julie Johnston and Rapinoe were also on the short list for the Golden Ball.

FIVE AMERICANS NAMED TO FIFA ALL-STAR TEAM: On Aug. 17, FIFA announced its Women’s World Cup All-Star Squad as chosen by the FIFA Technical Study Group. Five U.S. players were among the 23 selected; Golden Glove winner Hope Solo, defenders Julie Johnston and Meghan Klingenberg, and midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Golden Ball winner Carli Lloyd. All but Rapinoe played every minute of the tournament.

U.S. ROSTER NOTES:

  • When the USA went behind 1-0 in the 3rd minute of the Oct. 21 match vs. Brazil, it was the first deficit for the USA in 18 matches this year. The WNT had not trailed in a match since going down 1-0 in the 43rd minute to Norway on March 4 in the first match of the Algarve cup. The U.S. came back in the second half to win that game 2-1.
  • Alex Morgan could be the next U.S. player to hit 100 games as she is currently at 95 and would hit the century mark in 2015 if she plays in all five remaining Victory Tour matches. Becky Sauerbrunn is next in line with 92.
  • Sydney Leroux may be available for her first Victory Tour action after recovering from ankle surgery in mid-July, but did not play on Oct. 21. She played in four games in the Women’s World Cup, starting two, and had a key assist to Christen Press for the game-winning goal against Australia in the opening Group D match.
  • Carli Lloyd notched her fourth and fifth hat tricks when she scored three times in each of the matches against Haiti in September. They were of course her second and third of 2015. Her first of the year was famously tallied in the Women’s World Cup Final. Her other hat tricks came against Mexico in 2012 and Argentina in December of 2014. The hat trick vs. Haiti on Sept. 20 was the 11th multiple-goal game of her WNT career.
  • Lloyd has scored 15 goals in the last nine matches starting with the Round of 16 game at the WWC.
  • Crystal Dunn scored her first international goal at the senior level on Sept. 17 against Haiti, and her two assists in the match were her first points for the USA. She added a goal and an assist on Sept. 20 vs. Haiti.
  • Seven different players scored the USA’s 13 goals in the two-game series vs. Haiti in September, with Carli Lloyd getting six and Crystal Dunn two.
  • Eight different players scored the USA’s 15 goals in the two-game series with Costa Rica in August, with Heather O’Reilly tallying four goals over the two matches, while Christen Press had three.
  • O’Reilly’s scores and Whitney Engen’s goal against Costa Rica on Aug. 16 were their first goals of the year.
  • Three defenders scored in the first match against Costa Rica with Julie Johnston and Whitney Engen each getting their fourth career goals, all of which have come on set plays. Meghan Klingenberg scored her third international goal, in front of her hometown crowd in Pittsburgh, all of which have come from the run of play.
  • Johnston has four goals in 2015. Her goals all came off set pieces, with the first three assisted by Lauren Holiday and the most recent one by Megan Rapinoe.
  • Lloyd scored in four straight Women’s World Cup games, tallying in all four knock-out matches (Colombia, China, Germany and Japan). Her three goals in the Women’s World Cup Final gave her seven in Women’s World Cup play.
  • Lloyd captained the USA four times at the WWC with Abby Wambach serving as captain in the other three matches.
  • Lloyd was the third U.S. WNT player to score in three straight games in a World Cup, joining Michelle Akers (1991) and Abby Wambach (twice; in 2003 and 2011) and is the only American to do it in four straight WWC games.
  • Lloyd scored both U.S. goals in the 2012 Olympic gold medal game (a 2-1 win over Japan), and the lone goal in the 2008 gold-medal game (1-0 over Brazil). No other American has scored in three major-tournament finals.
  • Lloyd, Holiday and Tobin Heath became just the fourth, fifth and sixth players in U.S. history to score in a Women’s World Cup Final. Michelle Akers scored both goals in the 1991 Final, the 1999 championship game ended 0-0 and went to penalty kicks while Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach scored in the 2011 Women’s World Cup Final.
  • Kelley O’Hara made her debut in the 2015 Women’s World Cup tournament when she started against China PR on June 26. It was O’Hara’s first career start in a World Cup match. She had only played one WWC game before with 18 minutes as a substitute in 2011 vs. Sweden. She made her second appearance at this year’s tournament when she came in as a second half substitute in the match against Germany and scored her first World Cup goal. It came in the 84th minute to seal the game and propel the USA to the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, where she came off the bench in her third straight game and played the final 30 minutes in place of Megan Rapinoe.
  • After allowing a goal against Australia in its opening Women’s World Cup match on June 8 in the 27th minute, the U.S. shut out Sweden, Nigeria, Colombia, China and Germany – a stretch of 513 consecutive minutes. The USA allowed a goal in the 27th minute of the Final to end its shutout streak at 539, falling one minute short of tying a tournament record. Germany did not allow a goal over its six games of the 2007 Women’s World Cup.  
  • Defender Becky Sauerbrunn did not play against Costa Rica on Aug. 16, breaking her streak as the only player on the roster to start and play every game for the USA in 2015. She has played 1,824 minutes this year to lead the team. Carli Lloyd has played 1,795 minutes.
  • Five U.S. players played all 630 minutes of the Women’s World Cup tournament: defenders Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg and Sauerbrunn, midfielder Lloyd, and goalkeeper Hope Solo.
  • In 22 games played this year, the U.S. has surrendered 10 goals and has scored 63. The USA hasn’t lost a match since dropping its opening game of 2015 on Feb. 8 to France.
  • The USA was the fourth country to reach consecutive Women's World Cup finals (2011 and 2015). The other three are Germany (2003, 2007), Norway (1991, 1995) and Japan (2011, 2015).
  • After coming on as a sub in the second half of the Women’s World Cup Final, Abby Wambach played in her 25th and final WWC game, moving into sole possession of second most ever behind Kristine Lilly (30).
  • Wambach’s appearance against Costa Rica on Aug. 16 marked her 250th cap. She’s one of only five U.S. players to hit that mark and now has 252.
  • Alex Morgan scored her only goal in this year’s Women’s World Cup against Colombia in the Round of 16 match. Morgan has five goals in 2015 and 54 international goals in her career. She has three World Cup goals after scoring twice in 2011.
  • Seventeen different players have scored for the USA in 2015: Kelley O’Hara, Morgan, Wambach, Amy Rodriguez, Christen Press, Johnston, Klingenberg, Megan Rapinoe, Morgan Brian, Lori Chalupny, Sydney Leroux, Lloyd, Lauren Holiday, Tobin Heath, Heather O’Reilly, Whitney Engen and Crystal Dunn.
  • Remarkably, O’Hara’s goal in the Women’s World Cup semifinal was her first of the year – and first of her international career – and Holiday’s and Heath’s goals in the Women’s World Cup Final were their first and thus far only scores of 2015.
  • Brian, Klingenberg, Johnston, Leroux and Press all made their World Cup debuts against Australia on June 8. All played against Sweden on June 12 as well, with Brian getting her first start. Klingenberg, Johnston and Leroux all saw action against Nigeria on June 16, while Brian, Klingenberg, Johnston and Press saw action against Colombia on June 22. Brian, Klingenberg and Johnston all started against China and Germany on June 26 and June 30, respectively, and Leroux came in as a second half stoppage time against Germany. Brian, Klingenberg and Johnston all started against Japan in the Final and all played all 90 minutes.
  • Press and Leroux also recorded their first World Cup points on June 8, with Press scoring a goal and Leroux an assist. Johnston recorded her first World Cup point against China on June 26 when she assisted on Lloyd’s goal. It was Johnston’s first and thus far only assist with the WNT.
  • Nineteen of the 20 field players on the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup saw action in the tournament with only defender Whitney Engen not getting on the field.
  • Amy Rodriguez made her first appearance of the Women’s World Cup on June 12 against Sweden, and her first start of the tournament on June 26 against China. Defender Lori Chalupny made her first appearance of the 2015 World Cup when she came in for Ali Krieger in the second half against Colombia on June 22. It was the seventh World Cup appearance of her career.
  • Heather O’Reilly played the last 10 minutes of the game against China on June 26 after coming in as a sub for Alex Morgan. It was O’Reilly’s 12th World Cup appearance.
  • Shannon Boxx and Christie Rampone made their first appearance of the tournament against Nigeria on June 16. Rampone became the oldest player to appear in a World Cup match at 39 years 11 months and 23 days. Rampone also played the final five minutes of the championship game. It was Boxx’s fourth and final World Cup and Rampone’s fifth and final World Cup. Rampone played 19 WWC games in her career, tied for sixth all-time. Boxx played in 16 WWC matches.
  • Lloyd leads the USA in scoring this year with 17 goals, a career high for her in a calendar year and 10 more than her closest teammate. Wambach has seven goals and Press has six. Lloyd’s previous high was 15 in 2014 and 2012.
  • Chalupny scored against New Zealand in her hometown of St. Louis on April 4, marking it her first goal for the USA since she scored against the Republic of Ireland on Sept. 20, 2008. She scored her second goal of the year against Mexico on May 17, just 45 seconds after coming into the match as a second half sub.
  • Klingenberg scored her second National Team goal on a long-range blast against New Zealand. Her first goal was a similar long-range effort that came against Haiti on Oct. 8, during Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament last year. Her third came on Aug. 16 vs. Costa Rica in her hometown of Pittsburgh.
  • Rampone earned her 300th cap against with Mexico on Oct. 24, 2014, and her 311 games are the most of any active player in the world behind only former teammate Kristine Lilly (352). Rampone has four international goals, but has not scored since 2000, when she got two goals in her 59th career cap.
  • Rapinoe leads all U.S. players on the rosters in assists with eight in 2015. Holiday, the 2014 U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year, has six.
  • Brian, the USA’s youngest regular player at age 22, was the 2014 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year. She was also named the 2013 and 2014 Hermann Trophy winner while playing for the University of Virginia.
  • While Wambach is the USA’s top scorer on the roster with 184 goals, Lloyd is next with 78 career international goals and Morgan has 54. Heather O’Reilly has scored 46.
  • Christen Press’ four-goal performance against Argentina in Brazil last December was the ninth such game in U.S. history and second of 2014 after Wambach scored four times against Costa Rica in the final of the CONCACAF Women’s Championship. It was the first-career hat trick for Press, who got her second hat trick on Aug. 16 against Costa Rica when she scored twice in the first half and once in the second.
  • With her goal against Haiti on Sept. 17, Press became the 22nd player in U.S. WNT history to score 25 or more goals.
  • The WWC Final featured the two oldest teams in the history of the Women’s World Cup tournament with the U.S averaging 29-years-old and six months and Japan having the average age of 28-years-old and five months, giving more empirical proof that older teams tend to win world events, but with the retirements of Shannon Boxx, Lori Chalupny and Lauren Holiday, the U.S. team will begin to take on a different look.

IN THE RECORD BOOKS:

  • Carli Lloyd became the 10th woman in U.S. history to reach 200 caps, achieving the feet at the WWC quarterfinal match against China PR on June 26. She is the fourth active player reach that mark and 10th overall American. Christie Rampone, Abby Wambach and Heather O’Reilly are the other three. 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 has moved past Tiffeny Milbrett into sole possession of eighth place on the USA’s all-time caps with 207.
  • Lloyd is in seventh place on the U.S. WNT’s all-time goal scoring list. Lloyd, now with 78 goals, is the highest-scoring midfielder in U.S. history although she has scored her last 15 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.
  • Solo also earned her 177th cap against Japan on July 25. With 182 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 175. Solo is also in 9th place on the WNT’s all-time starts list behind eighth place Carli Lloyd, who has 179.
  • 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 first goal of the game against Australia on June 8, U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe became the 13th U.S. female player to score 30 goals and tally 30 assists. She currently has 31 goals and 38 assists. Her assist total is good for 10th place all time. Her brace against Australia in the Women’s World Cup were her first and thus far only tallies of 2015.
  • Rapinoe became the 31st American female player to reach the century mark in caps, achieving that feat against New Zealand on April 4. She currently has 112 caps. Lori Chalupny became the 32nd player to reach 100 caps, against Ireland on May 10.
  • Tobin Heath was the 33rd player to reach 100 caps.
  • Against Costa Rica on Aug. 16, Abby Wambach became the fourth U.S. player to hit 250 caps. She has 252.
  • Against Costa Rica on Aug. 19, Shannon Boxx played in her seventh match of the year and reached 193 caps, moving past Brandi Chastain into 11th place on the all-time U.S. list. Boxx finished her career on Oct. 21 with 195.
  • Heather O’Reilly was the ninth player to hit 200 caps in U.S. history after reaching the milestone against Korea DPR on March 12, 2014. Now with 225, she is seventh on the USA’s all-time list. Abby Wambach (252) and Christie Rampone (311) are the only active players ahead of her.
  • O’Reilly is the second-youngest player to hit 200 caps for the USA. Lilly was 28 years, 9 months and 15 days old when she earned cap No. 200 on May 7, 2000. O’Reilly was 29 years, 2 months and 10 days old when she earned her 200th cap.
  • O’Reilly is currently sixth all-time in assists with 54 and 11th place all-time in goals with 46.
  • O’Reilly’s two goals against Costa Rica on Sept. 19 represented the fourth multi-goal game of her career and the first time she had produced back-to-back multi-goal performances. Her first multi-goal game came on March 11, 2006 when she scored two against Denmark. Her second came on Jan. 1, 2012 when she scored the lone hat trick of her career against Dominican Republic during Olympic Qualifying.
  • In addition to breaking Mia Hamm’s world scoring record, Wambach’s June 20, 2013, performance against the Korea Republic also made her the USA’s all-time leader in multiple-goal games with 39. She has since added six more and now sits at 45. She has 37 two-goal games, five hat tricks, two four-goal games and one five-goal game.
  • Sydney Leroux is tied with April Heinrichs in 14th place on the all-time U.S. WNT goal-scoring list with 35 goals.
  • 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 54, moving past Carin Gabarra for ninth on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list.
  • The 2015 NWSL title was the 10th in Heather O'Reilly's career. She won two NCAA titles with North Carolina. She won the inaugural Under-19 Women's Championship in 2002, Olympic women's soccer gold medals in 2004, 2008 and 2012 and the 2015 Women's World Cup title. At the club level, she won WPS with Sky Blue FC in her home state of New Jersey in 2009 and NWSL titles with FC Kansas City in 2014 and 2015.

BY THE NUMBERS:
0.45           Goals per game the USA has allowed in 2015
1                USA’s FIFA ranking
2.86           Goals per game the USA scored in 2015
3                Goals allowed by the USA in the 2015 WWC, least of any of the four semifinalists
8                Number of different players to score a goal in the 2015 WWC
14               Goals scored by the USA in the 2015 WWC, second most in the tournament
17               Number of different U.S. players to score a goal in 2015
78               Goals by Lloyd, most ever for a WNT player who has played exclusively as a midfielder
89               Shutouts by Hope Solo, an all-time U.S. WNT record
89               Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Sydney Leroux in her career
99               Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Abby Wambach in her career
104             Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Alex Morgan in her career
116             U.S. victories when Wambach scores a goal (116-2-8 overall)
130             Minutes on the field per goal averaged by Mia Hamm in her career
311             Caps by Christie Rampone, second all-time to Kristine Lilly (352)

USA IN NWSL: Following are the 2015 NWSL regular season statistics of the U.S. players on this roster. The members of the Women’s World Cup Team missed quite a few games due to National Team commitments and several players also missed some games due to injury. Christen Press was the top scorer in the league of the WWC players, tallying 10 times in 10 games. Amy Rodriguez added two goals to her tally in the NWSL semifinal playoff match as FC Kansas City defeated the Chicago Red Stars, 2-0, and then scored the game-winner in the NWSL Championship off an assist from Heather O’Reilly as FCKC defeated the Seattle Reign, 1-0. Megan Rapinoe added a score in Seattle Reign’s 3-0 semifinal victory against the Washington Spirit. 

AND THE WINNER IS: Current U.S. WNT players that won 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.

2015 FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP FACTS:

  • The USA is the first nation to capture three Women’s World Cup titles.
  • After scoring three times against Australia in its opening match of the 2015 FIFA WWC, the USA became the second country to reach and then surpass the century mark of World Cup goals scored. The USA currently has scored 112 WWC goals, surpassing Germany who had reached 111 during the tournament. Christen Press had the honor of scoring the 100th goal in U.S. Women’s World Cup history. Germany scored 10 goals in its opener on June 7 to hit 101 and become the first team to pass 100. The Germans finished the WWC with 111 goals after scoring 20 in the tournament, 14 of which came against Ivory Coast and Thailand.
  • The USA shattered the record for most goals in a Women’s World Cup Final (the previous record was two) and the teams set a record for most goals combined in a WWC Final with seven.
  • The USA and Japan have accounted for the two-highest scoring WWC Finals, (2-2 in 2011 and 5-2 in 2015).
  • The USA allowed 18 shots on goal over the 630 minutes in the Women’s World Cup. The USA six against Australia in the opening game, but never allowed that many in a game again, allowing just one against Sweden and Germany, two against Nigeria, Colombia and China and four against Japan.
  • The draw with Sweden was the first scoreless draw in U.S. history during group play in a World Cup. It was the second overall scoreless draw for the USA in a World Cup (0-0 against China in the 1999 WWC Final).
  • The USA made its seventh appearance in a FIFA Women’s World Cup and is one of seven countries to appear in all seven editions of the tournament, the others being Brazil, Germany, Japan, Nigeria, Norway and Sweden.
  • The U.S. is the only country to have reached at least the semifinals of every FIFA Women’s World Cup.
  • The USA made its fourth appearance in a FIFA Women’s World Cup Final (1991, 1999, 2011, 2015), the only country to reach it that many times (Germany has reached it on three occasions: 1995, 2003 and 2007).
  • Abby Wambach played in 25 WWC matches, the most on the 2015 WWC roster. Christie Rampone played in 19 Women’s World Cup games while Carli Lloyd has played in 18, Hope Solo has played in 17 and Shannon Boxx played in 16. Other players in double figures in Women’s World Cup matches are Ali Krieger (13), and Heather O’Reilly, Alex Morgan, Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe, all with 12.
  • The U.S. WNT has won its group in the World Cup every year except 2011, when it finished second to Sweden.
  • With her first-half goal against Nigeria during Group D play, Abby Wambach moved into a tie with Germany’s Birgit Prinz for 2nd all-time with 14 World Cup goals. Brazil’s Marta is the leader with 15 goals, including one in the Women’s World Cup. Wambach had a great chance to break the record, but missed a penalty kick against Colombia in the Round of 16 match.
  • Lloyd’s hat trick was the first by any player in a Women’s World Cup Final.
  • Lloyd’s two goals represent the first multi-goal game for a U.S. player in a World Cup final since Michelle Akers scored two goals against Norway in the USA’s 2-1 win in the 1991 WWC Final in Guanzhou, China. She is the third American to score a hat trick in a WWC after Carin Jennings Gabarra (three against Germany in ’91 semifinal) and Akers (five against Chinese Taipei in ’91 Quarterfinals)
  • Lloyd’s third minute goal was the fastest goal ever in a Women's World Cup final.
  • The USA was the first team to score twice in the first five minutes of any Women's World Cup game.
  • Wambach scored in every World Cup group stage in which she has played (2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015). She has scored seven goals, tallying three in final group stage matches.
  • Ten players on the U.S. roster have scored in a Women’s World Cup tournament: Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Lauren Holiday, Heather O’Reilly, Lori Chalupny, Shannon Boxx, Christen Press, Kelley O’Hara and Tobin Heath.
  • The U.S. WNT is 34-4-5 all-time in the Women’s World Cup, outscoring its opponents 112-35 in 43 games. The 34 wins and 43 games played are FIFA Women’s World Cup records.

IN FOCUS: BRAZIL

Confederação Brasileira de Futebol

Current FIFA World Ranking: 7
Women’s World Cup Finals Appearances: 7 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
Best Women’s World Cup Finish: 2nd (2007)
Record vs. USA: 3-25-5
Head Coach: Oswaldo Alvarez  
Key Players: Luciana, Erika, Formiga, Marta, Cristiane

Brazil Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Andreai (Tiradentes do Piaui), 1-Luciana (Rio Oreto E.C.)
DEFENDERS (6): 3-Monica (Flamengo), 4-Rafaelle (América F.C.), 14-Erika (Paris Saint-Germain), 2-Fabiana (ADECO), 13-Poliana (St. Jaman FC), 15-Rilany (Santos), 6-Tamires (Fortuna Hjørring)  
MIDFIELDERS (6): 9-Andressa Alves (Montpellier), 5-Andressinha (Tiradentes do Piaui), 18-Bia Vaz (São José E.C), 10-Marta (FC Rosengård), 20-Formiga (São José E.C.), 8-Thaisa (América F.C.)  
FORWARDS (4): 7-Beatriz (Hyundai Steel Red Angels), 11-Cristiane (Paris Saint-Germain), 17-Gabi Zanotti (Santos F.C.) 16-Rafaela (Flamengo), 19-Raquel (Botofogo)

BRAZIL NOTES

  • Brazil’s goal in the 3rd minute from Monica against the USA on Oct. 21 in Seattle was the earliest goal scored on the Americans this year. The next closest was in the 27th minute against both Australia and Japan during World Cup play. Aside from that goal, the U.S. has not conceded inside the first 20 minutes in the past two years.
  • Brazil is coming off a somewhat disappointing finish at the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Brazil won Group E, which turned out to be probably the weakest group of the tournament, defeating the Korea Republic 2-0 and then Spain and Costa Rica by 1-0 scores. Brazil then was knocked out of the tournament in the Round of 16 losing 1-0 in a mild upset to Australia.
  • Marta, long considered perhaps the best attacking player in the world, scoring just once in the tournament and that came from the penalty spot.
  • Marta is a five-time FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, winning it five consecutive years from 2006-2010, and remarkably has finished second in the voting four times (2005, 2011, 2012, 2014) and third twice (2004, 2013). 
  • Marta and Formiga scored in the 2-0 win vs. Korea Republic while Andressa Alves and Fernandes (who is not on the roster for the U.S. games) scored against Spain and Costa Rica respectively.
  • Brazil has two world class forwards in Marta (76 goals in 77 caps) and Cristiane (73 goals in 83 caps) for 149 goals, which is more than any other two current U.S. players combined if you take Abby Wambach and her 184 goals out of the mix.
  • Formiga is the veteran of the Brazilian team at age 37 after having played in the last six Women’s World Cup tournaments, which is a record she holds with Homare Sawa of Japan.
  • Defender Erika plays in France at Paris Saint-Germain with young U.S. forward Lindsey Horan.

USA VS. BRAZIL SERIES

  • The USA and Brazil have a long history dating back to 1986 when the teams met in just the eighth match ever played by the U.S. Women, a 2-1 U.S victory in Italy.
  • The U.S. team has for the most part dominated the series, going 25-3-5 over the years, but Brazil picked up a historic win at the 2007 Women’s World Cup, a 4-0 semifinal victory that remains the worst loss in U.S. history.
  • Brazil has actually won and tied the three most recent meetings, with the first two taking place at the International Tournament of Brasilia at the end of 2014. The USA lost 3-2 in group play as Marta scored all three goals. Brazil only had four shots on goal during that match, but scored on three of them, to hand U.S. head coach Jill Ellis her first loss at the helm of the U.S. team and one of just two total.
  • The USA had a 2-0 lead after nine minutes in that game as Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe scored early, but Marta brought her team back with three fantastic individual goals.
  • The teams finished first and second in the four-team group at the tournament and met each other in the championship match. The USA played without forwards Alex Morgan (injury), Sydney Leroux (red card) and Christen Press (family commitment) and managed just four shots, with one goal. Brazil also had just four shots with one on goal.
  • Before the Oct. 21 clash in Seattle, the most recent meeting between the USA and Brazil in the United States came at the Orlando Citrus Bowl on Nov. 10, 2013, a 4-1 U.S. victory that featured two goals from Abby Wambach, and one each from Sydney Leroux and Erika Tymrak while Hope Solo made a handful of spectacular saves.
  • Of course, the teams met in the gold medal games of the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, with the USA winning 1-0 in Athens, Greece and 2-1 in Beijing, China, both after extra time. Abby Wambach scored the game-winner in 2004 and Carli Lloyd bagged the game-winner in 2008.
  • One of the most well-known matches between the countries was of course in the quarterfinal of the 2011 Women’s World Cup as Abby Wambach famously tied the match at the very end of overtime and the USA triumphed in penalty kicks to move on to the semifinal.

LAST TIMES

On the field for the USA vs. BRA:

Oct. 21, 2015 – CenturyLink Field; Seattle
2015 U.S. Women’s NationalTeam Victory Tour

USA     1          Lloyd 85
BRA     1          Monica 3

Lineups:
USA: 1-Hope Solo; 5-Kelley O'Hara (26-Jaelene Hinkle, 71), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 19-Julie Johnston, 22-Meghan Klingenberg (9-Heather O'Reilly, 85); 25-Crystal Dunn (29-Samantha Mewis, 72), 7-Shannon Boxx Spearman (17-Tobin Heath, 41), 14-Morgan Brian, 15-Megan Rapinoe; 10-Carli Lloyd, 13-Alex Morgan
Subs Not Used: 2-Sydney Leroux, 3-Christie Rampone, 6-Whitney Engen, 8-Amy Rodriguez,11-Ali Krieger,12-Lauren Holiday,16-Lori Chalupny,18-Ashlyn Harris, 20-Abby Wambach, 21-Alyssa Naeher, 23-Christen Press
Head coach: Jill Ellis

BRA: 1-Luciana, 2-Fabiana (16-Rafaela, 90+4), 3-Monica (14-Erika, 90+2), 4-Rafaelle, 5-Andressinha, 6-Tamires, 9-Andressa Alves, 10-Marta (capt.), 11-Cristiane (7-Beatriz, 84), 13-Poliana, 20-Formiga (17-Gabi Zanotti, 46)
Subs Not Used: 8-Thaisa, 12-Andreia, 15-Rilany, 18-Bia Vaz, 19-Raquel
Head coach: Oswaldo Alvarez 

Go Deeper

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