USWNT vs. Dominican Republic – 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup – Group A
Date: February 20, 2024
Venue: Dignity Health Sports Park; Carson, Calif.
Broadcast: Paramount+, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+
Official Kickoff Time: 10:15 p.m. ET / 7:15 p.m. PT
Starting XI vs. Dominican Republic: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 2-Abby Dahlkemper, 3-Jenna Nighswonger, 5-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Lynn Williams, 9-Midge Purce, 11-Sophia Smith, 13-Olivia Moultrie, 14-Emily Sonnett, 15-Korbin Albert, 17-Sam Coffey
Available Subs: 4-Naomi Girma, 7-Alex Morgan, 8-Jaedyn Shaw, 10-Lindsey Horan, 12-Tierna Davidson, 16-Rose Lavelle, 18-Casey Murphy, 19-Crystal Dunn, 20-Casey Krueger, 21-Jane Campbell, 22-Trinity Rodman, 23-Emily Fox
GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
- USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (Including this match): Sauerbrunn (218), Naeher (98), Sonnett (84), Dahlkemper (81), Williams (60), Smith (39), Purce (27), Coffey (8), Nighswonger (3), Moultrie (3), Albert (2)
- This starting XI features four 2019 World Cup Champions in Dahlkemper, Naeher, Sauerbrunn and Sonnett and four players with single-digit caps in Albert, Coffey, Moultrie and Nighswonger.
- The lineup averages 27.6 years of age and 56 caps per player, and features two of the oldest players on the roster in Sauerbrunn (38) and Naeher (35) and two of the youngest in Moultrie (18) and Albert (20). Moultrie was just two years old when Sauerbrunn, her club teammate with Portland Thorns FC, made her international debut in January of 2008.
- Emily Sonnett will earn her 84th cap as she makes her eighth consecutive start for the USWNT. Beginning with the World Cup Round of 16 match against Sweden, Sonnett has now started each of the last eight matches for the USA, tallying one goal and two assists during that span while helping limit the USA’s opponents to just one goal and eight total shots on target over the last seven games.
- Defender Becky Sauerbrunn will captain the squad as she earns her 218th cap for the USWNT as she makes her first start for the USA since April 11, 2023. Sauerbrunn was not initially named to the roster for the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup but was added when Alana Cook was forced to withdraw due to a minor knee injury. When Sauerbrunn takes the field against the Dominican Republic, it will mark the 16th year in which she has earned a cap for the USWNT.
- Alyssa Naeher was not a part of the U.S. roster for the end-of-year games against China PR in December of 2023, but returns to the starting lineup to open 2024 and will be making her 98th international appearance. Naeher is on the cusp of becoming just the third goalkeeper in USWNT history to reach the 100-cap milestone and has 59 career shutouts, nine of which came in 2023 tying her single-year record for clean sheets in a calendar year. When she hits 100, the USA will become the first country in history to have three 100+-capped female goalkeepers.
- After being sidelined for nearly two years due to a major back injury, Abby Dahlkemper will earn her 81st cap for the USWNT as she makes her second appearance – and second start - since December. Dahlkemper underwent major back surgery in November of 2022 but returned to action for the USA on December 2, 2023, playing the full 90 minutes in the USA’s win over China PR.
- Reigning NWSL Rookie of the Year Jenna Nighswonger will earn her third cap as she makes her second consecutive start for the USWNT. Nighswonger, who grew up in Huntington Beach, Calif., just under 25 miles from DHSP, made her international debut on Dec. 2, 2023, in Ft. Lauderdale and made her first start three days later, playing the full 90 minutes in the USA’s year-end victory over China PR in Frisco, Texas.
- Lynn Williams will make her 60th international appearance as she makes her second consecutive start for the U.S. Williams netted three goals in 11 appearances for the USWNT in 2023, four of them starts.
- Midge Purce will make her 10th career start and first since the USA’s opening match of 2023 as she earns her 27th cap. The 2023 NWSL Championship Game MVP with NJ/NY Gotham FC, Purce made six appearances for the U.S. in 2023.
- The 2023 NWSL Golden Boot Winner, Sophia Smith will earn her 39th cap for the USWNT. Smith started nine of her 11 appearances for the U.S. in 2023 and contributed directly on a goal in each of her last two appearances, scoring the opening goal in the USA’s Dec. 2 win over China PR and assisting Jaedyn Shaw’s game-winning goal on Dec. 5 in Frisco, Texas.
- Eighteen-year-old Olivia Moultrie makes her first start for the USWNT as she earns her third cap overall. Moultrie made her international debut on Dec. 2, 2023, coming on in the second half of the USA’s win over China PR in Ft. Lauderdale to become the 72nd teenager all-time to earn a cap for the USWNT and also saw action in the Dec. 5 win in Frisco, Texas.
- At 18 years and 156 days of age, Moultrie becomes just the third player in the last 15 years to start a match for the USWNT at age 18 or younger, joining Mallory Swanson and Alyssa Thompson.
- Korbin Albert will make her first ever start for the USWNT as she earns her second cap for the red, white and blue. The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder made her international debut on Dec. 5, 2023, coming on as a late second-half substitute against China PR and helped set up the USA’s game-winning goal by drawing a foul near the top of the penalty area shortly after entering the match.
- Sam Coffey will make her third career start and her second in a row for the USWNT as she earns her eighth cap. Coffey started and played the full 90 minutes in the USA’s Dec. 5 match against China PR, scoring her first career international goal in the 62nd minute to spark the USA’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory.
