Coach Emma Hayes has selected her first roster for the United States ahead of a pair of friendlies as she prepares to lead the women’s national team at the Paris Olympics.
Hayes, named U.S. coach last November, finished her final season as coach of Chelsea on Saturday, winning the team’s fifth straight Women’s Super League Title with a 6-0 rout of Manchester United.
Her first U.S. roster announced Tuesday includes two National Women’s Soccer League players called up to the national team for the first time, Chicago Red Stars defender Sam Staab and Washington Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt.
The team will play South Korea on June 1 in Commerce City, Colorado, before a rematch on June 4 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The 23-player roster is Hayes’ last chance to look at players before she names an 18-player roster for the Olympics. The United States will play a pair of sendoff matches in July.
“I expect complete commitment from everyone to absorb very quickly the things that I value as the most important so that we can compete this summer. I know they are a highly coachable group and I’m looking forward to challenging them,” Hayes said in a statement. “It’s time to go to work. I can’t wait to meet the fans and it’s really time to get behind the team as we get closer to putting a roster together for the Olympics.”
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Former coach Vlatko Andonovski resigned from the U.S. team following last year’s disappointing finish in the Women’s World Cup. Twila Kilgore led the team in the interim while Hayes finished the season with Chelsea. Kilgore will now serve as an assistant coach under Hayes.
Captain Lindsey Horan, among five players from European teams on the roster, will join training camp after her club, Lyon, faces Barcelona for the Champions League title on Saturday.
A notable omission from the roster is veteran goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who was injured while playing in a match for the Chicago Red Stars on May 12.
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