Washington Spirit duo Kelley O’Hara, Emily Sonnett named to USWNT 2021 SheBelieves Cup roster

Vlatko Andonovski has announced the 23-player USWNT roster for the upcoming 2021 SheBelieves Cup. The Washington Spirit are represented by offseason additions Kelley O’Hara and Emily Sonnett, while the squad will also include Alex Morgan and Christen Press, both of whom missed the last round of call-ups due to illness.

The United States will play Canada on February 18, followed by matches against Brazil on February 21 and Argentina — called in as a replacement after Japan withdrew — in the tournament finale on February 24. All games will take place at Exploria Stadium in Orlando, with the USWNT’s games being televised on Fox Sports 1 and TUDN.

The Spirit contingent for this camp has been cut in half, with goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe and midfielder Andi Sullivan dropped. Sullivan suffered an injury at the tail end of January camp, while it appears that Andonovski has begun leaning towards Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell as a potential second choice behind starter Alyssa Naeher. Andonovski also dropped Ashlyn Harris, calling in the uncapped Casey Murphy to round out the set of goalkeepers for SheBelieves Cup.

O’Hara and Sonnett will look to solidify their places as the Olympics get closer. O’Hara, a starter for years at right back, appears locked into that role this summer, while the versatile Sonnett has drawn praise for her play at left back in the last two U.S. games. With Olympic rosters restricted to just 18 players, Sonnett’s ability to play any defensive position seems to have given her an edge to make the final roster.

The full squad is as follows:

Goalkeepers (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders (8): Alana Cook (Paris Saint-Germain), Abby Dahlkemper (Manchester City), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit), Margaret Purce (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit)

Midfielders (6): Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle (Manchester City), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (Manchester City)

Forwards (6): Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Manchester United), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage)

In addition, Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC), Jaelin Howell (Florida State), and Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars) have been called in as training players.