United States women's national soccer team

United States

Nickname(s)	Team USA The Stars and Stripes The Yanks
Association	United States Soccer Federation
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Tom Sermanni
Asst coach	Tony Gustavsson
Captain	Christie Rampone
Most caps	Kristine Lilly (352)
Top scorer	Mia Hamm (158)
FIFA code	USA
FIFA ranking	1
Highest FIFA ranking	1 (March 2013)
Lowest FIFA ranking	2 (October 2003)
First colors Second colors
First international
Italy 1–0 United States (Jesolo, Italy; August 18, 1985)
Biggest win
United States 14–0 Dominican Rep. (Vancouver, Canada; January 20, 2012)
Biggest defeat
Brazil 4–0 United States (Hangzhou, China; September 27, 2007)
World Cup
Appearances	6 (First in 1991)
Best result	Winners, 1991, 1999
CONCACAF Championship & Gold Cup
Appearances	7 (First in 1991)
Best result	Winners; 1991, 1993, 1994 2000, 2002, 2006
Honours Women's soccer Summer Olympics Gold 1996 Atlanta Team Silver 2000 Sydney Team Gold 2004 Athens Team Gold 2008 Beijing Team Gold 2012 London Team FIFA Women's World Cup Gold 1991 China Team Bronze 1995 Sweden Team Gold 1999 USA Team Bronze 2003 USA Team Bronze 2007 China Team Silver 2011 Germany Team Pan American Games Gold 1999 Winnipeg Team Silver 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team

The United States women's national soccer team, often referred to as USWNT, represents the United States of America in international association football competitions. It is controlled by United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football). The U.S. team won the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991, and has since been a superpower in women's soccer. It is currently ranked first in the world by the FIFA Women's World Rankings. The team has also won the 1999 Women's World Cup, four Olympic women's gold medals (1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012) and nine Algarve Cups (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2013).

Among its many other honors, the team was selected as the U.S. Olympic Committee's Team of the Year in 1997 and 1999. Sports Illustrated chose the entire team as its 1999 Sportspeople of the Year.

History

The team played its first match at the Mundialito tournament on August 18, 1985, coached by Mike Ryan (not related to 2005–2007 coach Greg Ryan). In March 2004, two of its stars, Mia Hamm (who retired later that year after a post-Olympic team tour of the USA) and Michelle Akers (who had already retired), were the only two women and the only two Americans named to the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living soccer players chosen by Pelé as part of FIFA's centenary observances. Those two women along with Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, and the 1999 team started a revolution towards women's team sports in America.

Arguably their most influential and memorable victory came in the 1999 World Cup when they beat China 5–4 in a penalty shootout. With this win they emerged onto the world stage and brought significant media attention to women's soccer and athletics. On July 10, 1999, over 90,000 people (the largest ever for a women’s sporting event and one of the largest attendances in the world for a tournament game final) filled the Rose Bowl to watch the United States play China in the Final. After a back and forth game, the score was tied 0–0 at full-time, and remained so after extra time, leading to a penalty kick shootout. With Briana Scurry's save of China's third kick, the score was 4–4 with only Brandi Chastain left to shoot. She scored and won the game for the United States. Chastain famously dropped to her knees and whipped off her shirt, celebrating in her sports bra, which later made the cover of Sports Illustrated and the front pages of newspapers around the country and world. This win influenced girls to want to play soccer on a team.

Perhaps the second most influential victory came on July 10, 2011, in the quarterfinal of the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany, where the U.S. beat Brazil 5–3 on penalty kicks. Abby Wambach tied the game 2–2 in the 2nd minute of extra time in the 2nd period of overtime (the 122nd minute of the match overall) with a left-footed cross by Megan Rapinoe. Earlier in the game, Brazil had evened the score 1–1 on a controversial penalty kick. Interestingly, the game was played on the 12th anniversary of the memorable 1999 World Cup Final (described above), which the US also won on penalty kicks.

In the 2012 Summer Olympics, the U.S. won the gold medal for the fourth time in five Olympics by defeating Japan 2–1 in front of 80,203 fans at Wembley Stadium, a record for a women's soccer game at the Olympics. The United States advanced to face Japan in a rematch of 2011 Women’s World Cup final, won by the Japanese on penalty kicks, by winning arguably one of the greatest games only rivaled by the victories mentioned above. In the semi-final match against Canada, the Americans trailed three times before Alex Morgan’s header in the third minute of injury time at the end of 30 minutes of extra-time lifted the team to a 4–3 victory. Morgan’s game-winning goal (123") is now the latest tally ever in a FIFA competition by a USWNT team. The London Olympics marked the first time the USWNST won every game en route to the gold medal and set an Olympic women's team record of 16 goals scored. Wambach scored a team-leading five goals in five straight games, which is an U.S. and Olympic record, while Morgan and Rapinoe led the team with four assists apiece, which attributed to their team-high tying 10 points. By scoring both goals in the 2012 Olympic final, Carli Lloyd is the only woman in history to score the winning goal in separate gold Olympic matches (2008 and 2012).

Past and present kit

Traditionally since the team started, the kit has been an all white kit, with occasional blue shorts. Blue shorts in combination with blue or red jersey and socks have also been used. Combinations of red, white and blue were used in 2003 World Cup, and 2004 Olympics. As of May 2011 the away kit is all black. From 2012, the team's home kit is a white jersey with red hoops paired with blue shorts and white socks. The kit is identical to that worn by the men's team, which is the first time both teams have worn the same kit. Like the men's team, Nike is the team's kit manufacturer. The team also wears two stars above the US Soccer badge, to signify their two championship titles from World Cup competitions.

1986–1996 home	1986–1996	1991–1994	1991–1994	1991–1998	1995–1999
1999–2004	2000–2002	2003	2003	2004	2004
2005–2007 home	2005–2007 away	2007–2009 home	2008	2007–2008 away	2008–2009 away
2010–2011 home	2010–2011 away	2011–2012 home	2011–2012 away	2012 home	2012 away

Schedule and results

Further information: 2013 in American soccer

The following is a list of matches from the past six months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

Date	Venue	Opponent	Competition	Result	U.S. scorers
October 20, 2012	Toyota Park, Bridgeview, Illinois, United States	Germany	International friendly	1–1 D	Wambach  2'
October 23, 2012	Rentschler Field, East Hartford, Connecticut, United States	Germany	International friendly	2–2 D	Wambach  44' Heath  67'
November 28, 2012	Jeld-Wen Field, Portland, Oregon, United States	Republic of Ireland	International friendly	5–0 W	Morgan  24', 34', 44' Leroux  62', 81'
December 1, 2012	University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona, United States	Republic of Ireland	International friendly	2–0 W	Morgan  1' Rapinoe  38'
December 8, 2012	Ford Field Detroit, Michigan, United States	China PR	International friendly	2–0 W	Lloyd  51' Leroux  85'
December 12, 2012	BBVA Compass Stadium Houston, Texas, United States	China PR	International friendly	4–0 W	Wambach  20', 63' Lloyd  62' Rodriguez  85'
December 15, 2012	FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Florida, United States	China PR	International friendly	4–1 W	Wambach  18', 64' Rapinoe  36' Leroux  87'
February 9, 2013	EverBank Field Jacksonville, Florida, United States	Scotland	International friendly	4–1 W	Press  13', 31' Boxx  52' Leroux  88'
February 13, 2013	LP Field Nashville, Tennessee, United States	Scotland	International friendly	3-1 W	Rapinoe  21' Wambach  51' Press  64'
March 6, 2013	Stadium: Estádio Municipal Albufeira, Portugal	Iceland	Algarve Cup Group B	3-0 W	Buehler  48' Boxx  62' Wambach  74'
March 8, 2013	Stadium: Estádio Municipal Albufeira, Portugal	China PR	Algarve Cup Group B	5-0 W	Leroux  15' Krieger  32' Rapinoe  46' Press  64' Engen  84'
March 11, 2013	Stadium: Estádio Municipal Lagos, Portugal	Sweden	Algarve Cup Group B	1-1 D	Morgan  56'
March 13, 2013	Stadium: Estádio Algarve, Faro,Portugal	Germany	Algarve Cup First place playoff	2-0 W	Morgan  13, 34'
April 5, 2013	Stadium: Sparda Bank Hessen Stadium Offenbach, Germany	Germany	International friendly	3-3 D	Wambach  47' Rapinoe  56' Morgan  71'
April 9, 2013	Stadium: Kyocera Stadion The Hague, Netherlands	Netherlands	International friendly	3-1 W	Heath  36' Press  45', 60'
June 2, 2013	BMO Field Toronto, Canada	Canada	International friendly		Time: 4:30pm ET TV: ESPNNews
June 15, 2013	Gillette Stadium Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States	South Korea	International friendly		Time: 7 pm ET
June 20, 2013	Red Bull Arena Harrison, New Jersey, United States	South Korea	International friendly		Time: 7:30pm ET TV: NBCSports
September 4, 2013	Frankenstadion Nuremberg, Germany	Germany	International friendly

US Soccer Schedule. USA: Fixtures and Results – FIFA.com

Current squad

The following 21 players were called up for the matches against Canada on June 2, 2013.

Caps and goals are current as of April 9, 2013.

0#0 Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club 18 1GK Nicole Barnhart (1981-10-10) October 10, 1981 50 0 FC Kansas City 24 1GK Ashlyn Harris (1985-10-19) October 19, 1985 2 0 Washington Spirit 1GK Jillian Loyden (1985-06-25) June 25, 1985 6 0 Sky Blue FC 19 2DF Rachel Buehler (1985-08-26) August 26, 1985 102 4 Portland Thorns FC 6 2DF Crystal Dunn (1992-07-03) July 3, 1992 4 0 North Carolina 14 2DF Whitney Engen (1987-11-28) November 28, 1987 7 1 Liverpool 11 2DF Ali Krieger (1984-07-28) July 28, 1984 33 1 Washington Spirit 5 2DF Kelley O'Hara (1988-08-04) August 4, 1988 39 0 Sky Blue FC 3 2DF Christie Rampone (captain) (1975-06-24) June 24, 1975 280 4 Sky Blue FC 4 2DF Becky Sauerbrunn (1985-06-06) June 6, 1985 42 0 FC Kansas City 25 2DF Julie Johnston (1992-04-06) April 6, 1992 2 0 Santa Clara 3MF Amber Brooks (1991-01-23) January 23, 1991 0 0 FC Bayern Munich 12 3MF Lauren Cheney (1987-09-30) September 30, 1987 87 18 FC Kansas City 17 3MF Tobin Heath (1988-05-29) May 29, 1988 67 8 Paris Saint-Germain 10 3MF Carli Lloyd (1982-07-16) July 16, 1982 154 43 Western New York Flash 8 3MF Kristen Mewis (1991-02-25) February 25, 1991 4 0 FC Kansas City 9 3MF Heather O'Reilly (1985-01-02) January 2, 1985 185 36 Boston Breakers 2 4FW Sydney Leroux (1990-05-07) May 7, 1990 34 16 Boston Breakers 13 4FW Alex Morgan (1989-07-02) July 2, 1989 65 42 Portland Thorns FC 23 4FW Christen Press (1988-12-29) December 29, 1988 7 6 Tyresö FF 20 4FW Abby Wambach (1980-06-02) June 2, 1980 204 155 Western New York Flash

Recent call-ups

The following players were named to a squad in the last six months.

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up GK Hope Solo (1981-07-30) July 30, 1981 135 0 Seattle Reign FC v.Scotland; February 13, 2013 GK Jane Campbell (1995-02-17) February 17, 1995 0 0 Concorde Fire South v.Scotland; February 9, 2013 GK Adrianna Franch (1990-11-12) November 12, 1990 0 0 Western New York Flash v.Netherlands; April 9, 2013 DF Heather Mitts (1978-06-09) June 9, 1978 137 2 Boston Breakers v.Scotland; February 9, 2013 DF Amy LePeilbet (1982-03-12) March 12, 1982 84 0 Chicago Red Stars v.China PR; December 15, 2012 DF Meghan Klingenberg (1988-08-02) August 2, 1988 3 0 Tyresö FF v.Netherlands; April 9, 2013 MF Yael Averbuch (1986-11-03) November 3, 1986 21 1 Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC v.Netherlands; April 9, 2013 MF Shannon Boxx (1977-06-29) June 29, 1977 186 27 Chicago Red Stars v.Netherlands; April 9, 2013 MF Megan Rapinoe (1985-07-05) July 5, 1985 72 22 Olympique Lyonnais v.Netherlands; April 9, 2013 MF Lori Lindsey (1980-03-19) March 19, 1980 31 1 Washington Spirit v.Scotland; February 13, 2013 MF Keelin Winters (1988-12-09) December 9, 1988 0 0 Chicago Red Stars v.Scotland; February 9, 2013 FW Lindsey Horan (1994-05-26) May 26, 1994 1 0 Paris Saint-Germain v.Germany; March 13, 2013 FW Zakiya Bywaters (1991-07-24) July 24, 1991 0 0 Chicago Red Stars v.Scotland; February 9, 2013 FW Amy Rodriguez (1987-02-17) February 17, 1987 102 26 Seattle Reign FC v.China PR; December 15, 2012

Records

Active players in bold, statistics as of April 5, 2013

The women's national team boasts the first six players in the history of the game to have earned 200 or more caps. These players have since been joined in the 200-cap club by Pu Wei and Li Jie of China and Birgit Prinz of Germany, as well as by two more Americans, Kate Markgraf and Abby Wambach. Kristine Lilly is the first (and so far, only) player to earn more than 300 caps.

Most capped players Rank Player Caps Goals Years 1 Kristine Lilly 352 130 1987–2010 2 Christie Rampone 280 4 1997– 3 Mia Hamm 275 158 1987–2004 4 Julie Foudy 272 45 1987–2004 5 Joy Fawcett 239 27 1987–2004 6 Abby Wambach 204 155 2001– Tiffeny Milbrett 204 100 1992–2006 8 Kate Markgraf 202 1 1998–2010 9 Brandi Chastain 192 30 1991–2004 10 Shannon Boxx 186 27 2003–

Top scorers Rank Player Caps Goals Years 1 Mia Hamm 275 158 1987–2004 2 Abby Wambach 204 155 2001– 3 Kristine Lilly 352 130 1987–2010 4 Michelle Akers 153 105 1985–2000 5 Tiffeny Milbrett 204 100 1992–2006 6 Cindy Parlow 158 75 1995–2006 7 Shannon MacMillan 176 60 1994–2006 8 Carin Jennings-Gabarra 117 53 1987–1996 9 Julie Foudy 272 45 1987–2004 10 Tisha Venturini 132 44 1992–2000

Top Assisters Rank Player Caps Assists Years 1 Mia Hamm 275 144 1987–2004 2 Kristine Lilly 352 105 1987–2010 3 Abby Wambach 204 61 2001- Tiffeny Milbrett 204 61 1991–2005 5 Julie Foudy 272 55 1988–2004 6 Shannon MacMillan 176 50 1993–2005 7 Carin Jennings-Gabarra 117 47 1987-1996 8 Heather O'Reilly 185 43 2002– 9 Aly Wagner 131 42 1998–2008 10 Michelle Akers 153 36 1985-2000

Most goals scored in a match

The record for most goals scored in a match by a member of the USWNT is five, which has been accomplished by six players.

Player	Date	Opponent	Location	Competition	Line-up	Notes
Brandi Chastain	April 18, 1991	Mexico	Port-au-Prince, Haiti	FIFA Women's World Cup Final Qualifying Tournament	Substitute	First 5 career international goals. Consecutive goals in the match. Final score: 12–0
Michelle Akers	November 24, 1991	Chinese Taipei	Foshan, China	1991 FIFA Women's World Cup	Starting	Included first 3 goals of the match (9', 29', 33'). The only American to score 5 goals in a World Cup or Olympics match. Final score: 7–0
Tiffeny Milbrett	November 2, 2002	Panama	Seattle, Washington, USA	2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup	Starting	Included a hat trick in the first nine minutes. Final score: 9–0
Abby Wambach	October 23, 2004	Republic of Ireland	Houston, Texas, USA	International Friendly. Fan Celebration Tour	Starting	Played indoor in Reliant Stadium. Four goals were assists from Mia Hamm. Final score: 5–0
Amy Rodriguez	January 20, 2012	Dominican Republic	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament	Substitute (+46')	Biggest win by U.S. women's national team. Final score: 14–0
Sydney Leroux	January 22, 2012	Guatemala	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	2012 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament	Substitute (+46')	First 5 career international goals in her second cap for U.S. women's senior team. Final score: 13–0

Head coaches

Name	Years	Matches	Won	Tied	Lost	Win %
Ryan, MikeMike Ryan	1985	4	0	1	3	.125
Dorrance, AnsonAnson Dorrance	1986–1994	93	66	5	22	.737
DiCicco, TonyTony DiCicco	1994–1999	119	103	8	8	.899
Gregg, LaurenLauren Gregg	1997, 2000	3	2	1	0	.833
Heinrichs, AprilApril Heinrichs	2000–2004	124	87	20	17	.782
Ryan, GregGreg Ryan	2005–2007	55	45	9	1	.818
Sundhage, PiaPia Sundhage	2007–2012	107	91	10	6	.897
Ellis, JillianJillian Ellis	2012	7	5	2	0	.857
Sermanni, TomTom Sermanni	2013–	8	6	2	0	.857
Totals		519	405	58	57	.756

Statistics as of April 9, 2013

World Cup record

Host year in red

Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA	Coach
1991	Champions	6	6	0	0	25	5	Anson Dorrance
1995	Third place	6	4	1	1	15	5	Tony DiCicco
1999	Champions	6	5	1	0	18	3	Tony DiCicco
2003	Third place	6	5	0	1	15	5	April Heinrichs
2007	Third place	6	4	1	1	12	7	Greg Ryan
2011	Runners-up	6	3	2	1	13	7	Pia Sundhage
2015	To Be Determined	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total	6/6	36	27	5	4	98	32

Olympics record

The team has participated in every Olympics tournament through 2012 and won a medal in each.

Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA	Coach
1996	Champions	5	4	1	0	9	3	Tony DiCicco
2000	Runners-up	6	4	1	1	9	5	April Heinrichs
2004	Champions	6	5	1	0	12	4	April Heinrichs
2008	Champions	6	5	0	1	12	5	Pia Sundhage
2012	Champions	6	6	0	0	16	6	Pia Sundhage
2016	To Be Determined	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total	5/5	29	24	3	2	58	23

CONCACAF Gold Cup record

Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	GF	GA	Coach
1991	Champions	5	5	0	0	49	0	Anson Dorrance
1993	Champions	3	3	0	0	13	0	Anson Dorrance
1994	Champions	4	4	0	0	16	1	Tony DiCicco
1998	Did not participate1
2000	Champions	5	4	1	0	24	1	April Heinrichs
2002	Champions	5	5	0	0	24	1	April Heinrichs
2006	Champions	2	2	0	0	4	1	Greg Ryan
2010	Third place	5	4	0	1	22	2	Pia Sundhage
Total	7/8	29	27	1	1	152	6

¹ The US team directly qualified for the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup as hosts of the event. Because of this, they did not participate in the 1998 CONCACAF Championship, which was the qualification tournament for the World Cup.

Other honors

• Pan American Games

Champions (1): 1999

Runners-Up (1): 2007

• Algarve Cup

Champions (9): 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013

Runners-Up (4): 1994, 1999, 2006, 2009

Third Place (3): 1997, 1998, 2012

• U.S. Cup

Champions (5): 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999

• Four Nations Tournament

Champions (7): 1998, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011

Third Place (1): 2002

• Kirin Challenge Cup

Runners-Up (1): 2012

• Peace Queen Cup

Champions (2): 2006, 2008

• Albena Cup

Champions (1): 1991

• FIFA World Invitational Tournament

Runners-Up (1): 1987

• Mundialito

Runners-Up (1): 1986

Third Place (1) 1988

Fourth Place (1): 1985

• Pacific Cup

Champions (1): 2000

• North America Cup

Champions (1): 1990

Fourth Place (1): 1987

• Brazil Cup

Champions (1): 1996

• Canada Cup

Champions (1): 1990

• DFB Centenary Tournament

Champions (1): 2000

• Australia Cup

Champions (1): 2000

• Chiquita Cup

Champions (1): 1994

• Guangzhou Tournament

Champions (1): 1998

• Tournoi International Feminin

Champions (1): 1995

• Tri-Nations Tournament

Champions (1): 1994

• Goodwill Games

Champions (1): 1998

• Columbus Cup

Champions (1): 1993

Media coverage

ESPN and ESPN2 bring most coverage, with occasional coverage from Fox Soccer, Fox Sports en Espanol, and Galavisión.

See also

• List of women's national football teams
• United States at the team sports international competitions
• Women's association football around the world
• Dare to Dream: The Story of the U.S. Women's Soccer Team – 2005 HBO documentary
• United States U-17 women's national soccer team
• United States U-20 women's national soccer team
• United States U-23 women's national soccer team
• Women's Premier Soccer League
• W-League
• WUSA
• Women's Professional Soccer
• National Women's Soccer League

External links

• US WNT official website
• W-league Team Directory
• NWSL website

Sporting positions
Preceded by Inaugural champions	FIFA Women's World Cup champions 1991 (first title)	Succeeded by 1995 Norway
Preceded by 1995 Norway	FIFA Women's World Cup champions 1999 (second title)	Succeeded by 2003 Germany
Preceded by Inaugural champions	Olympic champions 1996 (first title)	Succeeded by 2000 Norway
Preceded by 2000 Norway	Olympic champions 2004 (second title) 2008 (third title) 2012 (fourth title)	Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Inaugural champions	CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup champions 1991 (first title) 1993 (second title) 1994 (third title)	Succeeded by 1998 Canada
Preceded by 1998 Canada As CONCACAF champions	CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup champions 2000 (fourth title) 2002 (fifth title) 2006 (sixth title)	Succeeded by 2010 Canada