USWNT vs. Colombia: Lineup Notes & Starting XI | International Friendly presented by AT&T 5G

USWNT vs. Colombia – International Friendly Presented by AT&T 5G
Date: October 29, 2023
Venue: Snapdragon Stadium; San Diego, Calif.
Broadcast: TNT, Max, Telemundo, Universo, Peacock
Radio: FDP Radio
Official Kickoff Time: 5:37 p.m. ET/2:37 p.m. PT

Starting XI vs. Colombia: 18-Casey Murphy; 5-Alana Cook, 8-Trinity Rodman, 10-Lindsey Horan, 11-Sophia Smith, 13-Alex Morgan, 14-Emily Sonnett, 15-Naomi Girma, 19-Crystal Dunn, 22-Savannah DeMelo, 23-Emily Fox

Available Subs: 1-Alyssa Naeher, 2-Ashley Sanchez, 3-Sofia Huerta, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn, 6-Lynn Williams, 9-Alyssa Thompson, 17-Andi Sullivan, 20-Casey Krueger, 25-Olivia Moultrie, 26-Jaedyn Shaw, 27-Sam Coffey, 28-Mia Fishel

Not dressing: Ashley Hatch, Aubrey Kingsbury, Midge Purce, M.A. Vignola

GAME NOTES | FIVE THINGS TO KNOW

• USWNT Starting XI Cap Numbers (Including this match): Morgan (215), Dunn (140), Horan (137), Sonnett (81), Fox (37), Smith (36), Cook (29), Rodman (26), Girma (24), Murphy (16), DeMelo (6)

• Sunday’s starting lineup features three different players from Thursday night’s starting lineup in Sandy, Utah: Casey Murphy gets the start in goal for Alyssa Naeher, Savannah DeMelo in the midfield for Andi Sullivan and Sophia Smith on the attack for Lynn Williams.

• This lineup to take on Colombia averages 27 years of age and 67 caps per player.

• Lindsey Horan will make her 15th start of 2023 – tied with Alex Morgan for the most by any player this year – as she captains the USA for the 16th time in her career. Horan will earn her 137th cap, moving into a tie with Heather Mitts for 26th on the USWNT’s all-time caps charts, and one goal away from becoming the 16th player in USWNT history with 30+ goals and 30+ assists.

• Casey Murphy will make her fifth start of the year as she earns her 16th cap for the USWNT. Murphy has four shutouts on the year and recorded her 11th career clean sheet in the USA’s Sept. 24 win over South Africa at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

• Alana Cook will make her second consecutive start and eighth start of 2023 as she earns her 29th cap. Cook led the USA in total minutes played in 2022 and has helped the team to shutouts in all nine of her appearances for the USWNT this year.

• Trinity Rodman will make her team-leading 16th appearance of 2023 as she earns her 26th cap overall for the USWNT. Rodman will be making her fifth consecutive start for the USA – the longest streak of her young international career – and is now second on the team in scoring in 2023 with four goals, trailing only the injured Mallory Swanson (7 goals).

• After returning to the field as a second-half substitute on Thursday against Colombia, Sophia Smith will make her first start for the USWNT since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in what will be her 36th international appearance overall. Smith, who led the USA in scoring in 2022 and was the 2023 NWSL Golden Boot winner with Portland Thorns FC, has 13 goals in her last 22 caps after scoring just once in her first 13 international appearances.

• Alex Morgan will earn her 215th cap for the USWNT as she makes her 15th start – and 15th appearance overall – of 2023. While she now calls San Diego home playing for San Diego Wave FC in the NWSL, Morgan has two goals and two assists in her three previous games with the USWNT in San Diego. Morgan earned her 100th cap in the USA’s 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland on January 23, 2016, scoring once and tallying two assists in the game at Qualcomm Stadium. She also scored in the USWNT’s January 2018 win over Denmark in San Diego.

• Emily Sonnett will make her fifth consecutive start as she earns her 81st cap for the USWNT. Sonnett has started every match for the USWNT in midfield starting with the World Cup Round of 16 matchup against Sweden and scored her second career goal in the USA’s September 24 win over South Africa.

• Naomi Girma will make her ninth consecutive start for the USWNT, extending the longest such streak of her international career, as she earns her 24th cap. The 2022 NWSL Rookie of the Year and Defender of the Year with San Diego Wave FC, Girma will make her 14th appearance overall of 2023 and has been a mainstay on a backline that has allowed just two goals total this year.

• Crystal Dunn will make her 14th start of the year as she makes her 140th appearance all time for the USWNT. Dunn has four assists and two goals in six career appearances against Colombia, including a goal and an assist in the USWNT’s draw against Colombia during the group stage of the 2016 Summer Olympics. She has helped lead the USA’s defense to 11 shutouts in her 13 appearances so far in 2023.

• Savannah DeMelo, a Southern California native, will earn her sixth cap for the USWNT as she makes her third career start and first since the 2023 World Cup, where she started back-to-back group stage matches against Vietnam and the Netherlands. DeMelo rode an excellent NWSL season with Racing Louisville FC to become the third player to earn a spot on a USWNT World Cup roster without having previously earned a cap and saw time as a second-half substitute in each of the USA’s last two matches.

• Emily Fox will earn her 37th cap for the USA as she makes her 13th start and 15th appearance overall this year. Fox is currently second on the team in minutes played in 2023 with 1,146 and was the second player to cross the 1,000-minute mark for the USA this year, trailing only Lindsey Horan.