Houston Dash midfielders Carli Lloyd and Morgan Brian and forward Kealia Ohai were selected by U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Jill Ellis for the 29-player roster for the first training camp roster of 2017, U.S. Soccer announced today.
The January training camp will be a key evaluation period for Ellis to choose a squad for the upcoming SheBelieves Cup, which – as the inaugural tournament last year – will feature four of the world’s top-five ranked teams in the USA (1), Germany (2), France (3) and England (5).
Lloyd has played 232 times for the USWNT and leads the active team in scoring with 96 career goals, leaving her four goals away from becoming the sixth player in U.S. history to score 100 goals. Named the 2016 FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year after leading the USWNT to victory in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Lloyd scored five goals and tallied three assists over seven games with the Dash last season.
Brian has earned 63 caps with the USWNT and won the Golden Ball as the most outstanding player at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship last February. The 23-year-old midfielder started in 13 games for the club last year.
Ohai earned her first senior national team selection in October after finishing the 2016 NWSL season with a league-leading 11 goals along with four assists. The University of North Carolina product set a national team record by scoring her first goal just 48 seconds after taking the field for her debut when she scored with her third touch against Switzerland on October 23, 2016 in Minneapolis. The Draper, Utah native scored the game-winning goal for the U.S. squad that defeated Germany 1-0 in the final of the 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.
