Houston Dash forward Kayla McCoy was named to the Jamaican Women’s National Team preliminary roster for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup by head coach Hue Menzies, the Jamaica Football Federation announced today.
McCoy and Jamaica are set to make their first World Cup appearance this summer. The Reggae Girlz will see their first action in the tournament on June 9 against Group C contender Brazil at Stade des Alpes in Grenoble, France. Four days later, Jamaica will face Italy at Stade Auguste-Delaune II in Reims. They will close group play against Australia on June 18 in Stade des Alpes.
Jamaica qualified for the World Cup for the first time in the nation’s history and became the first Caribbean nation to qualify for a senior FIFA Women’s World Cup. They punched their ticket to France by defeating Panama in a penalty shootout in the third-place match of the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship. McCoy made her national team debut with Jamaica in a 1-0 victory against Chile on February 28 this year, and also started for the Dash in her first NWSL game appearance against Chicago last Sunday. The forward was drafted by the Dash as the 18th overall pick in the 2019 NWSL College Draft after completing a successful career at Duke University.
At Duke, McCoy scored 38 goals and had 17 assists in four seasons, including double-digit goal totals as a junior and senior. McCoy was a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy as a senior when she scored 12 goals and added eight assists in 22 games for the Blue Devils.
McCoy joined the national team on May 20 following Sunday’s Dash home game against the Chicago Red Stars.
