Tag: Sam Coffey

Hatch, Coffey and the biggest snubs from the USWNT World Cup roster

The USWNT roster remains the toughest one to crack

They say having too many worthy players is a “good problem” for a coach, and that is one of the top challenges for any U.S. women’s national team boss.

The USWNT’s World Cup roster dropped on Wednesday, and Vlatko Andonovski had a task that managers both envy and loathe. The national team has so many good players that some big names were bound to miss out on one of the 23 spots on the team.

Even with the USWNT missing stars like Catarina Macario, Sam Mewis, Christen Press, Becky Sauerbrunn, and Mallory Swanson to injury, there’s such a glut of top players that the list of snubs is a long one. Former USWNT standout Ali Krieger once said that if the U.S. could send a second team, that group would be their biggest threat at the World Cup. Those days may be gone as the rest of the world has improved, but a USWNT B side would be a reasonable pick to go to at least the quarterfinals.

For a wide range of reasons, Andonovski ended up having to deliver some bad news to players who did everything in their power, and who all had a really strong case to be on the plane to New Zealand.

In alphabetical order, these are the five biggest USWNT World Cup snubs.

Jaelin Howell replaces Taylor Kornieck on USWNT roster

It’s a big chance for Howell to boost her stock

Jaelin Howell is back in the fold for the U.S. women’s national team.

Two days after missing out on the initial roster, the Racing Louisville midfielder has been called in by USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski after an ankle injury ruled Taylor Kornieck out for games against England (Friday October 7, 3:00pm ET, Fox) and Spain (Tuesday October 11, 2:30pm ET, ESPN2). Kornieck suffered the ankle injury in the final moments of San Diego Wave’s playoff-clinching 2-2 draw against the Orlando Pride last Sunday.

Howell’s last appearance with the USWNT came back in April against Uzbekistan, and though she was called up for the team’s pre-tournament camp, she did not make the final CONCACAF W Championship roster. Still, Howell has been called up more often than not since finishing her collegiate career, and is clearly still in the mix for Andonovski as the USWNT prepares for next year’s World Cup.

Midfield picture muddled

Howell’s return to the USWNT comes with the midfield arguably in more flux than the rest of the team. Sam Mewis, a presence there for years, has barely been able to play in 2022 due to a persistent knee injury. Stalwart defensive midfielder Julie Ertz hasn’t played a game in 14 months, having become a mother after the Olympics last August, and is currently without a club. Meanwhile, Andonovski has seemed impressed by Portland Thorns rookie Sam Coffey, who has been competing of late with Andi Sullivan for the starting job as the team’s No. 6.

Howell is also a defensive midfielder, but her roving, ball-winning style of play is different from Sullivan and Coffey, who tend to hold space and set a tempo. That opens the door to Howell playing further forward in a role not unlike the one Lindsey Horan plays. Deploying Howell next to an anchor midfielder would free her up to leave space and force turnovers, a situation she thrives in.

The competition in that No. 8 spot is intense. Horan looked more mobile than she has in the last 18 months during the last USWNT window, and Kristie Mewis remains a trusted option as well. Kornieck’s form cooled somewhat after the beginning of the 2022 NWSL season, but it was not surprising to see her name on the initial camp roster.

Adding to the difficulty for Howell, Andonovski has looked at deploying two true attacking midfielders at once, pairing Rose Lavelle with Ashley Sanchez multiple times in 2022. Howell’s club teammate Savannah DeMelo is also very much in the mix as a playmaker after an outstanding rookie season.

Still, for Howell, proving that she can play at the USWNT level as both a defensive midfielder and in more of a box-to-box role would boost her chances of more caps in the near future. With the World Cup less than 10 months away, these are opportunities players have to seize if they’re going to be on the USWNT’s tournament roster.

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Young USWNT readies for Costa Rica challenge at CONCACAF W Championship

Vlatko Andonovski and Andi Sullivan say the USWNT is ready for Costa Rica

The U.S. women’s national team, having won their CONCACAF W Championship group without conceding a goal, is completing their preparations to face Costa Rica on Thursday (7:00pm Eastern, CBS Sports Network and Paramount +) in a match that has major Olympic qualifying implications.

With the W Championship’s structure, winning your semifinal means a shot at an automatic berth in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, while the defeated team will play in Monday’s third-place game needing to win just to maintain hope of qualifying via a playoff over a year from now.

The USWNT has not conceded a goal in the tournament, and has historically bossed matches against Costa Rica, but speaking to media today in a pre-match press conference, head coach Vlatko Andonovski and midfielder Andi Sullivan had nothing but respect for Amelia Valverde’s side.

On the top of their list? A focus on reducing the impact of Portland Thorns midfielder Raquel Rodríguez.

Sullivan said she’s “looking forward to that matchup,” one that will be pretty common throughout given Rodríguez’s status as Costa Rica’s creative hub and Sullivan being the USWNT’s starting defensive midfielder in 2022. “I play against Rocky in the league a lot, and she’s a fantastic player.”

Andonovski also highlighted Rodríguez, but had a long list of players he’s concerned about. Bordeaux winger Melissa Herrera, veteran midfielder Shirley Cruz, and young striker María Paula Salas were all emphasized.

“They do have some weapons that they can hurt teams, and this is something that we’re very well aware of, and we’re very familiar with,” said Andonovski. “Now, it’s up to us to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

While he was willing to discuss the difficulties of playing one of CONCACAF’s top teams, Andonovski was less ready to tip his hand as far as the USWNT’s goalkeeping situation. Alyssa Naeher, the longtime No. 1, only played in the 5-0 win over Jamaica, while Casey Murphy started the USWNT’s first match of the tournament. After saying the coaching staff would discuss the situation going into the Mexico game, Murphy somewhat surprisingly got the nod.

Still, Andonovski indicated that the position is not a settled issue.

“It is a little bit up in the air,” said Andonovski. “As a staff, we’ve talked a lot about it and who’s going to be in the goal in the next game, and also how we want to approach hopefully the following game. But I’m not at liberty to discuss that right now.”

Youth movement

His choice in goal may remain a secret for another day, but Andonovski was up for talking about how this much younger version of the USWNT is handling the responsibility that comes with being on a team where the standard is to win every game.

Coming off of an Olympic tournament that saw the team lean heavily towards one more go for the generation that won the 2019 World Cup only to come home with a bronze medal, there has been a pronounced shift. Murphy is the youngest goalkeeper in camp, while the team’s two best performers in the group stage were arguably 21-year-old forward Sophia Smith and NWSL rookie Naomi Girma.

There’s a generational shift elsewhere, with Sullivan and Mallory Pugh more firmly ensconced in the squad than ever, and Emily Fox (whose status after being placed in Covid-19 protocols remains unclear) the only natural left back on the roster.

“We trust these young players a lot, and we’re very happy with where they’re at in the development stage of their career,” said Andonovski. “It was good for them to also learn some things on their own. I mean, the game against Mexico was tremendous… It was a little bit stressful. It was a little hostile. The team that we faced was a good team, very well-coached. And they were motivated. They were intense, all together. It was a great opportunity.”

The change in tournament phases has come with a roster adjustment, and the USWNT continued their youth movement. Ashley Hatch’s injury against Jamaica required a replacement being added to the team, but rather than bring another striker in, or call up a veteran, Andonovski went with yet another younger player in uncapped defensive midfielder Sam Coffey.

“We did go a little bit unbalanced in this tournament in terms of how many forwards and how many midfielders we had, but we did that with a plan in mind,” said Andonovski. “When Ashley got injured, we felt like it was a good moment to balance the team back again, and bring Sam in,” before adding that he didn’t want to go outside of the group called in for pre-tournament preparation matches in order to preserve the environment and camaraderie built over the last three weeks.

Sullivan said that on a team where the hunger to win every game is heightened no matter the competition, there’s no real adjustment to make going from the group stage’s World Cup qualification aspect over to the knockout rounds and the built-in pressure of Olympic places being up for grabs.

“We take every game so seriously,” explained Sullivan. “I don’t think it’s that much of (an) adjustment to focus now more specifically on winning the tournament and qualifying for the Olympics.”

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USWNT to replace injured Ashley Hatch with Sam Coffey

A muscle strain has ended Hatch’s CONCACAF W Championship early

The U.S. women’s national team is making a change for the knockout rounds of the CONCACAF W Championship, as striker Ashley Hatch has departed camp with an injury. Following Monday’s conclusion of the USWNT’s Group A schedule, she will be replaced on the roster by uncapped Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey.

U.S. Soccer also announced that starting left back Emily Fox is in Covid protocols.

CONCACAF rules allow for teams to replace players due to injury between the group and knockout stages of the W Championship. Coffey will not be eligible to participate against Mexico on Monday, but will be available for the USWNT’s two knockout round games.

Hatch appeared to pick up a knock during the USWNT’s 5-0 win over Jamaica, and was substituted in the 61st minute. U.S. Soccer referred to the injury as a “muscle strain,” and a source with knowledge of the situation tells Pro Soccer Wire that Hatch’s injury is not believed to be serious.

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski has referred to striker Alex Morgan as a starter during press conferences at the W Championship, but Hatch in all likelihood would have played some part in the three remaining games.

With Hatch coming out against Jamaica, Andonovski ended up deploying Trinity Rodman—normally a wide forward—as his No. 9. Other options include starting right forward Sophia Smith, or forward Midge Purce, but both have spent the large majority of their pro careers wide rather than as center forwards.

Coffey, a defensive midfielder, is certainly not a direct replacement for Hatch. However, the USWNT’s squad only includes one natural No. 6 in Andi Sullivan, and Andonovski has looked at Lindsey Horan and Kristie Mewis as options there during this lengthy international window. Coffey was called in ahead of the W Championship as part of the squad for pre-tournament friendlies against Colombia, but did not appear in either game.

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