06-06-2019, 10:04 AM
Kelley O'Hara ('10), Christen Press ('11), and Tierna Davidson (class of '20, but will need to come back to finish) are the direct connections, and Santa Clara Bronco Julie Ertz is married to our own Zach Ertz ('14), but I might be missing some other indirect connections.
Andi Sullivan and Jane Campbell missed out on the roster this time around, unfortunately, but it's not hard to imagine them back in the picture with strong NWSL performances this year. Crystal Dunn channeled her disappointment over being left off the 2015 USWNT roster into a NWSL MVP season and she's been a mainstay for the past three years.
FYI, Stanford's 3 players on the USWNT roster are tied with UVA for second behind UNC:
UNC - 5 (Dunn, Harris, Heath, Long, McDonald)
Stanford - 3 (Davidson, O'Hara, Press)
UVA - 3 (Brian, Sauerbrunn, Sonnett)
Penn State - 2 (Krieger, Naeher)
UCLA - 2 (Dahlkemper, Mewis)
Cal - 1 (Morgan)
Oklahoma State - 1 (Franch)
Portland - 1 (Rapinoe)
Rutgers - 1 (Lloyd)
Santa Clara - 1 (Ertz)
Wisconsin - 1 (Lavelle)
Horan and Pugh never played college soccer (I'm not counting Pugh for UCLA because she enrolled early and spent just one quarter there, but never played in a game before deciding to enter the NWSL draft, where she was the no-doubt #1 overall pick). Horan was the trailblazer in that regard, opting to play professionally in France over enrolling at UNC. Hard to say it's been a bad decision, since she's 25 and already on 68 caps in an extremely crowded American midfield. Same for Pugh, who's only 21 and has an insane 53 caps already.
And as a reminder, Davidson had become the first-choice center back alongside Sauerbrunn before she got hurt playing for Stanford last fall (as a junior), and she has since been displaced by Dahlkemper. Of course, there's no guarantee Davidson doesn't get injured professionally if she'd left after her sophomore season, but there's a bit of a Bryce Love situation there, as if she'd gone pro earlier and avoided injury (I know, I know, a very big if), it's extremely likely that she'd still be in the starting lineup for the USWNT right now rather than coming off the bench.
Andi Sullivan and Jane Campbell missed out on the roster this time around, unfortunately, but it's not hard to imagine them back in the picture with strong NWSL performances this year. Crystal Dunn channeled her disappointment over being left off the 2015 USWNT roster into a NWSL MVP season and she's been a mainstay for the past three years.
FYI, Stanford's 3 players on the USWNT roster are tied with UVA for second behind UNC:
UNC - 5 (Dunn, Harris, Heath, Long, McDonald)
Stanford - 3 (Davidson, O'Hara, Press)
UVA - 3 (Brian, Sauerbrunn, Sonnett)
Penn State - 2 (Krieger, Naeher)
UCLA - 2 (Dahlkemper, Mewis)
Cal - 1 (Morgan)
Oklahoma State - 1 (Franch)
Portland - 1 (Rapinoe)
Rutgers - 1 (Lloyd)
Santa Clara - 1 (Ertz)
Wisconsin - 1 (Lavelle)
Horan and Pugh never played college soccer (I'm not counting Pugh for UCLA because she enrolled early and spent just one quarter there, but never played in a game before deciding to enter the NWSL draft, where she was the no-doubt #1 overall pick). Horan was the trailblazer in that regard, opting to play professionally in France over enrolling at UNC. Hard to say it's been a bad decision, since she's 25 and already on 68 caps in an extremely crowded American midfield. Same for Pugh, who's only 21 and has an insane 53 caps already.
And as a reminder, Davidson had become the first-choice center back alongside Sauerbrunn before she got hurt playing for Stanford last fall (as a junior), and she has since been displaced by Dahlkemper. Of course, there's no guarantee Davidson doesn't get injured professionally if she'd left after her sophomore season, but there's a bit of a Bryce Love situation there, as if she'd gone pro earlier and avoided injury (I know, I know, a very big if), it's extremely likely that she'd still be in the starting lineup for the USWNT right now rather than coming off the bench.