It's official: Rose Lavelle will play an international soccer match here in her hometown of Cincinnati this month.
The U.S. Women's National Team (USWNT) recently announced its roster for the Sept. 21 FIFA match against Paraguay, and midfielder Lavelle naturally is included. The match will be held at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati's West End as part of the team's 2021 domestic schedule. It takes place within the FIFA international match window, a U.S. Soccer release says.
USWNT's Sept. 9 release says the Paraguay match will be Lavelle's second team match in Cincinnati, with her first being at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati campus. This month's game will be Lavelle's first at TQL Stadium.
According to an earlier release, the match in Cincinnati will be just the second that the USWNT team has played since returning from the Tokyo Olympics in August. The team first will play Paraguay at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland on Sept. 16.
Lavelle joins USWNT stars Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd on the roster against Paraguay.
Alyssa Naeher, Julie Ertz, Samantha Mewis and Megan Rapinoe will not play in Cincinnati due to injuries, a release says. Andi Sullivan, Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh will join the roster instead.
Tickets for the match at TQL Stadium are on sale now at ussoccer.com. The game will be played at nearly full capacity and will follow any local COVID-19 guidelines from health officials.
The USWNT won a bronze medal in this summer's 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo (though the Tokyo Olympics happened in 2021, they still were considered to be the 2020 Olympic Games due to the coronavirus pandemic delay). Having been favored for gold, the players suffered an unexpected shutout from Sweden at the start. But in the following game, Lavelle scored Team USA's first goal, kicking off an absolute annihilation of New Zealand. The USWNT reported that the team's six goals that day made for their highest margin of victory at the Olympics ever.
Lavelle, who graduated from Mount Notre Dame High School in 2013, was named the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Player of the Year during her senior year. After a career at the University of Wisconsin, Lavelle became the No. 1 draft pick in the 2017 National Women’s Soccer League, playing for the Boston Breakers. Lavelle was named MVP during the 2021 SheBelieves Cup’s winning match earlier this year.
She also was vital to the USWNT’s exuberant World Cup victory in 2019. Lavelle started all six games and scored three goals, including one in the finals against the Netherlands.
At just a few months old, TQL Stadium already is earning its international soccer stripes. On Nov. 12, the U.S. Men's National Team will play Mexico in a 2022 World Cup qualifying match at TQL Stadium.
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