Trinity Rodman — the National Women’s Soccer League’s Rookie of the Year in 2021 — is among the 25 players called into the first camp of the year for the U.S. women’s national team, which announced its roster Wednesday.
This is the first time that Rodman, 19, has accepted a call-up from the team. She was invited by coach Vlatko Andonovski for friendlies in November, but opted out.
In addition to Rodman, Aubrey Kingsbury and Naomi Girma also will join the national squad at its camp in Austin, Texas, from Jan. 19-28. None of the three have earned a cap.
The team doesn’t have any games scheduled for January but will compete in the SheBelieves Cup next month. The friendly four-team tournament will run from Feb. 17-23 and feature games in Frisco, Texas, and Carson, Calif. The Czech Republic, Iceland and New Zealand will join the U.S. in the field.
The daughter of basketball Hall of Fame member Dennis Rodman, Trinity had a standout professional rookie season in the NWSL while playing with the Washington Spirit. A forward, she started 19 of the 22 matches she appeared in, tallying six goals and five assists. Rodman assisted Kelley O’Hara’s game-winning goal in the NWSL Championship, helping the club capture its first trophy in November.
“She was one of the most exciting players in the league this past season,” Andonovski told reporters. “She’s still a young player, but we do want to expose her to the environment where she can get her feet wet a little bit … get used to my coaching and the players that she’s around, and hopefully she can continue growing and show that what she was able to do in the league, she can do that at the international level.”
Rodman is still age-eligible for the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which will be played in Costa Rica in August. At the U20 level, Rodman has nine goals in seven appearances.
The USWNT roster contains a mixture of youngsters and veterans. The full roster, listing the players and their current teams:
Goalkeepers: Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars).
Defenders: Alana Cook (OL Reign), Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave), Tierna Davidson (Chicago), Imani Dorsey (Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville), Naomi Girma (San Diego), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Kelley O’Hara (Washington), Emily Sonnett (Washington).
Midfielders: Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns), Jaelin Howell (Louisville), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (Gotham FC), Samantha Mewis (Kansas City Current), Ashley Sanchez (Washington), Andi Sullivan (Washington).
Forwards: Ashley Hatch (Washington), Mallory Pugh (Chicago), Margaret Purce (Gotham FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington), Sophia Smith (Portland), Lynn Williams (Kansas City).
–Field Level Media