Rose LaVelle traps the ball against the Chicago Red Stars this past Saturday. /ISI Photos
SANTA MONICA — Nothing quite says comeback like a call up. Washington Spirit midfielder Rose LaVelle, who has earned seven caps and recorded two goals for the U.S. Women’s National Team, received her call up to the USWNT’s training camp as the team prepares for two upcoming friendly matches against China PR.
All it took was one moment to change LaVelle’s rookie career. The game-changing midfielder saw an early end to her rookie career in June 2017. She went down after 80 minutes of play against Norway in her second game for the USWNT. With no need to push or rush with the US up by one, fans watched LaVelle pull up unexpectedly. There was no contact. There was no fake out move that took her down. Just stopped with a grimace on her face. The rookie suffered from a strained left hamstring and was out for the rest of the season.
However, nearly a year later later, she is ready to get back to playing full-time. Since her recovery, LaVelle has made several appearances on the field, playing in the last three matches with the Washington Spirit. She has not played a full game yet but has made strides toward overcoming the injury completely, and after her 30 minute performance on Saturday against Chicago, Jill Ellis believes she’s ready to rejoin the USWNT at training camp.
“There’s been a measured process in place to bring Rose back to fitness, and based on her performance in training with her club and her status after her most recent Spirit match, it gives us an opportunity to integrate her back into the team,” stated U.S. head coach Jill Ellis in the press release. “This has been a unique situation with Rose, and I want to thank (Washington Spirit head coach) Jim (Gabarra) for being collaborative and communicative in her return to play plan. We’re excited to welcome Rose back into camp.”
LaVelle is the 25th player to join the camp’s roster:
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (4): Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Casey Murphy (Montpellier, FRA), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Abby Smith (Utah Royals FC)
DEFENDERS (6): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage), Tierna Davidson (Stanford), Sofia Huerta (Chicago Red Stars), Merritt Mathias (NC Courage), Margaret Purce (Portland Thorns FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals)
MIDFIELDERS(8): Morgan Brian (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage), Allie Long (Seattle Reign FC), McCall Zerboni (NC Courage)
FORWARDS (7): Crystal Dunn (NC Courage), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Savannah McCaskill (Sky Blue FC), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC, SWE), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC), Amy Rodriguez (Utah Royals FC)
