Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are: Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch)Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sa
Did you miss the previous Fun Facts? No worries! Here they are:
- Keepers edition (Naeher, Harris & Franch)
- Defenders edition, Part 1 (O’Hara, Sauerbrunn & Krieger)
- Defenders edition, Part 2 (Dunn, Sonnett, Davidson & Dahlkemper)
- Midfielders edition, Part 2 (Brian, Mewis & Long)
- Forwards edition, Part 1 (Rapinoe, Pugh, & Press)
- Forwards edition, Part 2 (Heath, Lloyd, McDonald)
- Alex Morgan edition
Julie Ertz, Lindsay Horan, & Rose Lavelle
Six midfielders have been names to the USA’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup roster. Two of them are World Cup veterans. The other four are playing in their first Women’s World Cup. Let’s meet the projected starters.
Julie Ertz
The better half of one of sports’ greatest “power couples,” Ertz (known as “Jules” or “JJ” by her teammates) married Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017. Zach played football for Stanford while Julie was playing soccer at Santa Clara. The two met at a college baseball game, and the rest is sports history. She is 27 years old and plays her club soccer for the Chicago Red Stars.
Follow Julie: Twitter, Instagram
- She was named U.S. Female soccer player of the year in 2017 (big year for her!)
- When she was 13, she wanted to play high-level club soccer, but it was very expensive. Her parents sat her down and had a serious talk to make sure that’s really what she wanted. She convinced them and began playing for Sereno Soccer Club in Phoenix, Arizona. She stayed with Sereno until she left for college.
- Ertz didn’t play high school soccer so she could concentrate on club soccer with Sereno. But she did play powderpuff football, very competitively. Her high school principal said, “I remember one year she didn’t get to play the final minutes of a powder puff game and boy was she mad.”
- She played center-back at the 2015 Women’s World Cup, helping the USA win their third star.
- Zack proposed at the same college baseball field where they met.
Lindsay Horan
Lindsay is 24 years old and plays her club soccer for the Portland Thorns. Before playing for Portland, she was a forward for Paris Saint-Germain FC, scoring 46 goals in 58 appearances.
Follow Lindsay: Twitter, Instagram
- She was named the NWSL MVP in 2018, and she scored the NWSL Championship-winning goal for the Thorns in 2017.
- A native of Colorado, she played her club soccer for Colorado Rush and did not play high school soccer.
- When she was 15, Horan was one of the youngest players on the US U17 team. At an international tournament in Costa Rica, she scored twelve goals in nine games for the USA (dang!).
- She gave up a scholarship to play at NCAA powerhouse University of North Carolina, opting to play professionally in France for PSG.
- She loves Chipotle (who doesn’t, honestly?)
Rose Lavelle
She’s a proud Cincinnati native and played her youth soccer for Cincinnati United Premier Soccer Club. Lavelle is 24 years old and plays her club soccer for Washington Spirit.
Follow Rose: Twitter, Instagram
- You need to follow her on Twitter. Srsly.
- She went to Mount Notre Dame High School in Ohio, a private, all-girls Catholic high school.
- Lavelle played varsity high school soccer all four years and was named the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Sports Women of the Year award in 2013 (her senior year of high school).
- She played college soccer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Go Badgers!).
- She LOVES her bulldog, Wilma.
Pick up your Women’s gear (like that sweet World Cup jersey — LOVE mine!) at Soccerloco. Check out their new WOMEN’S SECTION at Soccerloco.com.
