U.S. women's soccer team coach Jill Ellis made some surprising picks for her first roster since the Americans qualified for next year's World Cup.
The headline names on the 24-player squad that will go to Portugal and Scotland next month are forward Jessica McDonald and midfielder Danielle Colaprico. Neither woman had been called up in quite a while.
McDonald's last call-up was for the 2017 SheBelieves Cup. The MVP of this year's NWSL title game for the treble-winning North Carolina Courage, she had 13 goals and a league-leading eight assists this year. The Courage won a historic treble of trophies this year: the regular-season title, the playoff championship, and the International Champions Cup.