Six months after coaching one of the deepest teams in U.S. history to a Women's World Cup title, Jill Ellis is beginning to run out of warm bodies, with Sydney Leroux announcing she is pregnant and will miss the entire year.
"Surprise! My plans have changed for this summer," Leroux, who is married to Major League Soccer player Dom Dwyer, tweeted Monday. She is expected to deliver in September.
The U.S., which begins play in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament in two weeks, is without eight players from its 23-woman World Cup squad — four who retired, two who are injured and two who are pregnant.