Houston Dash midfielder Kristie Mewis has been named to the U.S. Women’s National Team's (USWNT) 18-player roster for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday.
Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell has also been named in the USWNT's supplementary roster for the tournament. The supplementary roster consists of four additional players who will travel to Tokyo alongside the 18-player roster. Should an injury occur to anyone in the 18-player roster, then a nation is allowed to activate a player from the supplementary roster.
Mewis will join the USWNT in a tournament setting for the first time in her career. The international call up for the midfielder also means that the Houston Dash will have a USWNT player involved at an elite tournament for the first time in five years. It is not since the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, when both Carli Lloyd and Morgan Gautrat competed with the USWNT, that this has happened.
Back in 2016, Jill Ellis’ USWNT side were a shock elimination at the quarter-final stage. They lost in a penalty shootout to Sweden, led by former USWNT head coach Pia Sundhage, who went on to finish runners-up to Germany in the gold medal match.
Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski's USWNT now head back to the Olympics as clear favorites to win the gold medal. The record-breaking national team won their second successive World Cup title in 2019 in France, and are currently on a 41-match unbeaten streak.
"Very simply for Kristie — she's a product of the NWSL," said Andonovski on Mewis' inclusion. "She played extremely well in the league in the last year and a half or so. She earned herself an opportunity, and then she took full advantage of it every game she came in."
After many years away from the national team, Mewis was recalled by Andonovski in November 2020, earning her first call-up since 2014. Mewis has scored four goals and made five assists in 24 appearances with the senior team. During last week's Texas-based Summer Series, Mewis featured twice.
In the 4-0 victory over Jamaica, at Houston's BBVA Stadium, Mewis started on the bench but was brought on for the entirety of the second half. In the historic 2-0 win over Nigeria, that helped open Austin's brand-new Q2 Stadium, Mewis started in midfield and played the first 61 minutes of the contest.
The USNWT will head to Connecticut to finish their preparation ahead of the Olympics. The Send-Off Series will feature two matches against Mexico, on July 1 and July 5, at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler field in East Hartford.
The Tokyo Olympic matches for the USWNT will then begin on July 21. The USWNT open their tournament on July 21 against Sweden at Toyko Stadium, before then facing New Zealand at Saitama Stadium on July 24. The USWNT will then finish the group stage round versus Australia on July 27 at Kashima Stadium.
Mewis and Campbell's inclusion in the USWNT's traveling party means the duo are set to miss at least six NWSL matches for the Houston Dash.
The #Tokyo2020 #USWNT Olympic Roster is 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞! 🇺🇸⚽️#OneNationOneTeam #RoadToTokyo
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) June 23, 2021
Final USWNT roster for the Tokyo 2021 Olympics:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (6): Abby Dahlkemper (Manchester City, ENG), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars)
FORWARDS (5): Carli Lloyd (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (unattached), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Tobin Heath (unattached)
SUPPLEMENTARY PLAYERS (4): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais, FRA)