Racing Louisville FC midfielder Savannah DeMelo earned her first U.S. women’s national soccer team call-up, replacing forward Trinity Rodman on the 23-player roster for the team’s September friendlies against Nigeria.

The move was announced Monday, with U.S. Soccer stating that Rodman will miss the camp due to a family commitment.

DeMelo was selected fourth overall by Racing Louisville in the 2022 NWSL draft and has had an impressive rookie campaign with the club. The 24-year-old has three goals and one assist in 17 regular season starts.

The midfielder represented the U.S. at the 2016 and 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, leading the team with four goals at the 2018 tournament.

The USWNT will face off against the Super Falcons on Sept. 3 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas, starting at 1 p.m. ET on Fox.  The teams’ second friendly will take place on Sept. 6 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and will air at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

 

Eight NWSL players will travel to Sweden in the upcoming international break after they were named to the USWNT U-23 team.

It’ll be the first international matches for the 21-player squad since 2019.

While in Sweden, the USWNT U-23 team will face off against India — the first match between a USWNT team and the country — as well as Sweden.

The tournament is allowing up to five overage players, with Ava Cook, Savannah DeMelo and Shelby Hogan all being named to the squad having been born in 1998. Other NWSL players include Anna Heilferty, Kerry Abello, Mikayla Cluff, Taryn Torres and Brianna Pinto.

A total of 12 collegiate players grace the roster, while 17-year-old Alyssa Thompson is the lone youth club player and the only player from the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup roster on the squad.

The team will be coached by Jené Baclawski, who is currently U.S. Soccer’s Coach Educator and a member of the SheBelieves Cup MVP selection committee.

The full roster:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Shelby Hogan (Portland Thorns FC; Franklin, Mass.), Ruthie Jones (Duke; Charlotte, N.C.)

DEFENDERS (5): Kerry Abello (Orlando Pride; Batavia, Ill.), Megan Bornkamp (Clemson; Mooresville, N.C.), Emily Madril (Florida State; Boise, Idaho), Brianna Martinez (Notre Dame; Albuquerque, N.M.), Kate Wiesner (Penn State; Monrovia, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Hannah Bebar (Harvard; Naperville, Ill.), Croix Bethune (USC; Alpharetta, Ga.), Mikayla Cluff (Orlando Pride; Kaysville, Utah), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville FC; Long Beach, Calif.), Sierra Enge (Stanford; Cardiff, Calif.), Jenna Nighswonger (Florida State; Huntington Beach, Calif.), Brianna Pinto (North Carolina Courage; Durham, N.C.), Taryn Torres (NJ/NY Gotham FC; Frisco, Texas)

FORWARDS (6): Messiah Bright (TCU; Dallas, Texas), Ava Cook (Chicago Red Stars; Battle Creek, Mich.), Anna Heilferty (Washington Spirit; Falls Church, Va.), Samantha Meza (UNC; Dallas, Texas), Alexa Spaanstra (Virginia; Brighton, Mich.), Alyssa Thompson (Total Futbol Academy; Studio City, Calif.)

San Diego Wave FC experienced its first stumble of the regular season Wednesday, falling to Racing Louisville FC 1-0.

The team was without coach Casey Stoney, who was left behind in San Diego after testing positive for COVID-19. But the defense remained sound, with only a free kick by Louisville making it past the team’s back line and through the goaltender.

“It was a frustrating evening for us,” said Wave assistant coach Rich Gunney, who took over for Stoney in the interim. “Obviously, we’re disappointed with the result. It’s tough on the road, especially with a short turnaround.”

Savannah DeMelo was the owner of said free kick in the 27th minute. She sent one high into the net from roughly 30 yards out to put the Wave behind for the first time in the new franchise’s regular-season history. The goal made SportsCenter’s top 10 plays for the day, coming in at No. 10.

It’s just the second goal scored on San Diego through four matches this season. It’s also the first win of the season for Racing Louisville. The team has been dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak, which limited practice time and led to some reshuffling in the lineup.

“It shows that we have a lot of depth on this team,” DeMelo said postgame. “No matter if you never play or if you play all 90 minutes, once you step on the field, I think everyone is equal. I think it showed these past two games.

“I’m just really excited that we got our first win under all those circumstances, and now we know what we have and just carry it forward to this weekend.”

Both sides generated nine shots over the course of the match, with Racing goalkeeper Katie Lund making four saves on the evening.