The Washington Spirit on Wednesday placed five players on the U.S. women’s national soccer team, which will gather next week in Orlando ahead of the third annual SheBelieves Cup featuring four of the top programs in the world.
The quintet includes just one player from last year’s Spirit roster: attacker Mallory Pugh. The others all joined the club this winter: defender Taylor Smith, midfielders Andi Sullivan and Rose Lavelle, and forward Ashley Hatch. The average age of the five is 21.8.
Smith and Hatch arrived in a trade with North Carolina for Crystal Dunn’s rights, Sullivan was the first overall pick in the NWSL college draft and Lavelle was claimed in the dispersal draft after Boston folded.