Current, former college talent heads to Rio

Current, former college talent heads to Rio
by Travis Clark
August 2, 2016

The chase for Olympic gold begins on August 3 for the 12 women's soccer teams in Brazil.

Players from U.S.-based colleges make up around a quarter of the players slated to step between the lines and compete. Thirteen of those are currently about to begin or already started their respective college careers. Of the 226 players on rosters, 53 have ties to a U.S. college program.

The high-water mark in terms of collegiate involvement is obviously the United States. Seventeen of the players have an affiliation with college soccer teams, even though Mallory Pugh has yet to step on the field at Westwood (and may not until 2017). Lindsey Horan is the lone representative on the 18-player U.S. roster that didn't play collegiately.

Canada comes in second with 14 either currently in college at the moment or played it in the past. Five players will return from the Olympics to play in the 2016 college season, with Kadeisha Buchanan, Rebecca Quinn, Ashley Lawrence, Nichelle Prince and Jessie Fleming set to be involved, the most of any nation.

One of the more interesting players of note is Brazilian goalkeeper Aline Reis. Currently the goalkeeper coach at UCLA, Reis played for UCF before embarking on a coaching career in Westwood. She's expected to be the backup netminder for the hosts over the next few weeks.

In terms of colleges supplying the talent, North Carolina continues to lead the way with six players on rosters; five from the United States and New Zealand's Katie Bowen the sixth representative. Portland's three comes in second, equal with UCLA. West Virginia will have two players on its active roster in Buchanan and Lawrence. That number could be matched if Pugh ends up skipping the U20 World Cup and playing for UCLA.

Below is a look at the list of former and current women's college players set to play in Brazil.

Player Country College
D Rafaelle Souza Brazil Mississippi
M Thaisa Brazil Florida International
GK Aline Reis Brazil UCF
GK Stephanie Labbe Canada Connecticut
D Allysha Chapman Canada LSU
D Kadeisha Buchanan* Canada West Virginia
D Shelina Zadorsky Canada Michigan
D Rebecca Quinn* Canada Duke
D Rhian Wilkinson Canada Tennessee
M Diana Matheson Canada Princeton
M Ashley Lawrence* Canada West Virginia
F Christine Sinclair Canada Portland
M Sophie Schmidt Canada Portland
F Melissa Tancredi Canada Notre Dame
F Nichelle Prince* Canada Ohio State
F Janine Beckie Canada Texas Tech
M Jessie Fleming* Canada UCLA
GK Sabrina D'Angelo Canada South Carolina
GK Catalina Perez* Colombia Miami (FL)
D Natalia Gaitán Colombia Toledo
D Nataly Arias Colombia Maryland
M Isabella Echeverri* Colombia Toledo
M Leicy Santos* Colombia Iowa Central Community College
M Liana Salazar Colombia Kansas
F Ingrid Vidal Colombia Kansas
F Oriánica Velásquez Colombia Indiana
M Tatiana Ariza Colombia Austin Peay
D Ali Riley New Zealand Stanford
M Betsy Hassett New Zealand California
F Rosie White New Zealand UCLA
M Katie Bowen New Zealand North Carolina
F Hannah Wilkinson* New Zealand Tennessee
GK Roxanne Barker South Africa Pepperdine
M Stephanie Malherbe* South Africa Texas A&M
M Robyn Moodaly* South Africa Northwestern Ohio
F Jermaine Seoposenwe* South Africa Samford
GK Hope Solo USA Washington
F Mallory Pugh* USA UCLA
M Allie Long USA North Carolina
D Becky Sauerbrunn USA Virginia
D Kelley O'Hara USA Stanford
D Whitney Engen USA North Carolina
D Meghan Klingenberg USA North Carolina
D Julie Johnston USA Santa Clara
M Carli Lloyd USA Rutgers
D Ali Krieger USA Penn State
F Christen Press USA Stanford
F Alex Morgan USA California
M Morgan Brian USA Virginia
M Megan Rapinoe USA Portland
F Crystal Dunn USA North Carolina
M Tobin Heath USA North Carolina
GK Alyssa Naeher USA Penn State

*-denotes current college player

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