Three FCKC players land on U.S. women’s national soccer team roster for CONCACAF championships

The U.S. women’s national soccer team will soon begin play in the CONCACAF championships, and three FC Kansas City players will be a part of the American effort.

Defender Becky Sauerbrunn, midfielder Lauren Holiday and forward Amy Rodriguez were named to the 20-player roster on Monday and will face Trinidad and Tobago at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 15 at Sporting Park. The CONCACAF championships serve as qualifying — for North and Central American and Caribbean national teams — for the World Cup next year in Canada.

All three players have extensive national team experience including appearances in the 2012 Olympics. Rodriguez scored five goals in six games in her previous Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament in 2010, including a game-winning goal against Italy in the second leg.

Historically, the women’s national team has been dominant in Women’s World Cup qualifiers boasting a 22-1-0 record from 1991 to 2010. This season, the team is 10-2-3 and is coming off two exhibition victories against Mexico.

After competing in Kansas City, the national team will face Guatemala on Oct. 17 in Bridgeview, Ill., and play against Haiti on Oct. 20 in Washington, D.C.

The other players on the U.S. roster are: Christine Rampone, Abby Wambach, Ashlyn Harris, Crystal Dunn, Whitney Engen, Meghan Klingenberg, Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara, Morgan Brian, Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Megan Rapinoe, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, and Christen Press.

This story was originally published October 6, 2014 at 1:17 PM with the headline "Three FCKC players land on U.S. women’s national soccer team roster for CONCACAF championships."