Ashley Hatch has been called up to the U.S. women’s national Soccer team’s January training camp roster.
Hatch didn’t suit up for the team at all last year and last played for the national team on Dec. 5, 2023, against China. Over the course of her career, Hatch, a former BYU Cougar, has played in 22 games for the national team, scoring five goals.
The upcoming training camp will be Hatch’s first time being coached by national team head coach Emma Hayes. Hayes’ hire was announced in November 2023, but she continued in her role as the head coach of Chelsea until May.
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Twila Kilgore served as interim head coach leading up to Hayes’ hire and until Hayes officially took over.
The January camp is different than usual national team training camps in that it won’t involve an international match. This camp will allow Hayes to get a closer look at the prospects that make up the U.S.’s ever-growing player pool.
The roster includes players who have yet to represent the senior national team and players who have played for the national team before like Hatch but who are new to Hayes.
The 26-player roster also includes Utah Royals goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn and midfielder Ally Sentnor, who both made their national team debuts last fall.
The upcoming camp will be held Jan. 14 to 21 in Carson, California, alongside the team’s Futures Camp.
The Futures Camp will feature prospects in the under-23 age group. Its roster will be announced Wednesday.
What Emma Hayes said about Ashley Hatch
Hayes met with the media Tuesday following the roster announcement. The Deseret News asked Hayes about the decision to call Hatch in now.
“We’ve been watching these players week in, week out. There’s an opportunity for Ashley to come into camp and on the back of a club that performed really well,” Hayes said.
Hatch is coming off an NWSL season in which she and her club team, the Washington Spirit, made it to the championship. The Spirit ultimately lost to the Orlando Pride after conceding the lone goal of the match.
But the road to the championship wasn’t easy for Hatch, which Hayes noted.
The former No. 2 overall pick and NWSL Rookie of the Year was relegated to the bench in June, where she spent five games as a substitute. She earned back her starting role in September and started what would become a late-season scoring surge just two games into her return.
Hatch went on to score five goals in the last seven games of the season, finishing with seven goals — the second-most on the team.
“I think she’s had to work herself into situations, especially on the back end of the season. I think she showed great character, and I just want to see where she’s at in our environment and considering the absence of Soph (Smith) and Mal (Swanson) and Trin (Rodman), this is an opportunity for Ashley and one that I’m sure she’s looking forward to,” Hayes said.
Smith, Swanson and Rodman will not be at the camp. They’re resting and recovering from injuries, according to U.S. Soccer’s press release.
Ashley Hatch’s future with the USWNT
Throughout Tuesday’s press conference, Hayes emphasized that many players may be deserving of national team opportunities but there are only so many players she can call up to camp.
“The door is never closed for any player. As I’ve mentioned time and time again, you can only play 11 on a pitch at any one time, and I think it’s extremely competitive to get into the forward areas of this team — extremely competitive,” Hayes said. “However, things happen in football — both form, injury — and none of those things are permanent.”
Hayes said players have to be ready to make an impact when their moment comes, pointing out Lynn Williams and Emily Sonnett as examples from the previous year.
“Even if players may not be in the situation on the national team right now maybe where they want to be, it doesn’t mean it’s always going to be like that. You have to be ready. That’s the reality,” she said.
Hayes said players in that situation should never give up on themselves and should always be ready because “things change just like that.”
The U.S. women’s national team’s next match is on Feb. 20 against Colombia in the SheBelieves Cup.
