Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Mallory Pugh headline U.S. camp roster ahead of SheBelieves Cup

U.S. women's soccer team coach Jill Ellis has summoned 25 players to a February training camp ahead of March's high-profile SheBelieves Cup tournament.

Most of the names aren't surprising. Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan are the big headliners, of course, plus other regulars such as Becky Sauerbrunn, Tobin Heath and Crystal Dunn.

The newsworthy part of the roster starts with Mallory Pugh and Meghan Klingenberg, who return to action after suffering injuries in the latter half of last year.

There are four uncapped players: goalkeeper Jane Campbell, midfielders Sarah Killion and Rose Lavelle, and 16-year-old Brianna Pinto. All four have been part of senior national-team camps before.

Lavelle is the most likely to get on the field. She has been in multiple previous national-team camps, and was the No. 1 pick in this year's National Women's Soccer League draft.

The most intriguing prospect is Pinto, a 16-year-old native of Durham, N.C. who was a key player on the U.S. team at last year's under-17 Women's World Cup. She joined the under-23 team for a January training camp, and is now getting a second look with the senior team.

The biggest news of all might be who isn't on the roster: midfielder Megan Rapinoe and forward Kealia Ohai. The U.S. Soccer Federation hasn't yet said anything about why they weren't called up, other than telling Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl that both players are available for selection in general.

Ohai's absence is somewhat understandable, since Pugh is back. One could argue the roster place was down to her or Amy Rodriguez, who returned to the national-team pool in January. But then again, there's no limit on a training-camp roster's size.

What caused Rapinoe's absence, however, is a murkier question. Judging from remarks Ellis gave to ESPN's Julie Foudy after the roster release, it seems Rapinoe isn't quite at full fitness at the moment, and that the ACL tear she suffered in December of 2015 may still be to blame.

"I told Megan she just needs time to work her way back in and to get game fit," Ellis said. "This is a marathon, not a sprint."

Rapinoe returned from the injury just in time to make the Olympic roster, but was off the field entirely in the interim. She didn't take the field for her club team, the National Women's Soccer League's Seattle Reign, until after returning from Brazil. She ended up making five appearances for the Reign before the season ended. She also was on the national team roster for friendlies in September and November, as well as the January training camp.

Ellis' squad will report to Orlando on Feb. 20 to train for a week. Toward the end of camp, two players will be cut to form a SheBelieves Cup roster of 23 players.

The tournament will begin March 1 at Talen Energy Stadium; the U.S. team will arrive in Philadelphia a few days prior. The Americans will play Germany in Chester, England at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., and France at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Click here for the SheBelieves Cup schedule.

Goalkeepers (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders (7): Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Portland Thorns), Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride), Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns)

Midfielders (9): Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns), Sarah Killion (Sky Blue FC), Rose Lavelle (Boston Breakers), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Allie Long (Portland Thorns), Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage), Brianna Pinto (no pro/college team)

Forwards (6): Crystal Dunn (Chelsea/England), Alex Morgan (Olympique Lyonnais/France), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Mallory Pugh (UCLA), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage)

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