The U.S. women’s national soccer team will be represented by two of Colorado’s finest next month, as Mallory Pugh and Lindsey Horan were named to the roster. The pair, along with the rest of the USWNT, will partake in two friendlies against Russia, with the first matchup being April 6 in Frisco, Texas, and the latter being in Houston on April 9.
Pugh, a dominant prep player at Mountain Vista High School in Highlands Ranch, Colo., recently competed with the U.S. team in the 2016 Rio Olympics. At just 18 years of age, Pugh scored against Columbia on August 9, 2016, becoming the youngest United States player to score a goal in the Olympics. She also started their quarterfinals matchup against Sweden on August 12, 2016, and was replaced by Horan in the 114th minute in extra time.
Long before her U.S. National Team career, Horan attended Golden High School in Golden, but didn’t play for the school’s team. Instead, she played for the Colorado Rush club team, and was named the top-ranked college prospect by ESPN in 2012. She decided to skip college soccer and played for French club Paris Saint-Germain FC up until 2015, and then signed with the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League, whom she still plays for currently.
The duo aren’t the only women’s soccer players from Colorado making a name for themselves at the next level. Valor Christian graduates Janine Beckie and Jaelene Hinkle are also both displaying their talents professionally. Beckie, who represented Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics, made headlines after scoring 20 seconds into their matchup against Australia on August 3, 2016, which was the fastest goal in Olympics history for both men and women’s soccer. Beckie currently plays for the Houston Dash, who also compete in the NWSL. Hinkle has also played for the U.S. women’s national soccer team in the past, and currently plays for the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL.