Rose Lavelle to play for USWNT in hometown for first time since surgery

CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Cincinnati’s Rose Lavelle will return to the pitch in her hometown as the U.S. Women’s National Team prepares for a friendly match against the Republic of Ireland.

USWNT head coach Emma Hayes released the roster for a series of friendlies against Ireland and Canada this summer, which listed Lavelle as one of the players.

“Any time I’m back in Cincinnati, it’s so special. I like... I think I can’t speak highly enough of Cincinnati - I love it so much,” Lavelle told FOX19 NOW’s Jeremy Rauch. “Anytime we get to play there it’s so special, but I think for it to be like my first camp back post-surgery I think makes it extra special.”

In early June, Lavelle played her first match with her NWSL team, NJ/NY Gotham FC, in six months after undergoing ankle surgery in December. The midfielder hurt her ankle in the USWNT’s last game of 2024 against the Netherlands.

After her first game back, however, she told ESPN that she is healthy and is feeling good.

Throughout her soccer career, Lavelle has proven to be a valuable player for the U.S. as she has started and played during the team’s biggest matches, including in 2019 when they won the FIFA World Cup, in the Tokyo Olympics when the team won bronze and in the Paris Olympics when they won gold.

During her time on the national team, she has made 110 appearances, scored 24 goals and had 24 assists since she had her first cap in March 2017.

The USWNT will go head-to-head with Ireland June 29 at TQL Stadium at 3 p.m.

This is one of the team’s most inexperienced rosters with many young players who have either never stepped foot on the international stage for the U.S. or have only played a few times thus far.

Lavelle will be the most-experienced player on the roster for the friendlies, followed by Emily Sonnett, Lynn Biyendolo, Naomi Girma and Sam Coffey.

See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.

Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.