Current, former college talent heads to Rio

by Travis Clark

August 2, 2016

The chase for Olympic gold begins on August 3 for the 12 women's soccer teams in Brazil.

Players from U.S.-based colleges make up around a quarter of the players slated to step between the lines and compete. Thirteen of those are currently about to begin or already started their respective college careers. Of the 226 players on rosters, 53 have ties to a U.S. college program.

The high-water mark in terms of collegiate involvement is obviously the United States. Seventeen of the players have an affiliation with college soccer teams, even though Mallory Pugh has yet to step on the field at Westwood (and may not until 2017). Lindsey Horan is the lone representative on the 18-player U.S. roster that didn't play collegiately.

Canada comes in second with 14 either currently in college at the moment or played it in the past. Five players will return from the Olympics to play in the 2016 college season, with Kadeisha Buchanan, Rebecca Quinn, Ashley Lawrence, Nichelle Prince and Jessie Fleming set to be involved, the most of any nation.

One of the more interesting players of note is Brazilian goalkeeper Aline Reis. Currently the goalkeeper coach at UCLA, Reis played for UCF before embarking on a coaching career in Westwood. She's expected to be the backup netminder for the hosts over the next few weeks.

In terms of colleges supplying the talent, North Carolina continues to lead the way with six players on rosters; five from the United States and New Zealand's Katie Bowen the sixth representative. Portland's three comes in second, equal with UCLA. West Virginia will have two players on its active roster in Buchanan and Lawrence. That number could be matched if Pugh ends up skipping the U20 World Cup and playing for UCLA.

Below is a look at the list of former and current women's college players set to play in Brazil.

Player	Country	College
D Rafaelle Souza	Brazil	Mississippi
M Thaisa	Brazil	Florida International
GK Aline Reis	Brazil	UCF
GK Stephanie Labbe	Canada	Connecticut
D Allysha Chapman	Canada	LSU
D Kadeisha Buchanan*	Canada	West Virginia
D Shelina Zadorsky	Canada	Michigan
D Rebecca Quinn*	Canada	Duke
D Rhian Wilkinson	Canada	Tennessee
M Diana Matheson	Canada	Princeton
M Ashley Lawrence*	Canada	West Virginia
F Christine Sinclair	Canada	Portland
M Sophie Schmidt	Canada	Portland
F Melissa Tancredi	Canada	Notre Dame
F Nichelle Prince*	Canada	Ohio State
F Janine Beckie	Canada	Texas Tech
M Jessie Fleming*	Canada	UCLA
GK Sabrina D'Angelo	Canada	South Carolina
GK Catalina Perez*	Colombia	Miami (FL)
D Natalia Gaitán	Colombia	Toledo
D Nataly Arias	Colombia	Maryland
M Isabella Echeverri*	Colombia	Toledo
M Leicy Santos*	Colombia	Iowa Central Community College
M Liana Salazar	Colombia	Kansas
F Ingrid Vidal	Colombia	Kansas
F Oriánica Velásquez	Colombia	Indiana
M Tatiana Ariza	Colombia	Austin Peay
D Ali Riley	New Zealand	Stanford
M Betsy Hassett	New Zealand	California
F Rosie White	New Zealand	UCLA
M Katie Bowen	New Zealand	North Carolina
F Hannah Wilkinson*	New Zealand	Tennessee
GK Roxanne Barker	South Africa	Pepperdine
M Stephanie Malherbe*	South Africa	Texas A&M
M Robyn Moodaly*	South Africa	Northwestern Ohio
F Jermaine Seoposenwe*	South Africa	Samford
GK Hope Solo	USA	Washington
F Mallory Pugh*	USA	UCLA
M Allie Long	USA	North Carolina
D Becky Sauerbrunn	USA	Virginia
D Kelley O'Hara	USA	Stanford
D Whitney Engen	USA	North Carolina
D Meghan Klingenberg	USA	North Carolina
D Julie Johnston	USA	Santa Clara
M Carli Lloyd	USA	Rutgers
D Ali Krieger	USA	Penn State
F Christen Press	USA	Stanford
F Alex Morgan	USA	California
M Morgan Brian	USA	Virginia
M Megan Rapinoe	USA	Portland
F Crystal Dunn	USA	North Carolina
M Tobin Heath	USA	North Carolina
GK Alyssa Naeher	USA	Penn State