COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Former Texas A&M soccer standout Merritt Mathias was one of 23 players named to the United States Women’s National Team as they embark on the 2018 Tournament of Nations.
The USA opens the four-team tournament against Japan on July 26 at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas (5 p.m. on FS1). The USA faces Australia on July 29 in East Hartford, Conn. (6 p.m. on FS1) and finishes against Brazil on Aug. 2 in Bridgeview, Ill. (6:30 p.m. on FS1).
Mathias received her first international cap June 12 in a friendly against China in Cleveland, entering the contest in the 77th minute for the United States.
The 2018 Tournament of Nations is serving as an audition for roster spots for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup slated for France. All four nations have all qualified for the Women’s World Cup.
Mathias is in her sixth season playing in the National Women’s Soccer League, the highest level of professional soccer in the United States, if not the world. She ranks fourth in league history in appearances with 117. In her first season with the North Carolina Courage, Mathias has played in 17 games, racking up 1,511 minutes on the back line. She has three goals and one assist for the first-place Courage.
After transferring from North Carolina, Mathias spent her final two seasons with the Aggies, helping them to a pair of Big 12 Championships and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. She garnered two All-Big 12 First Team selections and spots on the 2010 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team and the 2011 All-Big 12 Tournament Team. As a senior, she netted eight goals, three of them game winners and registered 11 assists. In her junior season, she scored nine goals, including four game-winners, and added five assists.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics