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Kerr, O’Hara Face Off In Opening Day Of Tournament of Nations

All ToN matches will be available on ESPN family of networks

O'Hara, Kerr
Kerr, O'Hara will face off in Day 1 of the Tournament of Nations with their respective coutries
Jeffrey Auger Photography, courtesy Sky Blue FC

USA vs. Australia

CenturyLink Field; Seattle, Washington

July 27, 2017

10 p.m. ET

Watch: ESPN

2017 Tournament of Nations - Match Day 1

The 2017 Tournament of Nations kicks off tonight in Seattle, Washington when Brazil faces Japan at 4:15 p.m. ET (ESPN3), followed by the highly anticipated USA vs. Australia match at 10 p.m. ET (ESPN).

The USA is currently 5-2-0 this year and will be playing its sixth game of the year against a top-ranked team in the FIFA Rankings. Sky Blue FC’s Kelley O’Hara has once again been called into camp by U.S. head coach Jill Ellis, and the 23-player roster has been training in Seattle for the past three days to prepare for the tournament.

The U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) is coming off a trip to Scandinavia where the squad earned two 1-0 wins against Sweden in Gothenburg and Norway in Sandefjord. Previously, U.S. Soccer hosted its second annual SheBelieves Cup last March that featured four of the top five teams in the world: USA, Germany, France and England. The USWNT finished in fourth place with a 1-2-0 record.

U.S. Soccer continues to bring some of the world’s top women’s international soccer teams to the United States with the inaugural Tournament of Nations. The competition features four of the top-eight teams, with the USA opening up play against seventh-ranked Australia.

The USWNT has an all-time record of 25-0-2 against Australia dating back to 1987, and has outscored the Matildas 95-22. The most recent meeting between the two nations was at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in the opening contest of the tournament for both teams. Megan Rapinoe put the USA on the board early before Lisa De Vanna equalized in the 27th minute. Christen Press converted the game-winner in the 61st minute off an assist from Sydney Leroux, and Rapinoe put the game away in the 78th minute of action.

Australia brought 21 players to the Tournament of Nations, and leading the Aussies will be Sky Blue FC’s Sam Kerr. Kerr and Rapinoe have been neck-and-neck this season for the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Golden Boot Race, with Kerr currently in second with 11 goals while Rapinoe has 12. Both Kerr and Rapinoe recently faced off on Saturday with their respective clubs, and Rapinoe led the charge for Seattle Reign FC’s 5-4 victory with a hat-trick.

U.S. Women's National Team Tournament of Nations Roster by Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): 18- Jane Campbell (Houston Dash;1/0), 1- Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 15/0); 21- Abby Smith (Boston Breakers; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (7): 7- Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 4/0), 8- Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars: 49/8), 11- Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 98/1); 5- Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC; 96/2), 4- Becky Sauerbrunn(FC Kansas City; 126/0), 7- Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 10/0); 16- Taylor Smith (NC Courage; 0/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 6- Morgan Brian (Houston Dash; 66/6), 10- Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash; 239/97), 20- Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC; 27/5), 3- Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 25/4), 17- Margaret Purce (Boston Breakers; 0/0); 15- Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign; 121/31)

FORWARDS (7): 19- Crystal Dunn (Chelsea FC; 52/22), 9- Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 35/3); 2- Sydney Leroux (FC Kansas City/ 75/35), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride: 125/73); 23-Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), 22- Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit), 12- Lynn Williams (NC Courage)

Australia Women's National Team Roster by Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Lydia Williams (Houston Dash, USA), 18-Mackenzie Arnold (Brisbane Roar FC)

DEFENDERS (6 ): 3-Caitlin Cooper (Illawarra Stingrays), 4-Clare Polkinghorne (Brisbane Roar FC), 5-Laura Alleway (Unattached), 7-Steph Catley (Orlando Pride, USA), 14-Alanna Kennedy (Orlando Pride, USA), 21-Ellie Carpenter (Western Sydney Wanderers FC)

MIDFIELDERS (8): 2-Gema Simon (Avaldsnes, Norway), 6-Chloe Logarzo (Avaldsnes, Norway), 8-Elise Kellond-Knight (FC Turbine Potsdam, Germany), 9-Caitlin Foord (Vegalta Sendai, Japan), 10-Emily van Egmond (VfL Wolfsburg, Germany), 13-Tameka Butt (Klepp I-L, Norway), 19-Katrina Gorry (Vegalta Sendai, Japan), 22-Alex Chidiac (Adelaide City)

FORWARDS (5): 11-Lisa De Vanna (South Melbourne), 15-Emily Gielnik (Avaldsnes, Norway), 16-Hayley Raso (Portland Thorns, USA), 17-Princess Ibini (Football NSW NTC), 20-Sam Kerr (Sky Blue FC, USA)