Dream: Achieved! Arin Gilliland Called up to United States Women’s National Team
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former University of Kentucky
women’s soccer player Arin Gilliland has achieved her life-long goal of being
called up to the United States Women’s National Team, it was announced by U.S
Soccer on Thursday. She becomes the first-ever UK player to be called up by the
USWNT.
Gilliland will be participating in a camp that
features 24 players, including seven defenders. Gilliland joins Abby
Dalhkemper, Merritt Mathias, Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, Casey Short and
Emily Sonnett.
“I am above and beyond ecstatic to have the
opportunity to come into such a great environment and be able to train and play
alongside not just some of the best players in the world, but on the best team
in the world,” Gilliland said after receiving the news of her call in. “It’s an
honor every single time you get to represent your country, the badge and the
National Team, so I am looking forward to what this camp has it store and how I
can contribute.”
The US Women’s National Team will play
Switzerland in back-to-back matches, in which Gilliland will be on the roster
in both. The first of those two matches is Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. ET from Rio Tinto
Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah live on ESPN2. The second match of the cycle
will be Oct. 23 at 1:45 p.m. ET from U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis,
Minnesota live on Fox Sports 1.
“Our staff has been watching NWSL games this
season and these are the ones that stood out,” said Jill Ellis, World Cup
winning head coach of the USWNT. “The league is vitally important to create a
tremendous competitive environment for these players to show their talents as
professionals and we are excited to give them a chance with the National Team.”
The Lexington, Kentucky native has been
working all her life to receive this call, and used the Kentucky women’s soccer
program as a springboard to her professional success with the NWSL’s Chicago
Red Stars this season.
“All of us at Kentucky are
obviously overjoyed and extremely proud of Arin,” UK head coach Jon Lipsitz
said, who recruited and coached Gilliland at UK. “Arin has always had the skill
to be a full team player, but what has separated her during her career has been
her drive and passion to become the best version of herself. She was not a U14,
U15, U17 USWNT player. This was not given to her – she went out and earned it
with her play. At UK we had to make the tough decision to move her to the back
line for her development to help her get to this point and it was her
willingness and flexibility along with intense drive that made her stand out.
Ultimately, the goal for all of our players at Kentucky is to excel on the
field, in the classroom and in life – and Arin is accomplishing those three
things. Now that she has made it – she will have to go prove herself again, but
that is what she has done for her entire life, and I can’t wait to watch her do
it.”
In her illustrious four-year career in the
Blue and White, Gilliland played over 7,000 minutes on the field, scored 30
goals, and charted 25 assists for 85 career points. Gilliland set UK records
with 278 shots, with 81 of them coming on goal, and a UK-record eight career
game-winning goals.
She served as a captain on the two most
successful seasons in program history, as the Wildcats went 31-13-2 in her
final two years as a leader of the team, helping lead UK to four-straight NCAA
Tournaments, four-straight hosting bids, two wins over top-10 teams, the
program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance, six wins over teams
in the top 25, and a 17-3-2 (.818) record when playing at home.
No other player in UK women’s soccer history
has ever made more than two all-region teams in their careers before Gilliland
earned that honor each season during her four-year stay in Lexington from 2011-2014.
The Lexington native who was also the 2014 Southeastern Conference Defensive
Player of the Year and a four-time All-SEC honoree, scored seven goals and had
eight assists in 2014 season, for 22 points as an outside back.
Gilliland also left Lexington with a full
trophy case, as she was named All-SEC four times, SEC All-Tournament Team in
2014, the Honda Inspiration Award winner in 2014, seven-time SEC Player of the
Week, two-time team captain, two-time MAC Hermann Award finalist, and much
more.
Gilliland’s Match Schedule
Wednesday, Oct. 19 – United States vs.
Switzerland
Rio Tinto Stadium – Salt Lake City, Utah
9 p.m. ET, ESPN2, WatchESPN app
Sunday, Oct. 23 – United States vs.
Switzerland
U.S. Bank Stadium – Minneapolis, Minnesota
1:45 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports Go
U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Stanford), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride), Alyssa
Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)
DEFENDERS (7): Abby
Dahlkemper (Western New York Flash), Arin Gilliland (Chicago Red Stars),
Merritt Mathias (Seattle Reign), Kelley O’Hara (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn
(FC Kansas City), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars), Emily Sonnett (Portland
Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Morgan Brian
(Houston Dash), Danielle Colaprico (Chicago Red Stars), Tobin Heath (Portland
Thorns FC), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash),
Allie Long (Portland Thorns FC), Samantha Mewis (Western New York Flash), Andi
Sullivan (Stanford)
FORWARDS (6): Crystal Dunn
(Washington Spirit), Shea Groom (FC Kansas City), Ashley Hatch (BYU), Kealia
Ohai (Houston Dash), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Lynn Williams (Western
New York Flash)
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s soccer team, follow @UKWomensSoccer on Twitter,
Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
