Dunn & Brian Didn’t Expect To Be Teammates On Oct. 20

Crystal Dunn and Morgan Brian expected to be at the same place at the same time on October 20, and that will be the case.

However, they did not expect to be playing together. Their collegiate schedules had them playing against each other in Chapel Hill, NC.

However, Dunn, a defender for the UNC Tar Heels, and Brian, a midfielder for the Virginia Cavaliers, were called up for national team duty when the USA took on Australia at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX.

U.S. coach Tom Sermanni spoke with both UNC coach Anson Dorrance and UVA’s Steve Swanson, who both agreed to release arguably their best players for that game.

“I would not have taken one without both,” said Sermanni, who didn’t want to tip the scales one way or another by taking only one.

Both are having outstanding seasons. Dunn, senior, has scored 11 goals with three assists and leads the Tar Heels in scoring. Brian has nine goals and eight assists in leading the Cavaliers thus far to an undefeated season and #1 national ranking.

Dunn had seven caps with five starts for the USA this year going into the international friendly, and Brian has a pair of appearances. She scored her first international goal recently against Mexico at RFK Stadium.

Dunn and Brian were teammates on the U.S. Under-20 team at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2012. Dunn had assists on the winning goals in the quarterfinal (2-1) and in the 1-0 championship game victory against Germany. Brian scored in the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup semifinal against Nigeria.

Sermanni’s roster decision was driven by the unavailability of a number of U.S. WNT regulars who are with their professional teams in Europe as their club seasons wind down. Additionally, some injuries also impacted player availability.

Both Dunn and Brian, the youngest players on the U.S. roster, will return to their collegiate teams after the Australia game, and will remain there for the rest of their collegiate seasons.

The game on Oct. 20 was the first of four scheduled for the U.S. women this fall. They host New Zealand in a pair of international friendlies on Oct. 27 and Oct. 30 in San Francisco and Columbus, Ohio, respectively. Then they will play Brazil on November 10 in Orlando, FL.

Sermanni called up four goalkeepers, 10 defenders, seven midfielders and four forwards for the next three matches, although not all the players will be available for all three games.

Of the USA’s 25 players, five are over 30 years old: team captain Christie Rampone (38), Abby Wambach (33), Hope Solo (32), Nicole Barnhart (32) and Carli Lloyd (31).

The U.S. roster features 23 professional players. Nineteen of the players competed in the inaugural season of NWSL, but several of those – Ali Krieger, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe – are part of a group of seven players currently playing in Europe.