Dash duo auditioning for U.S. women’s team
Campbell and Mewis on track to make roster
Dash stars Jane Campbell and Kristie Mewis are on the right track to make this summer’s United States Women’s Olympic Team, but there is one more important test for them to pass if they want to secure spots on the roster bound for Tokyo.
This week, Campbell and Mewis have the luxury of taking much of that final step in the familiar confines of BBVA Stadium.
The USWNT is in town to play the first two games of its three-game Summer Series. The first is 7:38 p.m. Thursday against Portugal. The second is 9 p.m. Sunday against Jamaica.
The third game, against Nigeria, will be played in Austin’s Q2 Stadium on Wednesday.
The games will serve as coach Vlatko Andonovski’s final opportunity to observe the players before he picks the Olympic team. Wednesday, Andonovski spoke highly of the duo and said they have been playing well during the last two months.
“Both of them are here for a reason, and one of the reasons why is because they have been in very good form with the Dash,” he said. “And this is not just one or two games of form. This is the form they’ve been in for the last 18 months. I thought both of them are doing well for the club, but also when they come into (national team) camp, they were performing well.
“That’s why they’re in this mix and they’re in the group that we’re looking at for the Olympics as well.”
Including the third and fourth games of the Challenge Cup, Campbell has started seven consecutive games. In five league games, she has made 14 saves, including several spectacular ones. In the final minutes of Sunday’s 1-0 win at Kansas City, she made a leaping save to punch a shot over the crossbar to preserve her first clean sheet.
Campbell has been a regular with the national team since making her debut in 2017. She has five caps and has recorded two clean sheets.
Mewis also has received regular call-ups during Andonovski’s coaching tenure. When he invited her to camp in November, it had been seven years since she had been in camp. Mewis has rewarded his decision, too.
She has scored three of her four international goals since November. In 22 overall appearances, she has five assists.
Mewis has been one of the Dash’s most productive players this year. In six appearances, she has three goals and two assists.
Mewis and Campbell have yet to make the roster for a major international tournament, but if they keep up their current form, they might do so this summer.
“(During the Summer Series) I want to see what I want to see from all of them,” Andonovski said. “Just be the best version of themselves and make my tough job tougher than it already is.”