Two Latter-day Saints Join U.S. Women’s National Team Roster for October

Latter-day Saint soccer stars Ashley Hatch and Olivia Moultrie have officially been called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team according to the October friendlies roster, released this week.

This is the first call-up for Moultrie, the youngest American player to turn professional. She joined the Portland Thorns FC as a midfielder and went on to become the youngest National Women’s Soccer League player.

In early 2022, Moultrie released a video with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called “Faith and the Goal.” 

This is the second call-up for Ashley Hatch, a forward for the Washington Spirit and former Brigham Young University star player. 

In June, Hatch was snubbed from the Women’s National Team roster for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. After not making the roster, Hatch shared her feelings online. She wrote: 

I’m gutted. I think I’ve felt almost every adjective there is to explain how I feel about not making this world cup roster. Heartbroken, devastated, disappointed, gutted, confused, lost…you get the picture. I am still in the process of navigating all these feelings and emotions and trying to comprehend it all while still performing and playing games for the Spirit. And it is hard.

But the one thing I want to recognize is the overwhelming amount of love and support I have received from family, friends, coaches, teammates and strangers alike. THANK YOU.

This has given me the strength to continue to move forward even when it hurts. I could not be more grateful for the people who have surrounded me with love and understanding, and for the Spirit organization for helping me navigate this stage of my career.

There are alot of things I don’t know and a lot of pain and disappointment I am still working through but the one thing I do know is I love this game, I love playing it, and I can’t wait to continue to take the field this summer with my Spirit teammates and continue to improve as a player and as a person.

So cheers to this crazy thing called life, and all that comes with it, the lessons to be learned in the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

Moultrie and Hatch will join the 27-player training camp roster for the two October home friendly matches against Colombia. The first game will take place on October 26 in Sandy, Utah. The second game will be on October 29 in San Diego, California. 

“Once again, this roster is a mix of the players from the World Cup team who are fit to play international minutes, players trying to establish themselves in the environment and players who are taking a next step in their growth through this experience with the senior National Team,” said interim head coach Twila Kilgore. “All of these players are excited for the future and for these two tough tests against Colombia, which is a team we might see in the Olympics next year.”