Rose Lavelle looking forward to year-round chemistry with Washington Spirit, USWNT teammates

Washington Spirit  |   March 4, 2018
Rose Lavelle looking forward to year-round chemistry with Washington Spirit, USWNT teammates Featured Image

Boyds, MD (March 4, 2018) – U.S. international midfielder Rose Lavelle arrived at preseason training camp this week ahead of her sophomore NWSL campaign, and her first as a member of the Washington Spirit. The 22-year-old is one of four U.S. Women’s National Team players who joined U.S. forward Mallory Pugh and the Spirit during the offseason, setting up an opportunity for five young internationals to represent both club and country together.

Lavelle, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NWSL College Draft, scored two goals in 10 games as a rookie last season with the Boston Breakers. She will get the opportunity to play alongside a quartet of USA teammates with the Spirit: Pugh, who led Washington with six goals in 2017; forward Ashley Hatch, the 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year; defender Taylor Smith, who has earned increasing playing time on the USA back line; and midfielder Andi Sullivan, the top overall pick in the 2018 NWSL College Draft.

[NEWS | Taylor Smith, Mallory Pugh play 90′ as USWNT stifles Germany 1-0 in SheBelieves Cup]

“Being on the field all the time, getting more and more familiar with each other’s tendencies and how each other likes to play, I think that’s going to be huge for our development,” Lavelle said. “Hopefully we can help on both levels.”

Off the field, Lavelle said she is looking forward to spending more time with two of her closest friends, Pugh and Sullivan, with whom she has risen through the ranks of the U.S. youth national team program, all the way up to the senior squad.

“I was really excited,” she said, of the moment when she first found out she would be joining the Spirit. “Sunny [Sullivan] and Mal [Pugh] are some of my good friends on the national team, so I think it will be really fun to be able to be with them all the time.”

[FEATURE | Veteran Washington Spirit players excited to play alongside newcomers in 2018]

The Spirit launched single game ticket sales for the 2018 NWSL regular season on Friday. Tickets are are available now at Tickets.WashingtonSpirit.com or by calling the club’s ticket office at 301-591-0927.

On February 21, the club opened ticket sales for the March 31 regular season home opener against the Orlando Pride, and have already surpassed the 2,000 tickets out mark with several reserved seating sections sold out or down to single seats. Tickets for the Spirit-Pride match-up at the SoccerPlex sold out in 2017 with 5,200 fans in attendance, and this season’s game is expected to sell-out once again. [TICKETS]

Washington has announced two exhibition games which will be open to the public during the 2018 NWSL preseason. The Spirit will return to Evergreen Sportsplex in Leesburg, Va. for the second straight year on Saturday’s March 10 for a friendly against 22-time women’s college champion University of North Carolina. [TICKETS]

On March 17, the Spirit will host the first ever NWSL match played in Richmond, Va. when they face the North Carolina Courage at the historic City Stadium. More than 2,000 tickets have already been sold for the game. Tickets are available at RichmondKickers.com. [TICKETS]

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