June 18 (UPI) -- Rose Lavelle was one of 25 players named to the United States Women's National Team roster for three upcoming friendlies, ending a 6 1/2-month injury hiatus, coach Emma Hayes announced Wednesday.
"We want to continue to improve our understanding of how we want to play and widen the player pool, and those are some of the key goals of this three-game window," Hayes said in a news release.
"On this roster, we have players with a varied amount of experience, and my priority is to deepen the exposures required for international soccer. These are three challenging matches and as always, we want to win, but also to make sure we are ready for the next steps."
The Americans will take on Ireland to start the friendly trio at 9 p.m. EDT June 26 in Commerce City, Colo. They will face Ireland again at 3 p.m. June 29 in Cincinnati, and will play Canada at 7:30 p.m. July 2 in Washington, D.C.
Lavelle, 30, scored 24 goals in 110 international appearances. The veteran midfielder, who previously won a World Cup and gold and bronze Olympic medals, was out with an ankle injury. She last appeared in a 2-1 win over the Netherlands on Dec. 3 in The Hague.
