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Pickett gets her call: US National team

By Randy Lefko Sports Editor Excerpts from NCCourage.com
Posted 6/15/22

CARY, NC — In an article written in Clay Today in January 2022, former St. Johns Country Day School soccer star Carson Pickett, now a professional player for the North Carolina Courage with a …

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Pickett gets her call: US National team


Posted

CARY, NC — In an article written in Clay Today in January 2022, former St. Johns Country Day School soccer star Carson Pickett, now a professional player for the North Carolina Courage with a bucket load of soccer championship days; a Gatorade Girls Soccer best of Florida player at St. Johns Country Day School and an NCAA title at FSU, spoke of one more goal, a phone call to the United State Womens National Team.

“I hope, I’m definitely still within the window to play in the Olympics,” said Pickett, now 28, and a defender for the North Carolina Courage of the National Womens Soccer League. “You can get called in at any moment.”

On Monday, Pickett got THAT phone call of a lifetime as the All Conference defender was called up to play with the United States Womens National Team along with Courage teammate and goalkeeper Casey Murphy.

Murphy was named to the US Women’s National Team’s 23-player roster that will represent the USA in Monterrey, Mexico, at the 2022 Concacaf W Championship.

Pickett has been named to the 26-player BioSteel Training Camp roster ahead of the tournament. The USWNT will play two matches against Colombia prior to the team’s departure for Mexico. The first match, presented by Allstate, will take place on Saturday, June 25 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado (7:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. MT on FS1 and ViX) and the second at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah on Tuesday, June 28 (10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT on ESPN and ViX).

This is the first full National Team call-up for defender Carson Pickett, although she has represented the USA at both the U17 and U23 levels. Pickett is the first player with a limb difference ever called in to the U.S. Women’s National Team

“I know how very hard she has worked at every level she has played all the way back to sixth grade with coach Gary Valero at Clay County soccer,” said St. Johns Country Day School coach Mike Pickett, also Carson’s very proud dad. “I’m very proud of her and if a soccer kid takes anything from this, it is that hard work is what it takes. The St. Johns program will not change because of this; coaches move on, teammates move on, but hard work and that personality will get you there.”

This marks the sixth National Team call-up for Murphy, who most recently represented the USA at the 2022 SheBelieves Cup. Thus far in 2022, Murphy has recorded clean sheets in both matches played for the USA. She has three senior team clean sheets in total. Murphy returns to the roster after being unavailable for selection for the April matches due to a knee injury.

“We get to drive to North Carolina and see Carson play in her 100th professional game on Sunday, then she is off to Colorado to train,” said Pickett. “Whatever happens from there; she makes the team or not, we are extremely proud that she worked hard enough to get the opportunity.”

Following the two matches against Colombia, the U.S. team will depart directly to Mexico to prepare for the Concacaf W Championship, which will run from July 4-18 and will be played entirely in Monterrey. The tournament’s 16 matches will be split across two stadiums: Estadio Universitario and Estadio BBVA, the latter of which is one of Mexico’s likely venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.