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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Royals goalkeeper Mandy Haught said she "never thought that would happen in my wildest dreams" after her first appearance for the U.S. women's national team in October.
Now, just weeks later, Haught has received her second call-up to the team and is joined this time by teammate Ally Sentnor, making her debut at a USWNT camp.
"Couldn't be happier and more excited!" Sentnor said on her Instagram story. "Dream come true."
Haught's first appearance was sudden and unexpected, as she was brought in as an injury replacement and thrust into the rare national team starting goalkeeper position just days later. She responded with a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Argentina for the U.S.
"I did not expect my week to go like that — a pleasant surprise for sure," Haught said. "And truly, it was a dream come true to be able to get into my first camp and finish it with the first cap. It was an incredible experience, and it was such an honor to be part of that team."
The roster that Haught and Sentnor are joining this time around will look a little different, with several mainstays like Trinity Rodman, Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith held out. Fourteen players, more than half the roster, have 20 caps or fewer, with Haught and Sentnor among those.
"This trip will be about testing ourselves against two world-class teams with opportunities to develop our roster," head coach Emma Hayes said of matchups against England and the Netherlands. "We will continue to build relationships on and off the field and I'm really excited to work with this group as we continue to set the stage for 2025."
It's Emma's world of opportunity. And players are making the most of it. pic.twitter.com/G8DDUrcqxn
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) November 18, 2024
Haught and Sentnor are both finalists for NWSL end-of-season awards — Goalkeeper of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively — and stayed in Utah after the end of the season to continue training with this call-up in mind.
Utah head coach Jimmy Coenraets pointed to individual player development with a vision toward national team appearances as one of two primary goals for the Royals heading into 2025, with the other being to make the playoffs.
"Just making sure that we have a very strong environment for every athlete to become better — I think that's the biggest wish that we can have," Coenraets said. "We have a few very young, exciting players. They have to become better, and we are responsible for that."
Sentnor is no stranger to playing for her country at the ripe age of 20. She has over 25 appearances with U.S. youth national teams, including captaining the U.S. at the U-20 Women's World Cup in September.
She scored two goals at the World Cup to help the U.S. to the bronze medal and earn the Bronze Ball for herself, given to the third-best individual during the tournament.
Haught and Sentnor travel to Europe for matches against England on Nov. 30 at Wembley Stadium and the Netherlands on Dec. 3 at ADO Den Haag Stadium. England and the Netherlands are the two most recent champions of the UEFA Women's Euros and reached the finals of the last two FIFA Women's World Cups.
