U.S. women's national team to honor Florida school shooting victim at upcoming match
The U.S. women’s national team will hold a moment of silence before its upcoming SheBelieves Cup match in Orlando to honor one of the victims of the tragic shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Alyssa Alhadeff, a midfielder on the school’s soccer team, was one of 17 people killed by a gunman on Feb. 14. The captains of the Stoneman Douglas team wrote a note to the U.S. women’s national team hoping U.S. Soccer would honor Alyssa at the game against England on March 7.
U.S. Soccer announced Sunday that it would do so with a moment of silence, and by hosting Alyssa’s family at the game:
Thank you so much to everyone who helped @jamiemorris03's tweet spread and make its way to us. We got in touch with Alyssa’s family last week and are honored to say they will be at our match in Orlando on March 7, where we will hold a moment of silence to honor her life. pic.twitter.com/2OwbB40fMI
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) February 25, 2018
Furthermore, star striker Alex Morgan reached out directly to Jamie Morris, the Stoneman Douglas soccer co-captain who had originally tweeted the request. Morgan said she’d have tickets waiting for the players if they could make it to Orlando, which is about a three-hour drive from Parkland:
I think it’s important you are there as well. You are also her family, and the soccer community helps each other. Plan on coming and I will make sure you all have tickets!
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) February 25, 2018
U.S. Soccer said it was connecting with Parkland players about attending the match, and also said Alyssa’s club teammates would be attending.
We are connecting with them about going to the game! Her club team is attending as well ❤️
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) February 25, 2018
Morris initially tweeted the note Sunday morning. It quickly accumulated thousands of retweets, and was passed onto U.S. Soccer officials.
“On behalf of our team, we were wondering if we could work with the US Womens National Team to figure out how to honor Alyssa,” the note read. “We would be more than happy to make [the three-hour] drive to honor our friend.”
Please help us get in touch with @ussoccer_wnt @ussoccer to honor our teammate and friend Alyssa Alhadeff. #NeverAgain #Parkland #MSDStrong #ParklandStrong #AlyssaAlhadeff #MSD #ussoccer pic.twitter.com/4kb4lqC8ho
— jamie morris (@jamiemorris03) February 25, 2018
Morgan, who plays for the Orlando Pride of the NWSL, also invited the Stoneman Douglas players to any of her club games:
We would absolutely love to host you and honor Alyssa at our game. You are also welcome at any Orlando Pride game if you’d like, starting with our home opener March 24. #NeverAgainMSD
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) February 25, 2018
The England game is the third of three for the U.S. in the four-team SheBelieves tournament. Its opener is against Germany on March 1 in Columbus (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Its second game is against France on March 4 in New Jersey (noon ET, ESPN2). The England game – the one at which Alyssa will be honored – is three days later (7 p.m. ET, ESPN News).
– – – – – – –
Henry Bushnell covers global soccer, and occasionally other ball games, for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.