A trio of players will represent the United States in the Olympics for a third time, leading a young U.S. women’s national team that was announced today.

Alyssa Naeher, Crystal Dunn and Lindsey Horan will head to Paris next month as three-time Olympians, hoping to return with the United States’ first gold medal since London in 2012.

Excluded from the roster was veteran Alex Morgan, who turns 35 next week and was hoping to make her fourth team. Her 224 caps and 123 goals are the most among active American players and in the top nine in both categories in USWNT history.

After winning four of the first five gold medals in women’s Olympic competition, the U.S. was shut out of the medals in Rio in 2016 and won bronze in Tokyo in 2020. The United States is 24-4-7 all-time in the Olympics.

Coach Emma Hayes’ roster consists of 18 players and four alternates. Eight of them were on the roster for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with 10 of them members of the USA’s FIFA Women’s World Cup team in 2023.

The average age of the players is 26.8, compared to 30.8 in Tokyo.

Hayes said crafting the final list of players was a challenge.

“Making an Olympic roster is a huge privilege and an honor and there is no denying that it was an extremely competitive process among the players and that there were difficult choices, especially considering how hard everyone has worked over the past 10 months,” she said. “Choosing an 18-player roster plus alternates involved many considerations, but I am excited for the group we have selected and I’m looking forward to building on the work from last camp as we head into the Send-Off matches and then onto France. These are great opportunities for us to continue to show the progress we are making.”

Those final matches will be played against Mexico on July 13 in Harrison, N.J., and July 16 versus Costa Rica in Washington, D.C.

Defenders Tierna Davidson, Emily Sonnett and Casey Krueger, midfielders Rose Lavelle and Catarina Macario, and forward Mallory Swanson will make their second appearances in the Olympics.

Morgan, in a statement today, said she was sorry she won’t be joining her longtime teammates in Paris.

“Today, I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” she posted on social media. “This will always be a tournament that is close to my heart and I take immense pride any time I put on the crest.

“In less than a month, I look forward to supporting this team and cheering them on alongside the rest of our country.

The full roster, which includes the players’ National Women’s Soccer League or other teams, their number of national team caps and team goals, consists of:

Goalkeepers: Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage, 19); Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars, 104).

Defenders: Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC, 58/3); Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, England, 49/1); Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC, 32/0); Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit, 49/0); Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC, 9/2); Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC, 91/2).

Midfielders: Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, France, 11/0); Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC, 17/1); Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, France, 148/35); Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC, 100/24); Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, England, 19/8).

Forwards: Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC, 147/25); Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit, 38/7); Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC, 14/7); Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC, 48/19);, Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars, 92/34).

Alternates are goalkeeper Jane Campbell, midfielder Hal Hershfelt, midfielder Croix Bethune and forward Lynn Williams.

The United States has been assigned to Group B in Paris, which also includes Zambia, Germany and Australia. The first match for the Americans will be July 25 against Zambia in Nice, France.