Irish Alums Advance in Women's World Cup

Two Notre Dame graduates helped their teams advance to the knockout round at the Women's World Cup earlier this week. Shannon Boxx, a 1999 ND alum and longtime member of the USWNT, is appearing at her fourth World Cup. Notre Dame has had a representative on the US roster at the last six Women's World Cups dating back to 1995. At 38 years old, Boxx has stated this will be her final World Cup of her career. While the midfielder has won many honors including three Olympic gold medals and being named a finalist for World Player of the Year, Boxx has yet to win a World Cup. At this point in her career, Shannon is no longer a starter for the US team, but she did come off the bench in the team's 1-0 win over Nigeria last night. She entered the game in the 74th minute, and helped preserve the USA's one goal lead. The win over Nigeria combined with a 3-1 win over Australia and a 0-0 draw with Sweden placed the US at the top of Group D. The team will find out their Round of 16 opponent after today's games, and the match will take place Monday, June 22nd in Edmonton.

Fellow Notre Dame graduate Melissa Tancredi, class of 2004, is representing one of the USA's biggest rivals, the host nation Canada. This is Tancredi's third World Cup for the Canadians, and she was also part of the bronze medal winning team at the 2012 London Olympics. Tancredi appeared at forward in all three of Canada's group stage matches, starting their 1-0 win over China and the 0-0 draw against New Zealand. She also appeared as a substitute in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands. Canada's roster also features Adriana Leon who played two seasons for the Irish before transferring to Florida after her sophomore season. Like the USA, Canada also won their group to advance to the Round of 16 and will face an opponent to be determined after today's games. Their Round of 16 match is Sunday evening in Vancouver.

For more information of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, check SB Nation's full slate of coverage.