Houston Dash forward Kyah Simon was named to the Australia Women’s National Team roster by head coach Ante Milicic for a pair of international friendlies, the Football Federation of Australia announced today.
As they look ahead to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, Australia, currently ranked eighth in the world by FIFA, is set to open camp next month as they take on Chile on Saturday, November 9 at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta, Australia. Three days later, the Matildas will face the South Americans for a second time at Coopers Stadium on Tuesday, November 12 at Adelaide, Australia.
Although she was named to Australia’s preliminary roster for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup on standby, Simon was unable to compete due to ankle and hamstring injuries. The Australian striker has netted 39 goals in 77 appearances with the Matildas. The Blacktown native represented her country in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games scoring a goal in four appearances.
The forward made her debut with the senior national team in 2007 as a 16-year-old. She has represented Australia in two FIFA Women’s World Cups, leading her country to back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in 2011 and 2015. Simon has scored 24 goals at the international level in 87 appearances.
This season with Houston, Simon has scored a pair of goals and tallied two assists in 10 appearances. The forward scored in back-to-back games against Portland on June 29 and North Carolina on July 5 after coming back from a minor calf injury.
Next week, Houston travels to Monterrey, Mexico to take on Tigres U.A.N.L. at 9:15 p.m. CDT on Saturday, Oct. 5 at Estadio Universitario. It will be the first time in NWSL history that a club will compete on Mexican soil. The match will be streamed live on the Tigres Femenil Facebook and Twitter social media platforms. On Oct. 12, Houston will travel to Salt Lake City to take on Utah Royals FC for the season finale at 8:00 p.m. CDT at Rio Tinto Stadium.
