Rose Lavelle and Aubrey Kingsbury—both Cincinnati born-and-bred—bring the Queen City to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Most Cincinnatians know the name Rose Lavelle. Born and bred in Cincinnati, Lavelle is one of the USA’s top performers and most exciting players in recent history.  

The star midfielder emerged as one of the world’s top young stars at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, scoring one of the most memorable goals in U.S. history during the USA’s 2-0 victory against the Netherlands in the World Cup Final.  

Now, she’s back on the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) for the 2023 tournament.  

Lavelle received her second yellow card of the tournament in Tuesday’s match against Portugal, so she will sit out the tournament’s Round of 16.  

But Lavelle isn’t the only Cincinnati-bred player on this year’s team. Goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury was born in Cincinnati as well, attending high school in East Walnut Hills. Kingsbury made her USWNT debut in an April 12, 2022 match against Uzbekistan, keeping a clean sheet in the USA’s 9-0 victory.  

Kingsbury, who was 30 at the time of her debut, was the fifth player to join the USWNT at age 30 or older. She is the oldest goalkeeper to debut for the team.  

Kingsbury did not play in the USA’s first three games, but—despite a slightly disappointing team performance in the first stage of the tournament—the team is expected to go far. Both Kingsbury and Lavelle will have plenty of time to make their mark on the World Cup—and have already made Cincinnati proud.