The clock is counting down and excitement is building as USA prepares to begin their Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 campaign in England.
The team named for the Opening Match will be announced by Head Coach Sione Fukofuka on Wednesday August 20th.
The Women’s Eagles squad contains several players experiencing this competition for the first time – it’s time to get to know them…
Keia Mae Sagapolu
Keia Mae Sagapolu is a tighthead prop, hailing from Tacoma, Washington. She made her USA debut in 2023 against Spain and has earned 19 caps to this point.
Sagapolu has just signed for Loughborough Lightning in the PWR, after previously being a collegiate all-American in 2022 and 2023.
In 2023, she received the MA Sorensen Award, awarded to the top women’s collegiate rugby player in the nation.
Alivia Leatherman
Alivia Leatherman is a loosehead prop from Parma, Ohio.
Alvia plays for Trailfinders Women in England’s PWR. At only 23, she became a key part of the Trailfinders scrum last season and impressed with her power in the carry.
Leatherman made her USA debut against Italy in 2023 and has seven caps to date.
Paige Stathopoulos
Paige Stathopoulos is a hooker who is originally from Sandwich, Massachusetts and plays for Boston Banshees in Women’s Elite Rugby.
Paige has played for USA 7s, Trailfinders Women and Boston University.
She earned collegiate all-American honours in 2015, and made her USA debut in 2023 against Wales, going on to earn her first call-up to a World Cup in the 2025 squad.
Away from rugby, Stathopoulos works as a project manager.
Hope Cooper
Hope Cooper has yet to earn an international cap, but Head Coach Sione Fukofuka believes in her potential and called her up to the 2025 World Cup squad.
The hooker featured for USA pathways in both the 2019 Women’s Collegiate all-American team and the 2022 USA U23 tour of Canada.
Hope is a multi-sport athlete having competed in basketball, swimming and volleyball throughout High School.
Rachel Ehrecke
25-year-old Rachel Ehrecke is an experienced flanker who plays for Denver Onyx in Women’s Elite Rugby.
Rachel previously played for DMP Sharks, Colorado Grey Wolves and Penn State University, where she won a national championship.
Her first USA cap was against Canada in 2021, and she has gone on to make 23 appearances for her country.
Emerson Allen
Emerson Allen, 26, is a lock who will be staying in England after the World Cup as she has just signed for Leicester Tigers.
Emerson previously represented TC Gemini in WER and has two caps to date for the USA.
Away from rugby, Emerson enjoys crocheting and hiking, and has worked as a personal trainer at a gym in Minnesota.
Tahlia Brody
Tahlia Brody is a 30-year-old back rower with 20 caps for the USA Eagles.
Tahlia has played for numerous clubs across the world and has just moved from Leicester Tigers to local rivals Loughborough Lightning.
At Tigers, she was a crucial figure, scoring 12 tries in 21 games.
Brody is a massive Star Wars fan.
Freda Tafuna
Aged only 21, Freda Tafuna already has 13 caps for the USA Eagles, having made her debut against Australia in 2023.
Freda is still at college, playing for Lindenwood University, where she is captain, and a back-to-back MA Sorensen Award winner, the only player to win the award twice.
The back row is of Tongan descent and was encouraged to pick up rugby by her sister.
Cassidy Bargell
Cassidy Bargell is a 25-year-old scrum-half from Silverthorne, Colorado.
Cassidy plays for the Boston Banshees, having studied Integrative Biology at Harvard University.
The scrum-half has eight caps for the USA, having made her debut against South Africa in 2024.
Before making her first appearance for the Eagles, Cassidy overcame ulcerative colitis, which resulted in numerous abdominal surgeries, meaning she now lives with an ostomy.
Kristin Bitter
Kristin Bitter is a 24-year-old fly-half and centre from San Diego, California.
She started playing rugby at 16 and has played for Dartmouth College and Denver Onyx, while she will be joining some of her compatriots in England after the tournament having recently signed for the PWR’s Leicester Tigers.
Bitter has four caps for the Eagles so far, and in her spare time enjoys surfing and fishing.
Emily Henrich
Emily Henrich, 25, is a centre who plays for Leicester Tigers in the PWR.
Originally from Buffalo, New York, she started playing rugby aged six and made her Eagles debut at 18 against the Black Ferns.
Growing up, Emily was a nationally ranked aerial skier and won an Eastern Championships title aged 14.
Nana Fa’avesi
Joanne ‘Nana’ Fa’avesi is a double Olympian in 7s for the USA during the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.
Nana has earned six caps for the USA in 15s, making her debut in 2016 against France, going to her first World Cup nearly ten years later.
The 33-year-old is the youngest of seven children, and is of Tongan, Samoan and German descent.
Erica Coulibaly
Erica Coulibaly is a promising outside back who recently made her debut for The Eagles in the lead-up to her first World Cup.
She earned her first cap against Japan after an impressive season with the WER title-winning Denver Onyx.
Erica picked up playing rugby at the University of Iowa when, during COVID, she wanted a new activity and community.
Sariah Ibarra
Sariah Ibarra is one of the youngest players to ever play a Test match, at just 19 years old when she played against Japan in 2024.
Sariah played for New Zealand U18S 7s, having moved there to develop her rugby game.
The full-back boarded at Hamilton Girls’ High School after moving away from her home in California, only to return when she was selected to represent the USA in both 7s and XVs.
USA Women’s Eagles Match Schedule | Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025
USA v England
August 22 | 2:30 pm ET | Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Paramount+
USA v Australia
August 30 | 2:30 pm ET | York Community Stadium, York
Paramount+
USA v Samoa
September 6 | 8:30 am ET | York Community Stadium, York
CBS, Paramount+
Quarterfinals Begin September 13