Sam Coffey makes the U.S. women’s soccer Olympic team, but Alex Morgan doesn’t

Update: On July 12, Catarina Macario was ruled out of the Olympic team due to knee pain. Lynn Williams was elevated from the alternates group to replace her on the roster, and defender Emily Sams was added as a new alternate.

A year after she narrowly missed out on the World Cup, Sam Coffey’s time to make it to the big stage has finally arrived.

The 25-year-old Penn State product was picked for the U.S. women’s Olympic soccer team by manager Emma Hayes on Wednesday. She has been a regular starter at the defensive midfield spot, and while no one has filled Julie Ertz’s shoes yet, Coffey has come closest.

She is one of five midfielders on the squad, which with 18 players — five smaller than for the World Cup — makes it the hardest to make of any U.S. roster. The others are attacking playmakers Rose Lavelle and Catarina Macario and two-way players Korbin Albert and captain Lindsey Horan.

» READ MORE: Sam Coffey reflects on the work she's put in since missing the World Cup

Albert’s inclusion is a sign that she has made amends in the locker room for her past homophobic and transphobic social media activity — though a large portion of the team’s fan base has not yet forgiven her. They were in full throat on social media after Wednesday’s announcement.

“Korbin making the team has been on merit in terms of what she offers us in the midfield position,” Hayes said in a Zoom call with the media. “There’s no denying that there’s been a lot of work that’s been going on in the background. It’s really important that everybody on this team understands the importance of not just being tolerant and respectful and understanding — the things that … Korbin has had to learn.”

Albert has been booed at the U.S. games where she’s played, a fact that Hayes acknowledged in her remarks.

“She can hear the noise in the stadium — that’s affected her. She’s spending time working on herself, as we all do, and I look forward to building on that with her. I want everybody to know that my job is to make sure I keep doing that. I want the fans to really embrace Korbin because I do. I think she’s a tremendous human being.”

Coffey is one of two Penn State products on the squad. The other is goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, a two-time World Cup champion who’s still in great form at age 36.

The competition at forward was so fierce that superstar striker Alex Morgan did not make the cut. On form, it’s not too surprising, since Morgan is in a scoring drought for her country and her club, the NWSL’s San Diego Wave, this season with just three goals in 18 combined games.

But it’s still a huge call by Hayes and a moment that could signal the beginning of the end of the 34-year-old’s international career. It’s the first time in 16 years that Morgan has not made a U.S. roster for a major tournament.

”Today, I’m disappointed about not having the opportunity to represent our country on the Olympic stage,” she said via a statement 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.”

Hayes chose five forwards and six defenders and listed versatile veteran Crystal Dunn among the former. That might be another reason why Morgan didn’t make it.

Hayes didn’t get into elaborate detail on the omission, saying that Morgan’s “record speaks for itself … but I wanted to go in another direction and select other players.”

“I think there are players on the roster in the forward areas that are performing well, and, you know, the decision to take those players was one that we certainly deliberated over,” Hayes said. “I’ve considered all the factors that we’re going to need throughout the Olympics, and I think it’s a balanced roster; one that I’m really happy with.”

» READ MORE: Alex Morgan symbolized why this USWNT roster was perhaps the hardest to make of all time

Along with the 18 players on the squad, four alternates will travel to France but not play unless there’s an injury. Hayes picked veteran goalkeeper Jane Campbell (one is always a goalkeeper), forward Lynn Williams, and young midfielders Croix Bethune and Hal Hershfelt.

Bethune is the leading rookie in the NWSL for the Washington Spirit, a dynamic playmaker who can score and assist. Hershfelt is a Spirit teammate in defensive midfield. Both have yet to play for the national team, though they were part of the camp earlier this month, the last gathering before the Olympic team was picked.

Perhaps the top young rising star, 17-year-old midfielder Lily Yohannes, was not picked — a sign that the Dutch-American isn’t ready to commit to either country yet.

“Lily was a consideration for this roster,” Hayes said. “But at this moment, Lily hasn’t made a decision about her future, and I support that. I’m sure everybody can appreciate she’s a young player [who] really enjoyed her time with us at the last camp. But it’s an important decision. I will continue to work with Lily beyond the Olympics, and … I really do hope that she will be part of our future. But at this moment, she wasn’t ready to make that decision, and I fully support it.”

Another marquee prospect, Olivia Moultrie, is sidelined by what she has called a “small” knee injury.

» READ MORE: It's 'go time' for young USWNT star Jaedyn Shaw as the Olympics draw nearer

Goalkeepers (2): Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

Defenders (6): Tierna Davidson (Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal, England), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Jenna Nighswonger (Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (Gotham FC)

Midfielders (5): Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Lindsey Horan (Lyon, France), Rose Lavelle (Gotham FC), Catarina Macario (Chelsea, England)

Forwards (5): Crystal Dunn (Gotham FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars)

Alternates (4): GK Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), M Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), M Croix Bethune (Washington Spirit), F Lynn Williams (Gotham FC)

Hayes will bring three other young prospects to the U.S. team’s pre-Olympic camp in New Jersey, which begins July 8: forward Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), who was on last year’s World Cup team, and defenders Emily Sams (Orlando Pride) and Kate Wiesner (Washington Spirit, and another Penn State product).

Saturday, July 13: vs. Mexico at Harrison, N.J. (3:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock)

Tuesday, July 16: vs. Costa Rica at Washington (7:30 p.m., TNT, truTV, Universo, Max, Peacock)

Thursday, July 25: Olympics group stage vs. Zambia at Nice, France (3 p.m., USA Network, Universo, Peacock)

Sunday, July 28: Olympics group stage vs. Germany at Marseille, France (3 p.m., USA Network, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Wednesday, July 31: Olympics group stage vs. Australia at Marseille (1 p.m., E!, Universo, Peacock)

Saturday, Aug. 3: Olympics quarterfinal at Paris if group winner (9 a.m., E!, Telemundo 62, Peacock); Marseille if runner-up (1 p.m., Telemundo 62, Peacock); or Lyon (11 a.m., E!, Universo, Peacock) or Nantes (3 p.m., English TBD, Universo, Peacock) if a third-place qualifier

Tuesday, Aug. 6: Olympics semifinal at Lyon if group winner or runner-up (E!, Universo, Peacock); or Marseille if a third-place qualifier (3 p.m., English TBD, Universo, Peacock)

Friday, Aug. 9: Olympics bronze-medal game at Lyon (9 a.m., USA Network, Telemundo 62, Peacock)

Saturday, Aug. 10: Olympics gold-medal game at Paris (11 a.m., USA Network, Telemundo 62, Peacock)