USA Women's sevens head coach Chris Brown has named his squad to go to Japan to compete in the Kitakyushu Sevens, the fourth leg of the six-round Women's Sevens World Series.

The Eagles are second in the World Series standings, 12 points behind New Zealand but only a couple of points ahead of Canada and Australia. Key for all of those teams is that they are well ahead of fifth-place France, who sit 14 points out of the top four.

And of course the top four gain automatic qualification to the 2020 Olympics.

Last time out at the Sydney Sevens, the USA opened the tournament against China and came away winners 26-10. Spain put up a fight in the second match, capitalizing on excessive USA penalties in the second half to win 21-14. But the USA came back to beat the hosts Australia 19-12 to secure a spot in the Cup Quarterfinals.

After a very difficult 7-5 win over Russia, the Eagles lost 29-5 to New Zealand in the semifinals. But they rebounded to take third over Ireland 26-10.

“This season, we’ve put a huge focus on our understanding and awareness in rugby, culture and learning more about ourselves," said Brown. "One of the most important things we’ve experienced in competition is finding ways to get a result even if the circumstances look ugly. Embracing the pressure of our own expectations is one of the hardest things for us, and we need to avoid limiting ourselves as we build into Kitakyushu."

New players are starting to emerge as the program builds depth. In Sydney, Kristi Kirshe scored five tries in her debut tournament after playing rugby for less than a year. Ilona Maher made her debut last season in Paris and has since scored 12 World Series tries.

Add them to the likes of Naya Tapper, who passed Victoria Folayan as the USA's all-time leading try-scorer, and you're starting to see an effective offensive team. 

Kayla Canett will join the squad for the first time this season after competing in two World Series stops last year—Langord and Paris.

Alev Kelter, Jordan Gray Matyas, Meya Bizer, Nana Fa’avesi, Kristen Thomas, Cheta Emba, and co-captains Nicole Heavirland and Lauren Doyle complete the 12-player roster for Kitakyushu.

“We’ve had a number of players step up this season which is what all coaches hope for, especially 18 months out from the Olympics," Brown said. "It’s important we don’t get ahead of ourselves, however, and remember that with less experience there will be tough games and sometimes even tougher tournaments as our newer players learn all that comes with international competition. We hope that 18 months will be enough to develop the right habits and create significant awareness of attributes our athletes can use as we build towards Tokyo 2020. But first, we need to qualify.”

WOMEN'S EAGLES SEVENS ROSTER

WOMEN’S EAGLES SEVENS STAFF

Head Coach | Chris Brown

Head of Physical Performance | Matt Long

Athletic Trainer | Nicole Titmas

Team Manager | Liz Strohecker

HSBC KITAKYUSHU SEVENS SCHEDULE

Pool C |

vs England | April 19 - 9:52 PM ET

vs Fiji | April 20 - 12:36 AM ET

vs Ireland | April 20 - 3:20 AM ET