Little Rock Alumna Hali Long Selected for World Cup Roster

MANILLA, Philippines – A Little Rock product will be on the world's biggest stage later this month as former Trojan defender Hali Long has been named to the Philippines' roster for the upcoming 2023 Women's World Cup in New Zealand.
 
Long plays center back for Philippines and is one of her nation's top soccer players.
 
This won't be her first appearance on the international stage, but it is her first appearance in the World Cup. Long has made appearances at the 2016 AFF Women's Championship, the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup, the 2017 and 2018 Southeast Asian Games and the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup.
 
She heads into final preparations for the World Cup with 18 career goals in international competition.
 
As a Trojan, Long made 58 starts in 71 appearances from 2013 through 2016, scoring one goal and registering three assists for five points in total. She logged 5,329 minutes over the course of her career, including a team-leading 1,851 minutes in 2015, a number that ranks tied for ninth-most in school history in a single season.
 
Her defensive efforts during her senior season allowed the 2016 Trojan squad to set a new school record for single-season goals against average (0.84), a record that still stands today after Little Rock allowed only 18 goals in 21 games.
 
Long was born in the United States to an American father, David Long, and a Filipino mother, Lilie Candido. In order to play for a national soccer team in international competition, you must be at most two generations removed from someone who was born in the Philippines. Long, with her mother a Philippines native, is only one generation removed.
 
The Philippines opens World Cup play on Friday, July 21 at Midnight CT against Switzerland. Group play continues on Tuesday, July 25 at 12:30 a.m. CT against host New Zealand and then wraps up on Sunday, July 30 at 2 a.m. CT against Norway. All matches can be seen live on FS1 and Peacock.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Soccer, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockSOC on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
Get the latest Trojan news – including the weekly Trojan Report – delivered to you direct to your inbox by signing up for Little Rock Trojan E-News here.
 
#LittleRocksTeam