HOUSTON — Houston Dash midfielder Avery Patterson can now laugh about what once was a terrifying experience — being trapped inside a hotel elevator for 90 minutes on the day she was supposed to make her U.S. national team debut.

“It was an hour and a half,” Patterson said. “When it first happened, I had so much to do that day. People were asking me where I was. I was missing every single team meeting, individual meeting. The coaches were texting me — and this was like my seventh day knowing these people too.”

The incident occurred in April, just hours before her first appearance with the national team. Patterson was stuck in the elevator of a California hotel with a U.S. teammate and longtime star Becky Sauerbrunn, who has since moved into broadcasting.

“They pried it open a little bit,

See Full Page