(Edit: 15-Apr-2012, the roster for the CONCACAF Championship has been announced. For more detailed information about the players selected, please check out this separate post.)
Starting next Sunday (April 1st), the United State’s Under-17 Women’s National Team will hold one last domestic training camp prior to the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship in Guatemala, which begins May 2nd. The roster for the training camp (US Soccer) was released last week. Twenty-four (24) players were called up, including all of the 18 players who traveled to La Manga for the Ten Nations U-19 tournament.
The six players who did not travel to Spain will likely be competing for the final two roster spots on the 20-player CONCACAF Championship roster.
Added Players: Six players on the roster did not travel to La Manga and one of those six, forward Darian Jenkins, was not at the February camp in Florida. The other five players, all listed officially as midfielders, are Joanna Boyles, Caroline Chagares, Gabrielle Matulich, Kayla Mills, and Arielle Ship. Assuming that the 18 players who traveled to La Manga will be on the 20-player CONCACAF Championship roster, then two of these six players will take the final two roster spots.
Details About the Camp: During the camp, which will be held at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, from April 1st to the 10th, the team will play three test matches. Two will be against unspecified collegiate teams: UC Irvine and San Diego State (I missed this detail earlier, I think). The third and final test match will be against China’s Under-20 Women’s National Team, who have already qualified for this year’s U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan.
U-20 USWNT Speculation: The single match against China’s U-20 WNT, which takes place on April 9th, likely indicates that the next U-20 USWNT will also be at Chula Vista and that the U-20s will play at least one test match versus the Chinese U-20 WNT.
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U-17 USWNT Roster, April 2012 Training Camp
(Some players have been moved from their official position category, based on a review of actual match line-ups for the U-17 USWNT this cycle. See this post for more details.)
Collegiate commitments, sourced primarily from TopDrawerSoccer.com, have been added, where available. As all are for 2013 or later, they are all verbal (non-binding).
GOALKEEPERS (2):
- Jane Campbell (Concorde Fire South; Kennesaw, Ga.) — Stanford (2013)
- Cassie Miller (Sereno FC; Cave Creek, Ariz.) — Florida State (2013)
Only two goalkeepers were called up, so that seems to be basically settled. If the team would need a back-up ‘keeper, the only other goalkeeper in the U-17 pool is Morgan Stearns (yes, another “Morgan,” and she’s a 2013 verbal for the U. of Virginia).
DEFENDERS (7):
- Brittany Basinger (FC Virginia; Purcellville, Va.) — Penn State (2013). Seems to be the preferred starting right fullback.
- Maddie Bauer (Slammers FC; Newport Beach, Calif.) — Stanford (2013). Montoya’s preferred anchor centerback, after Morgan Andrews was moved up into the midfield.
- Miranda “Mandy” Freeman (Lady Renegades SC; Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) — USC (2013). Has been used mostly at centerback. A probable starter, at the moment.
- Lauren Kaskie (Heat FC; Las Vegas, Nev.) —UCLA (2013). Has played at left fullback and as a center-mid during the La Manga tournament. Is a leftie.
- Gabbi Miranda (Colorado Rush; Highlands Ranch, Colo.) — UCLA (2013). Plays in the midfield for her club teams. But, is a left-footed left fullback for this national team. A likely starter.
- Lizzy Raben (Colorado Rush; Greenwood, Colo.) — Duke (2013). A tall centerback, who is probably a back-up, at the moment.
- Morgan Reid (Chelsea Ladies; Cary, N.C.) — undecided (2014). Seems to be the back-up right fullback.
All seven of the above defenders went to La Manga, and are likely locks for a CONCACAF Championship roster spot. Kaskie, who seems more sub than starter, has also been played in the midfield, so she has the versatility factor going for her. Plus, Kaskie is left-footed, which makes her relatively more valuable. Morgan Reid is possibly the most replaceable player among these seven, so I could see her being cut to make way for a more versatile midfielder. Although, I do not think that is very likely.
MIDFIELDERS (8):
- Morgan Andrews (FC Stars of Mass.; Milford, N.H.) — Boston College (2013). Had been at centerback from the first camp in 2011, up through at least August. But, moved to the midfield (her natural position) in the February 2012 camp, if not sooner (December or October).
- Joanna “Jo” Boyles (Chelsea Ladies; Raleigh, N.C) — UNC (2013)
- Caroline Chagares (PDA Slammers; Wyckoff, N.J.) — undecided (2014)
- Gabrielle Matulich (MVLA Lightning; Los Gatos, Calif.) — undecided (2014). Listed as a forward for the August, October, and December rosters. Apparently played as a right fullback in a match against Germany this year.
- Sarah Robinson (MVLA Lightning; Los Altos, Calif.) — Stanford (2014)
- Arielle Ship (Real So Cal; Thousand Oaks, Calif.) — Cal-Berkeley (2013). Was apparently tried as a left fullback during the first match versus Germany, this year.
- Morgan Stanton (Colorado Rush; Lakewood, Colo.) — Santa Clara (2013)
- Toni Payne (Concorde Fire; Birmingham, Ala.) —Notre Dame (2013)
Summer Green and Andi Sullivan are listed as midfielders, but they have primarily played up top. Kayla Mills is listed as a midfielder, but had previously been played as a forward (back against Germany and Japan, both in 2011). Thus, I have moved those three to the list of forwards. Toni Payne is listed as a forward, but tends to be used in the midfield. Also, her TopDrawerSoccer profile lists her as a midfielder.
The captain, Morgan Andrews, is the only midfielder who has a definite lock on a roster spot. Morgan Stanton and Sarah Robinson seem to be on the inside track, along with Toni Payne. Outside those four, Joanna Boyles seems to be the next most likely player to make the roster.
Gabrielle Matulich is a late addition for this cycle. Her first national team camp, ever, seems to have been an August 2011 U-15 WNT camp. Matulich is one of two players with a 1996 birthday. Robinson is the other, and was another player pulled from the U-15 pool. Robinson, however, had been in the youth WNT mix since a U-14 ID camp in 2009.
Matulich, who is listed as 5’1″, might earn the final spot for the CONCACAF roster, but that may go to one of the forwards who did not travel to Spain: Darian Jenkins or Mills. Of the six players who did not go to La Manga, I have only found highlight videos for Matulich (5-Jan-2012, a goal that was a play of the week; 26-Dec-2011, the second goal).
FORWARDS (7):
- Emily Bruder (Utah Avalanche; Sandy, Utah) — Stanford (2013)
- Summer Green (Michigan Hawks; Milford, Mich.) — UNC (2013). Has primarily been listed among the forwards in the line-ups, but did start in the midfield for one match, this year.
- Darian Jenkins (Sparta SC; Riverton, Utah) — undecided (2013). Did not go to La Manga, nor was she at the last camp, in February.
- Kayla Mills (Slammers FC; West Covina, Calif.) — USC (2013). Listed as a midfielder for the last two camps, but had been listed as a forward, which seems to be her club position.
- Amber Munerlyn (So Cal Blues; Corona, Calif.) — Stanford (2013)
- Margaret “Maggie”/”Midge” Purce (Freestate Soccer; Olney, Md.) — undecided (2013)
- Andi Sullivan (Bethesda SC; Lorton, Va.) —
undecided(2014) [edit, apparently she has verbally committed to Stanford, per the description of this YouTube video]
As noted above, Green, Sullivan, and Mills have been moved from the midfield to the forward. Mills and 5’9″ Jenkins are likely on the outside looking in for a roster spot.
If you missed the roster link in the opening paragraph, here it is, again.
Women's Soccer Express 