(Note: This is part of a series of posts which profiles the current U-17 USWNT.)
The United States Under-17 Women’s National Team will be taking six defenders to Guatemala for the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship: Brittany Basinger of Purcellville, Virginia (Penn State, verbal); Madeline “Maddie” Bauer of Newport Beach, California (Stanford, verbal); Miranda “Mandy” Freeman of Royal Palm Beach, Florida (USC, verbal); Gabbi Miranda of Highlands Ranch, Colorado (UCLA, verbal); Elizabeth “Lizzy” Raben of Greenwood, Colorado (Duke, verbal); and Morgan Reid of Cary, North Carolina (undecided).
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BRITTANY BASINGER
D.O.B.: June 30, 1995
Height: 5’6″ (also listed at 5’9″ by wiki.AllMetSports.com)
Hometown: Purcellville, Virginia (also listed as Ashburn, Virginia)
Club Team: FC Virginia (ECNL)
College: Penn State (verbal, 2013)
Specific U-17 USWNT Position: Right fullback (starting)
Annoying Announcer Factoid: Also plays high school basketball (point guard)
Notes & Notables: Was invited to the 2009 U-14 ID camp, but had not attended a youth national team camp prior to the U-17 camp in February 2012… Is a defender for her club and high school, where she normally plays left fullback.
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MADELINE “MADDIE” BAUER
D.O.B.: March 20, 1995
Height: 5’7″
Hometown: Newport Beach, California
Club Team: Slammers FC (ECNL)
College: Stanford (verbal, 2013)
Specific U-17 USWNT Position: Centerback (starting, anchor)
Annoying Announcer Factoid: Has caps on both her front teeth…
Notes & Notables: Has caps on both her front teeth due to a collision during a soccer match. After the collision, she put the chipped-off pieces of her teeth in her sock and kept on playing… Seems to be a natural centerback… Also played basketball and volleyball… Described as an “unbelievable competitor” and “our leading force at center backfield” by Montoya… A regular in the USWNT youth system since U-14 ID camp in 2009.
Further Reading: Feature article (PeninsulaPress.com), Feature article (DailyPilot.com)
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MIRANDA “MANDY” FREEMAN
D.O.B.: March 23, 1995
Height: 5’5″
Hometown: Royal Palm Beach, Florida
Club Team: Coral Springs United (formerly Renegades SC)
College: Stanford (verbal, 2013)
Specific U-17 USWNT Position: Centerback (starting, secondary)
Annoying Announcer Factoid: N/A (not enough information)
Notes & Notables: Is a defender for her high school team (and also, presumably, her club team)… Also ran track in high school… Key quote: “I had to work harder and get back into shape to prove to them that I belonged there… I’ve had my ups and downs this year. I almost didn’t get invited, and that was a reality check.” (source: the Sun-Sentinel.com article)… A regular in the USWNT youth system since U-14 ID camp in 2009.
Further Viewing and Reading: U-15 GNT camp video (TopDrawerSoccer.com), News article (Sun-Sentinel.com, Google cache version).
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GABRIELLE “GABBI” MIRANDA
D.O.B.: September 27, 1995
Height: 5’7″
Hometown: Highlands Ranch, Colorado
Club Team: Colorado Rush (ECNL, W-League)
College: UCLA (verbal, 2013)
Specific U-17 USWNT Position: Left Fullback (starting)
Annoying Announcer Factoid: On same W-League team as U-20 forward Lindsay Horan
Notes & Notables: Is left-footed… Is a midfielder for her club and high school teams… Scored a 1:1 equalizer from 40 yards in the 2011 state high school championship match (her team won 3:1)… Part of a select ECNL (94/95) team that traveled to England in August 2011… A regular in the USWNT youth system since U-14 ID camp in 2009… TopDrawerSoccer.com describes her as having “exceptional ball skills.” Her father is from the Philippines.
Further Viewing: Highlights of the 2011 state championship match (Miranda’s goal is at 5:57 mark).
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ELIZABETH “LIZZY” RABEN
D.O.B.: April 27, 1995
Height: 5’9″
Hometown: Greenwood, Colorado
Club Team: Colorado Rush (ECNL, W-League)
College: Duke (verbal, 2013)
Specific U-17 USWNT Position: Centerback* (substitute)
Annoying Announcer Factoid: Lived in Manchester, England, for a year…
Notes & Notables: Lived in Manchester, England for a year where she played for a Manchester City Ladies youth team… Also plays high school soccer… Has played as a fullback for her W-League team… August 2011 U-17 WNT camp was her first call-up. Has been a regular since.
(*Raben is specifically described as a “center back” in this October TopDrawerSoccer.com article.)
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MORGAN REID
D.O.B.: June 13, 1995 (The USWNT defeated Japan 4:0 in a WWC quarterfinal.)
Height: 5’6″
Hometown: Cary, North Carolina
Club Team: CASL Chelsea Ladies (ECNL)
College: Undecided (2014)
Specific U-17 USWNT Position: Fullback (substitute, right)
Annoying Announcer Factoid: Plays for a club that is affiliated with Chelsea FC.
Notes & Notables: Described as both a defender and midfielder for her club and high school teams… Also plays basketball for her high school, was her conference’s player of the year for 2011-2012 season… Described as the fastest player on her high school soccer team… August 2011 U-17 WNT camp was her first call-up. Has been a regular since.
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Previous: Goalkeepers.
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