The Under-18 United States Women’s National Team will play the U-18 WNTs of China PR, the Netherlands, and Norway in a friendly round-robin tournament, from Saturday January 25th to the 31st, in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. All matches will be streamed (live, presumably). For this camp, 20 players have been called up, all born in 2002.
This U-18 USWNT camp got underway on January 21st, the day after the conclusion of the U-20 USWNT’s January camp, which featured five 2002-born players, including, most notably, winger Trinity Rodman. Unsurprisingly, none of those 2002-born players have been named to this roster.
The team will be led by Southern Methodist University head coach Chris Petrucelli (SMU profile), who previously helmed the now-defunct U-21 USWNT back in 2003 and 2004. (The U-21 USWNT transitioned to the U-23 USWNT circa 2007-2008.) Assisting Petrucelli at this camp is USWNT alumna Amy LePeilbet (Wikipedia profile), who played for the U-21 USWNT under Petrucelli in 2003.
External Link: U-18 USWNT to Host China PR, Netherlands and Norway at Tricontinental Cup (U.S. Soccer)
All 20 players called up have attended at least one prior youth WNT camp.
At least 10 of the players have been in a U-20 USWNT camp this cycle, including Rutgers-commit Samantha Kroeger, who has attended four U-20 camps. UCLA-bound Reilyn Turner is just behind her with three U-20 camps attended, while five more players have been in two U-20 camps.
Kroeger and three other players from this camp were on the roster for December’s Nike Friendlies, where two separate U-20 USWNT squads played Brazil and France. Those three other players are defender Sally Menti, plus forwards Quincy McMahon and Dilary Heredia-Beltran.
Kroeger also has the most YNT camp experience, with over 25 camps attended, and is the only player in the camp who has been named to an official tournament roster: She was a late replacement on the U-17 USWNT’s roster for the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship (Twitter).
Over half of the players on this roster will graduate high school this year (or have graduated early). A majority of those players have officially publicly committed to NCAA programs as of late January. For this roster, UCLA leads the way with three verified commits: Reilyn Turner, plus midfielders Aislynn Crowder and Dasia Torbert. Duke also has multiple verified commits: Midfielder Margaret Graham and forward Grace Watkins.
Of the camp players expected for the 2021 freshman class, the most notable commitment news is that goalkeeper Mia Justus has apparently committed to Florida State, per TopDrawerSoccer.com (06-Jan-2020). Justus, who has attended over 20 youth WNT camps, is a cousin of USMNT legend Tim Howard (app.com news article; Facebook photo).
The most noteworthy absence from this roster is Clemson-bound defender/forward Makenna Morris, who was a core part of the U-17 USWNT in 2018, playing every minute for the USA in the 2018 U-17 WWC. Morris has attended around 30 youth WNT camps, but none since the U-20 USWNT camp in August 2019. Since that camp, there have been a total of five U-18 and U-20 camps, including this current U-18 camp. Morris is apparently healthy, at least as of mid-November, since she played high school soccer during the fall (WashingtonPost.com).
This U-18 USWNT is concurrent with a shorter U-16 USGNT camp that is being held at the same facility in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 25
Netherlands vs. Norway, 3:30 p.m. EST
U-18 USWNT vs. China PR, 6:30 p.m. EST
Tuesday, January 28
China PR vs. Netherlands, 3:30 p.m. EST
U-18 USWNT vs. Norway, 6:30 p.m. EST**
Friday, January 31
Norway vs. China PR, 3:30 p.m. EST
U-18 USWNT vs. Netherlands, 6:30 p.m. EST**
**The senior USWNT is action on both the 28th and 31st, with match start times of 8:30 p.m. EST. Television and/or streaming details for the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship have yet to be finalized.
U-18 USWNT ROSTER FOR “TRICONTINENTAL CUP” – JANUARY 2020
Parenthetical Key: Listed Club; Hometown; reported verbal or official NCAA Commitment (team-verified official signings bolded, with links to the team’s announcement), Expected Freshman Year
Goalkeepers (2):
Leah Freeman (Mustang SC; Berkeley, Calif.; Oregon, 2020)
Mia Justus (IMG Acad.; Amherst, Ohio; Florida State, 2021)^
Defenders (7):
Nya Harrison (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.; Stanford, 2021)
Sydney Jones (Cincinnati Dev. Acad.; West Chester, Penn.; Ohio State, 2021)
Samantha “Sam” Kroeger (World Class FC; West Milford, N.J.; Rutgers, 2020)
Tabitha LaParl (So Cal Blues; Lakewood, Calif.; Pepperdine, 2021)
Sally Menti (Crossfire Premier; Seattle, Wash.; Santa Clara, 2020)
Madison Perez (Legends FC; West Covina, Calif.; Long Beach State, 2020)
Karly Reeves (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.; Santa Clara, 2020)
Midfielders (5):
Aislynn Crowder (Hawaii Rush SC; Mililani, Hawaii; UCLA , 2020)
Margaret “Maggie” Graham (Tophat; Atlanta, Ga.; Duke, 2020)
Emily Mathews (Nationals; Macomb, Mich.; Purdue, 2020)
Dasia Torbert (Tophat; Buford, Ga.; UCLA, 2020)
Aki Yuasa (GPS Vermont Synergy FC; Charlotte, Vt.; n/a, 2021)
Forwards (6):
Michelle Cooper (IMG Acad.; Clarkston, Mich.; Duke, 2021)
Mollie Griswold (Arizona Arsenal SC; Gilbert, Ariz.; UNC, 2020)
Dilary Heredia-Beltran (Sporting Blue Valley; Overland Park, Kan.; n/a, 2021)
Quincy McMahon (Real Colorado; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; UCLA, 2021)
Reilyn Turner (SoCal Blues SC; Laguna Beach, Calif.; UCLA, 2020)
Grace Watkins (LAFC Slammers; Manhattan Beach, Calif.; Duke, 2020)
(From the last U-18 USWNT camp roster, “Expected Freshman Year” has been updated for a couple players, based on additional research.)
^28-Jan-2020: To clarify, goalkeeper Mia Justus is listed as a 2020 high school graduate on her U.S. Soccer Development Academy profile, but TDS lists her graduation year as 2021.
LINKS TO THE OTHER TEAM’S ROSTERS
Rosters are available for Netherlands (onsoranje.nl) and Norway (fotball.no). Both UEFA teams are true U-18 squads, with players born in 2002 or earlier.
The Norwegian team includes one USA-based player, Victoria “Dori” (Thorp) Haugen (fotball.no profile), a defender who plays for FC Virginia (Development Academy profile) and is an official commit to Virginia Tech (VT “Get To Know” article).
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