U-15 WYNT: 24 Players Called In for First Camp of New Cycle

On Friday, U.S. Soccer announced that the next cycle of the United States Under-15 Women’s Youth National Team will get underway with a domestic camp that starts on Sunday, September 8th, and runs through Friday, September 13th. The camp will be held in Fayetteville, Georgia.

Of the 24 players named by head coach Ciara Crinion, all but one have 2010 birth years. The lone exception is midfielder Loradana Paletta, who was born in 2011 and was a member of the USA’s squad that won last month’s Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship.

One of the players, forward Stella Spitzer, is currently with a USL Super League team, Carolina Ascent FC. All of the remaining players are on youth club teams, with most (19, according to U.S. Soccer) associated with the ECNL.

As 2025 is an odd year, there is no Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship scheduled, however the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup transitions to a 24-team annual tournament in 2025 (FIFA.com). Under the current age limit rules for that tournament, players must be a minimum of 15 years old (see Article 24 of the regulations for the 2024 U-17 WWC), so some of the players with 2010 birth years could be called up to the U-17 WYNT as it looks to qualify for next year’s U-17 WWC.

All 24 players were named to at least one of the two known Under-14 identification camps that were held this year, with 15 of the players, including all three goalkeepers, listed on both ID camp rosters.

Training Camp Roster

Goalkeepers (3):

  • Barrett, Camille (Solar SC; Plano, Texas)
  • Burkholder, Farah (Challenge SC; The Woodlands, Texas)
  • Gaffney, Molly (Real Colorado; Highlands Ranch, Colo.)

Defenders (8):

  • Chaddock, Lillian (Central Illinois United; Peoria, Ill.)
  • Damron, Ally (San Diego Surf SC; San Diego, Calif.)
  • Guerrero, Kylie (Solar SC; Coppell, Texas)
  • Polizzi, Sophia (World Class FC; Tomkins Cove, N.Y.)
  • Sullivan, Emma (San Juan SC; Carmichael, Calif.)
  • Travers**, Cassandra (Bay Area Surf SC; Santa Cruz, Calif.)
  • Williams, Tori (Mountain View Los Altos SC; Mountain View, Calif.)
  • Zuniga, Gigi (Mountain View Los Altos SC; Watsonville, Calif.)

Midfielders (6):

  • Ahn, Ella (San Diego Surf SC; San Diego, Calif.)
  • Morota, Sana (De Anza Force SC; Tokyo, Japan)
  • Nelson, Zoey (Seattle United; Seattle, Wash.)
  • Ortiz, Isabella (Florida United Soccer Club; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
  • Paletta, Loradana (New York City FC; Syosset, N.Y.)
  • Yoshimura, Kiyomi (Mountain View Los Altos SC; Santa Clara, Calif.)

Forwards (7):

  • Cabigon, Kayleigh (San Diego Surf SC; San Diego, Calif.)
  • Edwards, Koi (Legends FC; Chino Hills, Calif.)
  • Hejduk, Cali (Columbus United SC; Westerville, Ohio)
  • Rountree, Riley (Eastside FC; Seattle, Wash.)
  • Siedel, Sadie (Mustang SC; Oakland, Calif.)
  • Spitzer, Stella (Carolina Ascent FC*; Lewis Center, Ohio)
  • Williams, Sydney (Alabama FC; Milton, Ga.)

*USL Super League
**Family name was listed as “Lee-Travers” for both U-14 ID camps

Notables

As mentioned above, midfielder Loradana Paletta is the only holdover from the previous U-15 cycle. Paletta, who has a 2011 birthday, is likely not eligible for the 2025 U-17 WWC, but should be eligible for the 2026 U-17 WWC, if current age limits are kept in place.

Also, as noted above, all but one player is currently associated with a youth club. The exception is forward Stella Spitzer, who was previously with Solar SC in Texas. Earlier this year, Spitzer played with Sioux Falls City FC of the WPSL (team profile). Currently, Spitzer is with Carolina Ascent FC of the nascent USL Super League as an amateur player. Her signing was announced in June (press release).

Local news segment on Spitzer playing with Sioux Falls City FC from July 2024

One surname among the 24 players should ring a bell for United States soccer fans: Cali Hejduk, who is the daughter of retired USMNT player Frankie Hejduk (Wikipedia bio). In 2018, Cali Hejduk was featured in a USWNT social media video where she interviewed then-USWNT players Andi Sullivan and Kelley O’Hara (Facebook).

The most notable 2010 player not on the camp roster is Gotham FC’s Mak Whitham, who was the second-youngest player on the USA’s roster at this year’s Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship, behind Paletta. Whitham will likely be involved with older youth teams for this cycle.

U.S. Soccer press release: “Twenty-Four Players Gather In Atlanta To Kick Off New U.S. Under-15 Women’s Youth National Team Cycle”