Under-xx Teams – Page 3 – Women's Soccer Express

U-23 USWNT: Matt Potter Named Head Coach; B.J. Snow Leaves U.S. Soccer

On Thursday, January 9th, U.S. Soccer announced a pair of related staffing changes:

The hiring of former University of Oklahoma women’s soccer head coach Matt Potter as the new head coach of the Under-23 United States Women’s National Team, and
The departure of B.J. Snow, who most recently helmed the U-23 USWNT while also serving as the Director of Talent Identification for the USWNT.

These changes follow the recent hiring of Laura Harvey as the new head coach of the U-20 USWNT after December’s surprise departure of Mark Carr, coincidentally, for the vacancy created by Potter back in November (SoonerSports.com).

Continue reading “U-23 USWNT: Matt Potter Named Head Coach; B.J. Snow Leaves U.S. Soccer”

U-20 USWNT: First Camp Roster Under Laura Harvey Announced

Update (14-Jan-2020): Stanford’s Katie Meyer is the fourth goalkeeper called-in for this camp. U.S. Soccer’s original write-up for this roster only named three goalkeepers and noted that Harvey might add a fourth. Meyer was a regular call-up during the 2016 U-16 and U-17 cycles (attending 6 and 7 camps, respectively), but has only had a few call-ups since the start of 2017.

Late Wednesday, U.S. Soccer released the roster for the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team’s last full camp before CONCACAF qualifying for this year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. This camp, which runs from January 9th to the 20th, will be the first camp helmed by recently installed head coach Laura Harvey. Of the 25 players called in so far, at least 18 attended the Nike Friendlies camp in December, and just one of the players participated in December’s senior USWNT identification camp: Brianna Pinto of North Carolina.

External Link: New U-20 WNT Head Coach Laura Harvey Calls 25 Players To Pre-Qualifying Training Camp In Florida (U.S. Soccer)

Stanford’s Sophia Smith, another attendee of the USWNT identification camp, is once again unavailable due to a senior USWNT call-up. Curiously, the other two U-20 call-ups of December’s identification camp are absent: Center backs Naomi Girma of Stanford and Maycee Bell of North Carolina. Girma was withdrawn from the identification camp for what seemed to have been a minor injury. Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: First Camp Roster Under Laura Harvey Announced”

U-20 USWNT: Laura Harvey Hired as Head Coach

On Monday, following last month’s surprise departure of Mark Carr for a head coaching position at the University of Oklahoma, U.S. Soccer announced that now-former Utah Royals FC head coach Laura Harvey will be leading the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team.

Harvey’s first duties include overseeing the current U-20 USWNT camp, which runs from January 9th to the 20th. After that, her first international matches as head coach will be the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship in February, which are the qualifiers for this year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Harvey’s duties will also include “manag[ing] the integration and programming of the U-18 and U-19 [Women] National Teams.” Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: Laura Harvey Hired as Head Coach”

Post-Holiday Round-Up: Two More U.S. Soccer Coaches Step Down; NWSL News; Japan Confirms SheBelieves Cup Participation

A quick round-up of notable news since mid-December:

U-20 USWNT head coach Mark Carr hired by the University of Oklahoma
USWNT goalkeeping coach Graeme Abel hired by the University of Oregon
2023 FIFA WWC bid books published
NWSL News: OL Groupe buys Reign FC; 2020 Draft list of eligible players released; No expansion
2020 SheBelieves Cup: Japan confirmed, one to go
2020 FIFA U-20 WWC: Will be jointly hosted by Costa Rica and Panama

Continue reading “Post-Holiday Round-Up: Two More U.S. Soccer Coaches Step Down; NWSL News; Japan Confirms SheBelieves Cup Participation”

U-17 USWNT: 28 Players Called In For January 2020 Camp

On Friday, U.S. Soccer announced that the Under-17 United States Women’s National Team will be holding a camp in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, from January 5th to 15th, 2020. Head coach Tracey Kevins has called in 28 players, 24 of whom attended the last U-17 USWNT camp, which was held in November 2019.

External Link: U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team Kicks Off 2020 With Training Camp In Florida (U.S. Soccer)

Of the four remaining players who did not attend the November 2019 camp, two are regular U-17 call-ups: Defenders Baleigh Bruster and Andrea Kitahata. The other two players are both attending their first U-17 USWNT camp: Goalkeeper Azul Alvarez and quasi-professional midfielder Olivia Moultrie.

Continue reading “U-17 USWNT: 28 Players Called In For January 2020 Camp”

U-20 USWNT: 2019 Nike International Friendlies – Match Day 3 Recap

On Friday, the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team, in split squads, played their final matches of the 2019 Nike International Friendlies, with the “Red” Team earning a nil-nil draw against Brazil, while the “Blue” Team, which primarily consisted of the available first-choice players, capped off the event with a 2:1 victory over France. The performances of both USA teams were much improved from their losses on Wednesday.

In this article:

Embedded full-match replay videos (YouTube)
Highlights of the USA’s goals
USA’s starting line-ups (with shirt numbers)
USA’s starting formations
USA’s substitutions
Detailed scoring summaries

Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: 2019 Nike International Friendlies – Match Day 3 Recap”

U-20 USWNT: 2019 Nike International Friendlies – Match Day 2 Recap

On Wednesday, the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team, in split squads, faced the U-20 WNTs of France and Brazil as part of the 2019 Nike International Friendlies, losing both matches.

In this article:

Embedded full-match replay videos (YouTube)
Highlights of the USA’s goals
USA’s starting line-ups (with shirt numbers)
USA’s starting formations (corrected)
USA’s substitutions (updated)
Detailed scoring summaries

Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: 2019 Nike International Friendlies – Match Day 2 Recap”

U-20 USWNT: Roster For 2019 Nike International Friendlies – A Detailed Look

Update (10-Dec-2019): Washington State sophomore center back Mykiaa Minniss has been added to the roster . The 5’11 sophomore scored the golden goal over South Carolina to send WSU to the College Cup. (WSUCougars.com)

Update (12-Dec-2019): South Carolina signee Catherine Barry (profile) is also on the roster. She was a substitute in Wednesday’s “Red” Team match versus France.

Currently underway in Florida is the final camp of 2019 for the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team, which runs from December 8th to the 14th. Head coach Mark Carr has called in 31 players, who will be split into two teams to play international friendlies against the U-20 WNTs of France and Brazil. Of the 31 players, 18 are current college players, with several key players returning for their first camp since the start of the NCAA season.

External Link: U.S. Soccer Roster Release for 2019 Nike International Friendlies

With just one more camp left before the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, these friendlies are one of Carr’s last chances to evaluate players for the 20-spot qualifying roster.

Four top U-20 players are not available, as they have been called into the overlapping USWNT identification camp: Forward Sophia Smith, midfielder Brianna Pinto, plus defenders Naomi Girma and Maycee Bell. Absent injuries or full-time promotions to the senior USWNT, these four players should be on the U-20 qualifying roster.

Update (09-Dec-2019): Naomi Girma will not attend this camp due to an injury suffered during the College Cup. Given that she took one of the spot kicks during the penalty shoot-out, the injury is likely to be minor. (U.S. Soccer)

Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: Roster For 2019 Nike International Friendlies – A Detailed Look”

2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Host, Dates, and Knock-Out Bracket Confirmed

See CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Costa Rica and Panama Out, Bermuda and Barbados In for current schedule and bracket details.

Update (31-Jan-2020): THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER CURRENT FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

THE DATES FOR THIS TOURNAMENT HAVE BEEN CHANGED. (They are now February 22nd to March 8th).
COSTA RICA AND PANAMA ARE NOT PARTICIPATING IN THIS TOURNAMENT. THEIR GROUPS AND THE KNOCK-OUT BRACKET HAVE BEEN ALTERED.

Update (20-Dec-2019): FIFA has confirmed that Costa Rica and Panama will be joint hosts for this cycle’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in August 2020 (FIFA.com). Not yet confirmed is how this will affect qualifying in CONCACAF. Absent exceptional circumstances, the most likely result is that the number of open qualification slots will be reduced to 2, as Costa Rica and Panama will be given the host slot plus 1 slot from CONCACAF’s allocation. Another uncertain wrinkle is whether Costa Rica and Panama will be participating in this CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, as they are currently assigned to Group D (with Mexico) and Group F (with Haiti), respectively. Given the timing of this announcement, right before the end-of-the-year holiday break, it is possible that these qualifying matters may not be resolved until January 2020.

On Tuesday, CONCACAF confirmed that the Dominican Republic will be hosting the confederation’s final qualifying tournament for next year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. (CONCACAF.com) As things currently stand, CONCACAF has three open qualifying slots, though that could change depending on who actually ends up hosting the U-20 WWC in 2020.

The qualifying tournament, which is officially known as the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship, is scheduled for February 15, 2020 to March 1, 2020, and in a departure from past tournaments, will feature twenty teams instead of the usual eight. The tournament will have a Group Stage involving the top sixteen U-20 women’s national teams, based on historical rankings (CONCACAF.com). Those sixteen teams will be divided into four standard round-robin groups of four. The top three teams in each group will advance to the knock-out stage.

The knock-out stage will start with a Round of Sixteen that includes the twelve advancing teams from the Group Stage, plus four teams from a preliminary qualifying stage for teams outside the top sixteen. (Wikipedia has a decent summary article on the preliminary qualifying stage.) After the Round of Sixteen, the knockout round will proceed normally, with a Final to determine the champion and a Third Place match.
Continue reading “2020 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship: Host, Dates, and Knock-Out Bracket Confirmed”

U-17 USWNT: November 2019 Camp Roster: 32 Players Called In, 4 First-Timers

This week, from November 4th to the 10th, the Under-17 United States Women’s National Team is holding a domestic camp at the National Training Center in Carson, California. Tracey Kevins has called-in 32 players, including 4 players who are attending their first USA youth camp, and 3 other players who are in their first U-17 camp. (U.S. Soccer) Continue reading “U-17 USWNT: November 2019 Camp Roster: 32 Players Called In, 4 First-Timers”