U.S. U23 WNT Travel to Spain ahead of First Matches of 2017
The U.S. U23 WNT are preparing for its first international matches of the year as the 22-player squad heads to Spain. The trip highlights a busy month for the U23 WNT as they also prepare for the Thorns Spring Invitational that will feature matches versus our own NWSL clubs.
Soccer News: The U.S. U23 Women’s National Team will head to La Manga, Spain, beginning February 25th as the team prepares to play three matches, taking on Japan (March 2), England (March 4) and Norway (March 7).
As the trip occurs before NWSL pre-season kicks off, and in continuing synergy between the NWSL and the U.S. Women’s National Team programs, Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey will lead the 22-player team that features 17 professionals (16 from the NWSL and one currently playing in Iceland), four collegiate players and high school senior, Ashley Sanchez of SoCal Blues.
Three players represented the U.S. at the 2016 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea in goalkeeper Casey Murphy, midfielder Emily Ogle and Sanchez, who became the first U.S. player to score in a U17 and U20 Women’s World Cup in the same cycle.
Of the professional players on the roster, five will be entering their second NWSL campaign while 11 will be starting their rookie years when preseason camps kick off in March. Defender Adrienne Jordan plays for IBV in Iceland.
Nine players on the roster have represented the U.S. in a FIFA Women’s World Cup at the youth level while seven have seen training time with the full U.S. Women’s National Team. One of those – Ashley Hatch – has one cap, earned against Switzerland on Oct. 19, 2016, in Sandy, Utah.
While this roster features mostly professional players, the group for the spring and summer events will feature primarily collegiate players as the NWSL season will be in full swing.
Following the trip to La Manga, the next event for the U.S. U23 WNT will see the team take compete in the Thorns Spring Invitational from March 26-April 1 in Portland, Oregon. The U.S. will face three NWSL teams at Providence Park, playing the Houston Dash on Sunday, March 26 at 2:30 p.m. PT followed by Portland taking on Chicago at 5 p.m. PT. On Wednesday, March 29, Chicago takes on Houston at 5 p.m. PT and the U.S. will face the Thorns at 7:30 p.m. PT. The U.S. closes out the tournament against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday, April 1 at 5 p.m. and Portland concludes the tournament against Houston at 7:30 p.m. PT.
The U23 WNT will be in La Manga along with the U20 WNT, which will also play in three matches.
U-23 Women’s National Team Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Casey Murphy (Rutgers; Bridgewater, N.J.), Madalyn Schiffel (Seattle Reign; Citrus Heights, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (7): Mandy Freeman (Sky Blue FC; West Covina, Calif.), Adrienne Jordan (IBV; Colorado Springs, Colo.), Kristen McNabb (Seattle Reign; Montville, N.J.), Kayla Mills (Sky Blue FC; West Covina, Calif.), Katie Naughton (Chicago Red Stars; Elgin, Ill.), Erica Skroski (Sky Blue FC; New Brunswick, N.J.), Samantha Witteman (NC Courage; Redondo Beach, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Morgan Andrews (Boston Breakers; Milford, N.H.), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; Menlo Park, Calif.), Christina Gibbons (FC Kansas City, Raleigh, N.C.), Tyler Lussi (Portland Thorns; Lutherville, Md.), Emily Ogle (Penn State; Strongsville, Ohio), Margaret Purce (Boston Breakers; Silver Spring, Md.), Ashley Sanchez (SoCal Blues; Monrovia, Calif.), Dani Weatherholt (Orlando Pride; San Clemente, Calif.)
FORWARDS (5): Celeste Boureille (Portland Thorns; San Francisco, Calif.), Makenzy Doniak (NC Courage; Chino Hills, Calif.), Ashley Hatch (NC Courage; Gilbert, Ariz.), Savannah McCaskill (South Carolina; Chapin, S.C.), Arielle Shipp (Washington Spirit; Westlake Village, Calif.)
