CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA – Mike Dickey’s U15 Girls National Team opened their week here at the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP Interregional with a scoreless draw against the Region I 1993 team coached by Erica Walsh.

The match was played under the lights at Coral Glades High School, with the rest of the ODP teams competing here in attendance. Plenty of scoring chances materialized for both teams, but some good goalkeeping and inaccurate finishing kept the match scoreless.

Dickey is not as concerned about results as he reiterated his main goal for the week is to give players on this team a taste of important national team matchplay and to see if any of the squad are ready to step in and help the U17 Women’s National Team next February in CONCACAF Qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.

Walsh, moonlighting here from her primary assignment as the Penn State head coach, was pleased with the way her team, especially some more diminutive  players, battled against the national squad.

Region I defender Whitney Church, a Penn State recruit herself, was one of the standouts of the match, winning tough tackles and marking effectively, plus communicating vocally throughout the match. Her central defensive partner, Casey Morrison, was also effective on the night, challenging services well and winning a lot in the air. Outside backs Meredith Speck and Lia Bellizzi completed the solid defensive effort in front of goalkeeper Britt Eckerstrom.

Midfielders Riley Houle and Karin Simonian were perhaps the shortest players on the field but proved to be an effective tandem, with Simonian challenging everything played through the middle and Houle showing some lovely footwork and creating opportunities for the forwards. Cassandra Pecht and Barbara Platenburg had some good moments in support of the skillful Kate Schwindel. Perhaps the best came when Platenburg’s pressure created at USA turnover that Schwindel pounced on. After a sweet move to shake a defender, Schwindel backheeled a pass for Platenburg before the Virginia forward hit a shot that went crashing off the crossbar.

The U.S. team was more effective in the 2nd half. Ashley Spivey played a key role in central midfield and commanded possession of the ball more in the 2nd 45 minutes. The defensive unit of Morgan Andrews, Katie Naughton, Annie Bobbitt and Lauren Bernard were solid throughout the match, and Colorado Rush forward Lindsey Horan was the most dangerous player for the U.S. due to her technical speed. Penn Strikers’ midfielder Brittany Ratcliffe had some good moments in the 2nd half as a sub.

Dickey said he kept a number of his players out of the match with an eye toward a match Monday night vs. the Costa Rica U17 WNT. We will have full details in Tuesday’s edition of TopDrawerSoccer.com.

Region I 93 Lineup
GK: Britt Eckerstrom
D: Meredith Speck, Whitney Church, Casey Morrison, Lia Bellizzi
M: Barbara Platenberg, Riley Houle, Karin Simonian, Cassandra Pecht, Melissa Gavin
F: Kate Schwindel
Subs: Emily Armstrong, Gabriella Cuevas, Jessica Clinton, Caitlin Forte, Kari Quinn, Dana Rosney, Kristi Abbate (injured)

U15 Girls National Team Lineup
GK: McKenzie Karas (Caroline Stanley)
D: Morgan Andrews, Annie Bobbitt, Katie Naughton, Lauren Bernard
M: Mariana Galvan, Ashley Spivey, Ashley Meier, Reilly Parker
F: Haley Washburn, Lindsey Horan
Subs: Brittany Ratcliffe, Jasmine Patterson, Laura Liedle
Subs Not Used: Sandra Yu, Maya Theuer, Katelyn Rowland, Courtney Raetzman, Amber Munerlyn, Kelli Hubly, Gabrielle Galanti, Miranda Freeman, Joanna Boyles