U23 WNT heads to Portland, Florida

by U.S. Soccer

March 21, 2017

The U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team will hold back-to-back training camps on opposite coasts at the end of March and beginning of April that will include four matches against National Women’s Soccer League teams.

The USA will participate in the Thorns Spring Invitational from March 26-April 1 in Portland, Oregon, taking on three NWSL teams at Providence Park, before traveling to Orlando, Florida, for a camp from April 2-8 that will feature a closed-door match against the Orlando Pride on April 7 and a game against the University of Central Florida on April 5.

The USA will field different rosters for each event with six players crossing over to participate in both camps. As NWSL preseason has kicked off, the rosters consist entirely of college and youth club players.

Acting head coach B.J. Snow has named 22 players for the Portland segment, which will commence on March 23, and 20 players for the Orlando camp. Defenders Alana Cook (Stanford), Taylor Isom (BYU), Tegan McGrady (Stanford), Gabrielle Seiler (Florida), midfielder Brianna Pinto (CASL) and forward Savannah McCaskill (South Carolina) will participate in both camps.

The tournament in Portland will consist of three doubleheaders. The USA opens against the Houston Dash on Sunday, March 26 at 2:30 p.m. PT followed by Portland taking on the Chicago Red Stars at 5 p.m. PT. On Wednesday, March 29, Chicago takes on Houston at 5 p.m. PT and the USA will face the Thorns at 7:30 p.m. PT. The USA closes out the tournament against the Red Stars on Saturday, April 1 at 5 p.m. and Portland ends the tournament against Houston at 7:30 p.m. PT.

The USA’s match against the Thorns will be streamed online at www.thornsfc.com. The other two matches will be not available to watch online.

Tickets for the tournament are included in Thorns FC Annual Memberships. Individual tickets, which allow entry to both matches each day, start at $8 and are on sale online at www.thornsfc.com. Full tournament ticket packages, starting at $15, are also available for purchase online.

2017 THORNS SPRING INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE – All Games at Providence Park
Sunday, March 26
U.S. U-23 WNT vs. Houston Dash 2:30 p.m. PT
Portland Thorns FC vs. Chicago Red Stars 5 p.m. PT

Wednesday, March 29
Chicago Red Stars vs. Houston Dash 5 p.m. PT
U.S. U-23 WNT vs. Portland Thorns FC 7:30 p.m. PT

Saturday, April 1
U.S. U-23 WNT vs. Chicago Red Stars 5 p.m. PT
Portland Thorns FC vs. Houston Dash 7:30 p.m. PT

Of the 36 players named over the two rosters, seven represented the USA at either the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan (M Jaelin Howell, Pinto and F Sophia Smith) or the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea (D Ellie Jean, GK Casey Murphy, D Kaleigh Riehl and F Ashley Sanchez).

Four players (M Tierna Davidson, Murphy, Pinto and Sanchez) were on the USA’s roster (which was made up mostly of NWSL players) for the recent tournament in La Manga, Spain, and two players (Howell and Smith) were on the U.S. U-20 WNT roster for its games in La Manga.

Of the 36 players, four are not yet in college: Pinto, who was a member of the full Women’s National Team roster at the SheBelieves Cup in March (but did not see action), Howell (Real Colorado), Sanchez (SoCal Blues) and Smith (Real Colorado). Four players (Murphy, Pinto, Sanchez and McCaskill) have seen training time with the full U.S. Women’s National Team, but none have a senior team cap.

Smith scored nine goals in six consecutive international matches at the end of February and beginning of March, playing the first three games with the U.S. U-18 WNT in England and the final three with the U.S U-20 WNT in Spain.

U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Roster – Portland, Ore. (March 23-April 1)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Casey Murphy (Rutgers; Bridgewater, N.J.), Bella Geist (Oregon State; Milwaukie, Ore.)

DEFENDERS (7): Alana Cook (Stanford; Far Hills, N.J.), Taylor Isom (BYU; Provo, Utah), Ellie Jean (Penn State; Coventry, Conn.), Tegan McGrady (Stanford; San Jose, Calif.), Kaleigh Riehl (Penn State, Fairfax Station, Va.), Gabrielle Seiler (Florida; Peachtree City, Ga.), Alexis Warner (Michigan State; Ypsilanti, Mich.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Tierna Davidson (Stanford; Menlo Park, Calif.), Jordan DiBiasi (Stanford; Littleton, Colo.), Jaelin Howell (Real Colorado; Windsor, Colo.), Brianna Pinto (CASL; Durham, N.C.), Taylor Racioppi (Duke; Ocean Township, N.J.), Michelle Xiao (Stanford; Omaha, Neb.), Sandra Yu (Notre Dame, Strongsville, Ohio)

FORWARDS (6): Simone Charley (Vanderbilt; Hoover, Ala.), Mallory Eubanks (Mississippi State; Lexington, Ky.), Tziarra King (NC State; Sicklerville, N.J.), Savannah McCaskill (South Carolina; Chapin, S.C.), Ashley Sanchez (So Cal Blues; Monrovia, Calif.), Sophia Smith (Real Colorado; Windsor, Colo.)

U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Roster – Orlando, Fla. (April 2-8)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Cassie Miller (Florida State; Cave Creek, Ariz.), Arielle Schechtman (Georgetown; Del Mar, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (7): Megan Buckingham (North Carolina; Novi, Mich.), Kristen Cardano (Florida; Tulsa, Okla.), Alana Cook (Stanford; Far Hills, N.J.), Zoey Goralski (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.), Shannon Horgan (Clemson; Long Beach, N.Y.), Taylor Isom (BYU; Sandy, Utah), Tegan McGrady (Stanford; San Jose, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Sarina Bolden (Loyola Marymount; Milpitas, Calif.), Rachel Corboz (Georgetown; Green Brook, N.J.), Kristina Fisher (Miami (FL); Jupiter, Fla.), Mayra Pelayo (Florida; West Palm Beach, Fla.), Brianna Pinto (CASL; Durham, N.C.), Gabrielle Seiler (Florida; Peachtree City, Ga.), Chloe Williams (Eastern Washington; Spokane, Wash.)

FORWARDS (4): Hannah Diaz (St. Mary's (CA); Hidden Valley Lake, Calif.), Sarah Luebbert (Missouri; Jefferson, City, Mo.), Savannah McCaskill (South Carolina; Chapin, S.C.), Hailey Skolmoski (Utah; Riverton, Utah)