The nearly 300 leading players participating in the event have been selected from US Youth Soccer State Association and regional level evaluations. Throughout the week, players will train at practices and compete in matches against other regions, in front of national staff and collegiate coaches to maximize their exposure for selection to the next level of play.

 

US Youth Soccer ODP is the nation's original player identification program. With programs in all 55 US Youth Soccer State Associations, it is available to any player, regardless of hometown or club affiliation. US Youth Soccer ODP has continued its tradition of elite competition and player development for more than 30 years, and is the only development program that can claim members of Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, and a majority of current and past national and youth national team members as alumni. To learn more, visit www.usyouthsoccer.org/programs/OlympicDevelopmentProgram.

Elizabeth Stam’s late game heroics gave Region II a 1-0 win against Region III. The entire match went scoreless up until the very end when Stam found the back of the net in the 82^nd minute.

The second 1996 match of the day resulted in a Region I win. Both teams fought hard to convert an opportunity, but went into halftime scoreless. In the 50^th minute, Carissima Cutrona was able to break the stalemate, and put Region I in the lead. Just six minutes later however, Region IV recovered as Mariah Lee tied the match. Both teams continued the battle but in the end, Meghan Doyle got the much desired goal late in the 80^th minute to give Region I the 2-1 win.

 

Region III got a 3-2 victory against the 1997 Region II team. Region II got off to a good start when Maya Piper scored just five minutes within stepping on the pitch. Region III however didn’t let the early disadvantage throw them off, and got two goals before halftime by Jennifer Westendorf and Mariana Speckmaier. In the second half, Westendorf was able to give Region III more of a cushion when she scored an additional goal in the 45^th minute. Region II’s Katie Murray was able to get a late goal in the 88^th minute, but Region III ultimately got the win.

 

Region IV obtained a win against the 1997 Region I team to finish the day. Grace Hancock produced the first goal of the match for Region IV in the 24^th minute of play. Region I’s Natalie Turner-Wyatt found the equalizer in the 51^st minute, but Region IV kept focused and scored two more goals in the following 15 minutes. Milan Moses scored in the 55^th minute, and Grace Zas got a 64^th minute goal to give Region IV a 3-1 win.