There are 21 players on the U.S. U17 Women’s World Cup team. Four of them are from one club. Goalkeeper Hillary Beall, defender Kennedy Wesley, defender Karina Rodriguez, and forward Ashley Sanchez all play for Southern California Blues Soccer Club (So Cal Blues). The quartet marks the first time in U.S. U17 Women’s World Cup history that four players have come from the same club. The previous record was three players.

This is not unfamiliar territory for the Blues though. The club is used to being at the forefront. The Blues, the defending ECNL National Champion at U14, had a player on the U17 World Cup team in 2008 and 2012. The coaching staff there is aware of what a national team level player looks like and what it takes to get there. 

With four players on this year’s U.S. World Cup roster, So Cal Blues is a driving force for player development within the U.S. national team structure. The path to success for each of those players has been very different. 

So Cal Blues Technical Director of the ECNL Teams Randy Dodge talked with TopDrawerSoccer about each player and their path to the club and to the national team program. 

Read More: Complete Coverage from the 2016 U17 World Cup | The Magic Behind So Cal Blues 

Hillary Beall, Goalkeeper, So Cal Blues 

Hillary Beall’s soccer career started on her big sister’s AYSO team. She quickly grew past that level and moved into the club game. 

“Hillary Beall started with the Blues as a U11 player on our sister team and then went to a top team at another club and then came back to the Blues two years ago,” Dodge said. 

Beall has been with the national team program since U14. She’s been one of the top goalkeepers in her age group for a long time. She is the only goalkeeper on the World Cup roster who was part of the first national team camp under U17 WNT head coach B.J. Snow in June of 2014.

“She had the physical attributes to be a top level goalkeeper from the beginning but it has been her work rate away from the field that has separated her [from other physically gifted players],” Dodge said.

Beall refined her game with her inclusion at the U17 level and improved on every aspect that she possibly could in order to stay at the top in the position. 

“Since she has been in all these camps the last few years, she has learned to marshall her box and take charge of games,” Dodge said. “Her confidence that she instills into the other players on the team is a great testament of a complete team player she is. Beall is always motivated to be the best goalkeeper in games. She does not have the opportunity to relax because of the level of players we have in training.”

Karina Rodriguez, Defense, So Cal Blues 

Karina Rodriguez comes from a soccer family. Her older sister Anika was on the U.S. U17 Women’s National Team in 2013 for the CONCACAF Championship. She is currently a redshirt freshman at UCLA. 

While Anika is an attacking talent, Karina is a boss at defense. With the difference in mindset between the sisters, it helped both of them improve their games during their youth careers. 

“It gets pretty intense, sometimes I go home crying because she makes me so frustrated because I can’t beat her,” Karina Rodriguez told the Daily Breeze in 2015 about their relationship. “I can’t take the ball from her.” 

The repetitions against her older sister certainly helped her. Karina is one of the starting center backs for the U17 WNT. However, her spot on the roster was not always so secure. 

“I have known Karina Rodriguez since she was 11 years old because I coached her older sister Anika and I finally got to coach Karina when she was 14,” Dodge said. “Once I started coaching her I put a call into BJ [Snow] and told him he needs to get her in. He was a bit hesitant but I just staked my reputation on her because I felt she was one of the best center backs in the country and one who had ever played for me before. Once she got a chance she never let go and worked her tail off on and off the field.”

Since her arrival with the team, she has been into every camp with the team except for one. She is one of the pieces that this group has been built around. Her remarkable consistency in the level she brings to every game is a remarkable trait for a youth player. 

“She is a fantastic reader of the game,” Dodge said. “She is very disciplined 1v1 and makes up for her stature by reading the play before it happens. She has grown into a complete player being able to hit great passes and a great leader for her Blues team.”

Ashley Sanchez, Forward, So Cal Blues 

Ashley Sanchez is a special soccer player. Even at the youth international level, she is a star in the making. Dodge says she has been a standout on the field since the start. 

“Since day one, she has that unteachable quality,” Dodge said. “She is magical on the ball. She sees things other players do not see but she sees it three plays before it happens. Her vision and 1v1 ability is a joy to watch.”

While Sanchez has been on the fast track to the U.S. Women’s National Team, it has not always been clear sailing. 

“It was not until I got her evaluation back from the U14 GNT camp stating that she does not work hard enough in training that I had to have a heart to heart with her and the family,” Dodge said. “We put into place that for her to be successful she has to change her mindset. Credit to Ashley and her parents Ralph and Julie for believing in me as a coach to push her past herself.”

The feedback was eye-opening for Sanchez. She tapped into that drive that she had in the games to raise her level in practice. 

“She is now the hardest working player in practice and has become a huge leader,” Dodge said. “I could not be any prouder of a player and her determination to be the best and take constructive criticism.”

That level of commitment brought a special player to an even higher level. 

“Her motivation in games is to be the best,” Dodge said. “She knows every player is gunning for her and that motivates her to be the best. Her team play and her passing has improved drastically over the last four years.”

Kennedy Wesley, Defender, So Cal Blues 

Kennedy Wesley is the youngest of the So Cal Blues group. She was born in 2001, which puts her in contention to play in the 2018 U17 World Cup as well. 

For now, she is contending for minutes while playing up two years. Her introduction to the group came when normal right back Kiara Pickett was out with an injury. Wesley rose to the occasion and proved that she was ready for the spotlight. 

“Kennedy Wesley is one of the younger players that has so much potential forward that is going to be fun to watch,” Dodge said. “Tad Bobak, one of our founding fathers of the Blues with Larry Draluck, noticed Kennedy at a very young age. They felt her determination to defend was second to none, which is a rare quality to have.”

Wesley has played a few positions already in her brief national team career because she has the intelligence and tools to fill in those roles. 

“She is a fierce competitor,” Dodge said. “She is a future leader for our national team programs.”

Wesley’s commitment to honing her craft has improved with her introduction to the national team. 

“Her dedication on and off the field is the biggest difference since she has been a part of the national team,” Dodge said. “She is a consummate professional when it comes to games and practices. Her future is bright and I’m very proud to coach her.”

Dodge and the Blues coaching staff has a unique position. Opposed to most club coaches, they have the benefit of having multiple national team players on a club team, which raises the level of training every day. 

“We have a unique situation with all four of these players that our on the U17 Women’s National Team,” Dodge said. “They train with the best players day in and day out. Most teams don’t have the quality that I have been blessed to be a part of. Thank you to the players and families for entrusting in me their daughters careers.”