CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA – In England they call it rotating the squad. Mike Dickey did it Monday.

Facing Costa Rica’s U17 GNT here at the U.S. Youth Soccer Girls ODP Interregional, Dickey used 10 new starting outfield players compared to the lineup he used Sunday in a match against the 1993 birth year players from Region I (also a scoreless draw). Under the lights and on a narrow football field, the U.S. squad struggled to break down the Costa Ricans, and at times even to connect any series of passes together, but the group showed a lot of heart and determination in playing to a 0-0 draw.

Dickey said one consequence of rotating the squad, albeit a necessary one with two matches in 24 hours, was going through various aspects of getting feet wet.

“This was a great experience for them, especially the 3 95s that were out there. They’re so excited. It was the first game for all of them. So you saw the same jitters that you had in the last game with connecting passes and all of that. That’s normal when you’re young and getting into a national team environment,” Dickey said. “(The back four) did a nice job and looked real good. They got involved in the attack and did a good job of shutting down some experienced Costa Ricans.”

U.S. left back Laura Liedle said defensive shape has been an emphasis of Dickey’s in training, as has getting the outside backs involved with attacking play.

“All of our training pretty much every day so far has been about working together. All of the drills that we ran were where our coach just directed our back four and taught us how to move with four in the back,” Liedle said. “It was good to get involved some with the offense too. We have outside attackers but they play higher up and so it lets us push up.”

Liedle was a standout along with fellow fullback Kelli Hubly and center backs Maya Theuer and Miranda Freeman. Liedle showed good positioning and a very good soccer brain with her decision-making, as well as being good in the air. Theuer walked the tightrope with some aggressive challenges after picking up a 1st half yellow card, but ultimately was the rock that the Costa Rican attacking ship broke up on. Freeman has terrific pace and ran down anything that was played through. She also was composed in building from the back, doing a better job than most of her teammates at finding feet.

It was a lack of passing accuracy that hindered the U.S. when it came to creating quality chances. Some of the better opportunities came from pressuring the Costa Rican defense or with forwards running with the ball. In the latter method, attacking midfielder Courtney Raetzman was perhaps the most dangerous player for the U.S. in the final third, juking around defenders to put herself and teammates toward the opposing penalty area. Jasmine Patterson also used her speed to good effect, creating one very good chance on a giveaway, but her shot toward an open goal was scrambled away by a Costa Rican defender after the goalkeeper had been caught out of position.

Central midfielder Joanna Boyles also showed some excellent close control and the ability to serve a set piece well, but also was still looking for the killer pass to unlock the Costa Rican defense by the time her evening ended. Midfielder Ashley Spivey came on late and again showed the ability to create some chances by running with the ball, but in the end she probably didn’t have enough time to make too strong an impression on the match.

Holding midfielder Sandra Yu of Cleveland Football Club also gets good marks for hard work and grit in flustering the Costa Rican attempts to attack through the middle of the park Monday night.

The team will train Tuesday and play another match with Costa Rica Wednesday, probably featuring more of the starting lineup from Sunday night. A final match for the group will be played Thursday vs. the Region IV ODP 93s.

More U15 GNT coverage

U15 Girls National Team Lineup

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