It is commonly said that “youth is wasted on the young,” but the girls of the U15 National Team don’t seem to have gotten the memo.

When they met the So Cal Blues U18 Girls for a scrimmage at the Home Depot Center on Tuesday, the U15 girls used their youth to their advantage, and made the Blues look much older than they are. Although it was a meaningless game on paper, they won in convincing fashion, 5-1.

The first half was close. Each team battled for possession, fought evenly for 50/50 balls and earned several quality chances to shoot on goal, and the score was 1-1 at intermission.

But the second half was a different story. The U15 girls started using the Blues’ athleticism against them. Blues players would give hard chase after every ball, but the National Team girls responded with quick passes, a two-touch style of soccer that kept the ball constantly moving around the field. As the Blues got more frustrated, U.S.A. gained confidence, and four second-half goals were the result.

“We gained control of the ball in the second half,” said National Team defender Katie Naughton. “We had some confidence going into the second half, because we knew we had played pretty well in the first. We stuck with it, kept pressuring their defense, and it resulted in several pretty awesome goals in the second.”

Ashley Meier, Hayley Dowd and Stephanie Amack each scored goals, and Ryan Walker had two as Team U.S.A. piled it on in the second half.

Coach Mike Dickey said he was pleased with his team’s effort, especially against a talented and well-coached Blues team, ranked #6 in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

“I thought it was a good effort, especially against a team like So Cal Blues,” he said. They’re an excellent team and Tad [Bobak] is a great coach. To play older girls that are used to playing with one another, that’s not easy. So I thought our players did well in that respect.”

Coach Dickey went on to talk about his team’s tactics, and how his players were able to execute the game-plan.

“We tried to keep moving the ball quickly, get ourselves into good spots to score,” he said. “If we lost possession, we tried to regain the ball in their half. In the final third of the field, we wanted to make good decisions, play the ball to feet, look for different people. As a team, we try to dictate the game to the opposition: if they want to shrink the field, we’ll stretch it, they want to keep it tight, we’ll open it up.”

U.S.A.’s victory was a team effort, but several players shined individually, too.

Reilly Parker was a terror along the left wing in the second half, repeatedly breaking the Blues’ defense with slashing runs and dangerous crosses into the box.

Danielle Weatherholt was smart and very steady in the defensive midfield, showing great strength in the air and on the tackle and patience defending and distributing the ball. Midfielder Caroline Lindquist didn’t have a flashy game, but she performed well and made almost no mistakes.

Maya Theuer had a strong and commanding presence as a central defender. She showed good recovery speed, tackling and distribution skills, and she organized her defense with confidence. Margo McGinty, the other center back, was also very stout.

Haley Washburn was steady and repeatedly initiated counterattacks from her position as a right back, and Rachel Price was dynamic as a left back, showing exceptional strength and body control and also the ability to get forward and make defenders miss on the dribble. She also sent some nice crosses into the box.

Forward Corey Persson had a very good game, drawing lots of attention every time she cut through the seam of the defense on the dribble, and Haley Dowd also looked very dangerous up top.

Ashley Meier had a number of powerful shots on goal, and fellow forward Ryan Walker displayed good positioning and a deft finishing touch on her way to two goals.  

Goalkeeper McKenzie Karas didn’t get much action in the second half, but was steady and reliable when called upon to make a save.
 
At the end of the day, Coach Dickey had very little to complain about. With the tight schedule of this week’s training camp, he was already looking forward to the next challenge.

“It was good to translate our training sessions into success against a real team like the Blues,” he said. “Our players did well, and hopefully they still have something left in the tank for tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, of course, the U15 Girls play another more experienced opponent in Pepperdine University. We’ll see you there.


Starting Lineup by Position:

GOALKEEPER: Carissa Miller (Sereno Soccer Club; Cave Creek, Ariz.)
 
DEFENDERS (4): Lauren Bernard (Nordic Soccer Club; Colchester, Vt.), Margo McGinty (Albertson 93 FURY; Levittown, N.Y.), Maya Theuer (San Diego Surf; Carlsbad, Calif.), Haley Washburn (San Juan Soccer Club; Folsom, Calif.)
 
MIDFIELDERS (4): Summer Green (Michigan Hawks 95 Black; Milford, Mich.), Danielle Weatherholt (So Cal Blues Pearson; Capistrano Beach, Calif.), Ashley Meier (Cleveland Whitecaps; Strongsville, Ohio), Brittany Ratcliffe (FC Pennsylvania Strikers; Williamstown, N.J.)

FORWARDS (2): Jasmine Paterson (Kendall Soccer Shores; Key Largo, Fla.), Courtney Proctor (Santa Clarita Blazers; Santa Clarita, Calif.)

Reserves:
GOALKEEPER (1): McKenzie Karas (Premier ’95 Black; Las Vegas, Nev.)

DEFENDERS (3): Stephanie Amack (Mustang Black; Pleasanton, Calif.), Katie Naughton (Sockers FC; Arlington Heights, Ill.), Rachel Price (Space Coast United; Melbourne, Fla.),

MIDFIELDERS (5): Morgan Andrews (FC Stars of Mass.; Milford, Mass.), Reilly Parker (Mustang Blast; Danville, Calif.), Kate Bettinger (Marin FC; Belvedere, Calif.), Caroline Lindquist (CASL Spartan Elite Black; Raleigh, N.C.), Ryan Walker (Mustang Soccer Club; Oakland, Calif.)

FORWARDS (3): Haley Dowd (Nordic SC; Colchester, Vt.), Gabrielle Galanti (Montclair Thunderbolts; Howell, N.J.), Corey Persson (Stars of Massachusetts; Danvers, Mass.)

(Lineup courtesy of www.ussoccer.com)