FRISCO, TEXAS – Mike Dickey’s first match in charge of the U17 Women’s National Team was a winning one, as the group bounced back from last month’s shock disappointment at the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament to defeat Brazil 4-1 in a friendly played as part of the Dallas Cup.

The match was the first for the U17 WNT since the departure of Seton Hall’s Kazbek Tambi from the head coaching position. The team lost on penalties last month against Canada in the semifinal of the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament, meaning it will not participate in this year’s FIFA U17 World Cup. The team had outscored its opposition in the group stage of the event 31-0, but lost on PKs after playing through 120 minutes of scoreless soccer.

Dickey, also the U15 GNT coach, explained that he was slated to take over the team before the U17 World Cup anyway, but now will focus on some friendlies against top competition this spring and summer due to the U.S. status as a non qualifier for the FIFA event.

He agreed that the strong performance Saturday night was in part due to what happened last month.

“I think you could argue we are still one of the best U17 teams in the world. We won’t get a chance to prove it in September (at the World Cup), but we can prove it against Brazil and we can prove it against Japan when we play them this summer and we can prove it against China,” Dickey said. “Our U18 coach Dave Chesler is here and they’ll get to prove it with that mix and as soon as the U20 World Cup is over later this year this group will graduate right into that cycle. The 94s will have 2 World Cups they’ll be available to play at at the U20 level and the 93s will have 1. Ultimately we are preparing players for Pia and the full national team and we want to make the decisions very difficult for her because she will have such a stable of players. The current U15 cycle is pretty good as well.

“Kaz did a great job with this group so basically I inherited the group he had been working with for a time,” he continued. “We changed some things in the formation but other than that we still had the same expectations about what the soccer is supposed to look like.”

Two standouts in particular for the U.S. Saturday were Kaysie Clark, pushed up to forward from her usual midfield position, and Cari Roccaro, excellent in the back line all night.

Both players agreed last month’s disappointment was a motivating factor Saturday. Clark added that she feels comfortable playing up front.

“I don’t usually play there, but I’ve played up there before, so I’m used to it,” Clark said. “Definitely (last month was a motivator). We know they’re going to the world cup and we’re not, so that was like our World Cup game.”

Roccaro, a standout defender from Long Island club Albertson SC, agreed.

“Since we lost we wanted to come out and show everyone we deserved to be there,” she said. “I know Brazil is a great team and they deserve to be there, so by beating them it shows everyone just how good we really are.”

Roccaro also was notable for her ability to play the ball out of the back and not just hoof it up field every time, something she credits to her youth club coaching.

“Albertson has really taught me to look for players moving off the ball and finding their feet, not just always kicking the ball long. I learned to open up my mind and see the options all over the field. I’ve learned to also look back or even switch the field on a long ball and some of the different techniques with that.”

The earliest scoring chance came when a shot from U.S. midfielder Kaili Torres took a deflection and had to be pushed wide of the net by the Brazilian goalkeeper. The pressure kept coming however and it was soon 1-0 as Kaysie Clark scored on a close-range rebound effort after Brazilian goalkeeper Daniele Neuhaus had pushed Lindsey Horan’s shot against the crossbar.

Brazil nearly answered immediately when Thais Guedes made a surging run down the right and crashed a drive off the upright. After the team earned a free kick on the rebound, U.S. goalkeeper Bryane Heaberlin showed good command of her area to snag the cross.

A miscue in the back by Brazil nearly gifted the U.S. a 2nd goal, but Morgan Brian’s volley from inside the area went just over the bar in the 20th minute. Kaysie Clark then put on a Brazilian-like spin move on her Brazilian defender, getting herself into the area, but when she was upended on a challenge, U.S. shouts for a penalty went unanswered. Clark then played a nice ball ahead to Brian, but her shot was blocked in the area.

The U.S. went up 2-0 when Kaili Torres controlled a pass from the left by Ashley Spivey and knocked the rebound of her own saved shot into the back of the net.

Roccaro was playing well in the U.S. defensive line, making some confident steps to intercept passes and distributing well out of the back. Up front, Clark was having a field day at the expense of her marker, continually beating her 1v1 on the right side. She sent a lovely cross into the 6-yard box after another such effort, but the volley was sent over the bar by Brian.

Clark then almost scored another, but her redirect of a cross from Alex Doll went just wide of the net, and the teams went to halftime 2-0.

Morgan Brian almost scored on a splendidly-taken free kick in the 49th minute, but the ball she curved around the Brazilian wall from 22 yards was pushed away by a diving Brazilian goalkeeper.

Kaysie Clark picked up where she left off in the 1st half, the Kansas City area product made a lovely run through the middle, beating two defenders before her shot was well saved by Neuhaus in the Brazilian net.

The match took a dramatic turn in the 59th minute when Brazil’s Thais Guedes was fouled in the area for a penalty kick. Dallas Texans’ goalkeeper Abby Smith had been subbed on at the beginning of the half and was now on the spot, but Jucinara Paz converted the penalty to make it 2-1.

The U.S. answer was immediate. The Brazilian keeper failed to handle a long ball into the area and it fell to Brian. The Georgia recruit danced around a defender and was then upended by the keeper for what would have been a penalty and probably a red card, but the referee played advantage and Lindsey Horan drove a shot home from 12 yards to make it 3-1 at 62 minutes.

Brazil nearly scored in the 69th minute on a corner from Luana Bertolucci, but Bethesda SC’s Alex Doll was on hand to make an emergency clearance right on the goal line, Brazilian claims that the ball had crossed the line going unreceived by the referee. On the other end, Ashley Spivey of Baltimore Bays went close with a left-footed drive after a nice buildup involving Horan and Brian.

Dallas-area resident Taylor Smith scored the game’s final goal, delighting the hometown crowd with a nice effort in rounding the goalkeeper and passing the ball into an empty net for the final 4-1 scoreline.

U.S. U17 WNT Lineup
GK: Bryane Heaberlin (Abby Smith)
D: 3 – Abby Dahlkemper; 12 – Cari Roccaro; 6 - Olivia Brannon (8 - Clarissa Wedemeyer); 15 – Laura Liedle
M: 5 – Kaili Torres; 10 – Morgan Brian (16 - Isabel Farrell); 4 – Alex Doll (Taylor Smith); 25 - Ashley Spivey (2 – Jaelene Hinkle)
F: 7 – Kaysie Clark; 13-Lindsey Horan
Coach: Mike Dickey