CARSON, California - The U.S. U20 Women’s National Team wrapped up its April camp on Friday with a pair of scrimmages against USC and UCLA. The U20s beat the Trojans 4-0 and gave up a late equalizer in a 1-1 draw against the Bruins for the nightcap. 

The U20s were not wearing numbers for the games, just training tops. The goal scorers were confirmed by the U.S. Soccer staff, but the player identification within the run of play was not checked and the starting lineups were not written down. To the best of my knowledge, these were the correct players for these sequences in the game. 

U.S. U20 Women’s National Team 4-0 USC

So Cal Blues forward Katie Pingel scored twice to lead the U.S. to a comfortable win over the Pac-12 side. Pingel struck first in the 19th minute when she got on the end of a cross from Alleandra Watt, who was electric in the first half. 

Watt sprung free from the defense after Kelly Sweeney pulled off a smooth turn down the left touchline. Sweeney played in the pass in front of Watt who still had to beat two defenders before hitting the cross through the box. Texas Tech commit Jordan Harr dummied the pass, which Pingel punched home. 

It was Watt again giving the USC defense problems in the 25th minute when she stole the ball about 35 yards from goal. Watt quickly sprung to action and played it into Harr for a tough angle shot that the USC goalkeeper pushed away. 

Two minutes later, U.S. doubled the lead with a lengthy build-up before Harr tried her luck with a shot from over 25 yards out. The shot took a devilish skip and fooled the goalkeeper before sneaking into the net. 

The U.S. took the 2-0 lead into the break. There were some solid moments from the squad that was playing together for the first time. The build-up from the defense to the midfield was crisp and Watt was the most dangerous player on the field. The U.S. also shut down USC from hitting on the break with good organization along with some physical play from the outside defenders. 

USC had a bit more of the ball in the second half, but the possession did not lead to many clear chances. 

Pingel struck her second of the game in the 57th minute when one of the U.S. midfielder charged through the center of the field before slipping the ball into Pingel’s feet on the left channel. She hit her shot high and over the keeper to give the U.S. a 3-0 lead. 

Katie Cousins tried to add to the lead minutes later when she picked out a run from Sweeney and played a beautiful diagonal ball into Sweeney’s path for a chance on goal, but a great recovery from a USC defender put the ball out for a corner kick. 

In the 70th minute, the U.S. brought on a number of subs, which helped regain some rhythm to the play and allowed the youth national team to look a little more comfortable retaining possession. 

Eight minutes after the substitutes hit the field, the U.S. found its final goal of the game when Alexa Ben headed in a set piece play off a corner kick. The service was perfect to the far post and Ben was there to direct it into the net. 

The U.S. was magnificent in killing off the game late and taking the air out of the ball. USC trotted out a relatively young lineup with only three soon-to-be seniors starting the game. 

U.S. U20 Women’s National Team 1-1 UCLA

The U.S. jumped all over the Bruins from the opening kick off and only had to wait seconds before grabbing the opening goal. A cross into the box was knocked down by a hand and the referee awarded a penalty kick to the youth national team. 

Emily Ogle stepped up to the spot and put the ball into the back of the net with authority for the first goal of the game. Spectators had to wait 88 minutes before the next goal, but there was plenty of action in between. 

UCLA hit the post in the 10th minute when a winger snuck in the box and ripped a shot from about 13 yards out. 

The U.S. responded with a chance from Taylor Racioppi. The PDA star struck her shot from just outside the box that required a fingertip save from the goalkeeper, which pushed it out for a corner kick. 

Mallory Pugh and Racioppi linked well in the first half and nearly combined for a goal with 10 minutes left in the opening stanza. Pugh made one of her patented darting runs through the space in between the defense and the midfield before she slipped in the ball for Racioppi. She finished past the goalkeeper, but the assistant referee ruled her to be in an offside position when the pass left Pugh’s foot. 

UCLA had the final chance of the half when Taylor Smith slipped through the gap of the two U.S. center backs following a great pass from Annie Alvarado. Smith was denied at the doorstep though by a brilliant save from Caroline Brockmeier. 

Brockmeier finished the game with three fine saves and there wasn’t much she could do on the UCLA game. It was a solid outing for the Florida State goalkeeper. 

UCLA goalkeeper Siri Ervik came on at half and she put on a show as well. Four minutes into the half, Ervik came up with her first save when Racioppi tried to toe poke the ball past her in a diving effort, but she did well to get low quickly and swallow up the shot. 

Brockmeier then made big saves in the 56th, 73rd, and 76th minutes to keep UCLA at bay. The speed on the wings from UCLA and the crisp passing through the middle gave the U.S. some trouble during a spell in the second half. 

UCLA earned a result for it’s play when Lauren Kaskie served a corner kick to the far post that Kodi Lavrusky headed home. 

Pugh put on a cape after the goal and tried to go into superhero mode in an attempt to capture the win in the dying seconds. She skated through the UCLA defense and drove a hard shot to the near post, but Ervik made a tremendous save to keep it out of the goal and end the game with a 1-1 result. 

Following an offseason where UCLA lost a number of players to the next level, the Bruins are still playing the same style from next year. Head coach Amanda Cromwell’s standards have not dropped off and the Bruins have plugged in some new pieces to fulfill those duties. Darian Jenkins, Smith, and Alvarado had strong showings against the youth national team. 

The U.S. had a number of chances to add to the lead, but the UCLA goalkeepers were strong on the day and did not allow the youth national team to find the back of the net from the run of play.