2012 Young Female Athlete of the Year Finalists

2012 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Finalists:
    Jane Campbell, Goalkeeper
    Vanessa Dibernardo, Midfielder
    Crystal Dunn, Defender
    Julie Johnston, Defender
    Kealia Ohai, Forward

The starting goalkeeper for the U.S. Under-17 Women's National Team in 2012, Jane Campbell is one of the brightest young goalkeeping prospects to come along in years. At 5-foot-9 1/2 she has excellent height and possesses tremendous athleticism, bravery and leadership. Campbell started 13 international matches for the U.S. U-17s in 2012, including all three games at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan, and had an unbeaten record at 9-0-4. She allowed just two goals during the year, with just one of them coming in the three matches at the Women's World Cup. She earned a shutout against eventual champion France as the two teams tied 0-0 during group play and allowed her lone Women's World Cup goal in a 1-1 draw with eventual runner-up Korea DPR. She played every minute of the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament and did not allow a goal en route to earning five consecutive shutouts, including a tight 1-0 victory against Canada in the championship game. The Georgia native, who attends the Darlington School and plays her club ball for Concorde Fire South, is still just 17 years old, but has verbally committed to attend Stanford in the fall of 2013.

A wonderfully skillful center-midfielder, Vanessa DiBernardo was one of the key players in the central midfield of the USA's 4-3-3 formation as the young Americans won the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan. The 5-foot-3 DiBernardo started all six games of the tournament and played all but 30 minutes. The Naperville, Ill., native scored one of the USA's most important goals, a swerving strike from distance in the quarterfinal against a North Korea team that featured seven players from its 2012 Olympic side. DiBernardo, the daughter of former U.S. Men's National Team player Angelo DiBernardo, played in 18 international matches for the U-20s in 2012, scoring three goals (with two goals and one assist during the World Cup Qualifying Tournament) and finished her U-20 career with 20 caps. A star at the University of Illinois, DiBernardo returned to school after the World Cup to start 16 matches and score eight goals with five assists while leading the Illini into the second round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. She received her third consecutive All-Big Ten First-Team honor.

Crystal Dunn was one of the stars of the U.S. team that won the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Japan and was consistently outstanding on both sides of the ball through all six matches of the tournament. No doubt one of the best attacking flank defenders in the world at the U-20 age level, the 5-foot-2 dynamo set up two huge goals during the tournament with blistering runs down the right wing. Dunn's dynamic dribble and cross to Chioma Ubogagu in overtime for her header that proved to be the winning goal against Korea DPR in the quarterfinal match was surpassed only by her amazing individual effort to set up Kealia Ohai for the winning goal in the World Cup Final against Germany. That goal was the only one given up by Germany in the entire tournament. On the defensive end, the relentless Dunn helped shut down several of the world's top U-20 attacking players while playing every minute of the World Cup. The Rockville Centre, N.Y., native started 17 international matches this year, finishing her U-20 career as one of the most capped players in the program's history with 39. She played every minute of all four games she started in the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament and was one of the team leaders for the squad during the entire cycle. She returned to her college team at the University of North Carolina to play mostly in attacking positions, starting 15 matches. After not having scored a goal during the regular season, she played a huge part in helping lead the Tar Heels into the final four of the NCAA Tournament, scoring the insurance goal against Radford in the first round, the goal that put Carolina ahead for good against Illinois in the second round, the game-tying goal in the 82nd minute of UNC's penalty kick win over Baylor and both goals in the NCAA quarterfinals against BYU. She was also named First-Team All-ACC.

The U.S. captain lifted the U-20 Women's World Cup trophy in Tokyo moments after leading the USA to a monumental victory against Germany in the championship game in front of 31,114 fans. The Mesa, Ariz. native earned the Bronze Ball as the third best player in the tournament - an extremely rare achievement for a defender – due to her heroic defensive play through all six matches of the tournament and her marshaling of a back line that allowed just one goal against three group stage winners over the three knockout round games. She started every game of the Women's World Cup and played all but 38 minutes of the tournament. The 5-foot-7 Johnston, who featured in the center midfield during a significant portion of this cycle, played in 17 international matches for the USA in 2012, scoring four goals with two assists, including three scores at the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament. She missed the first seven games of the college season but returned from Japan to play in 14 games for Santa Clara University and was the Broncos' leading scorer with eight goals and five assists. She played on all three lines while helping SCU to a 12-3-6 record and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She was named First-Team All-WCC.

Kealia Ohai became just the third player in U.S. Women's National Team history to score in a semifinal and final at any age level when she achieved that feat in helping the USA win the 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. A tremendously fast winger with a phenomenal work rate, her pace in the attack and on defense played a major role in helping the USA lift the Women's World Cup trophy. Ohai scored the clinching goal in the 2-0 victory against Nigeria in the semifinal and then tallied the game-winning goal from a Crystal Dunn assist in the World Cup Final, slickly spinning home a first-time shot just before halftime that eventually held up for the 1-0 victory. It was the only goal conceded by Germany during the entire tournament. The Draper, Utah, native played in 18 international matches for the USA in 2012 and was one of the team's leading scorers with seven goals and five assists. She played in four of the USA's five matches at the CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying Tournament and assisted on both of the USA's goals in the 2-1 championship game win against Canada as the Americans scored twice in the last 11 minutes to pull out the victory. Ohai returned to school to play in 15 games while scoring seven goals with five assists to help North Carolina into the final four of the NCAA Tournament while being selected First-Team All-ACC.