U.S. U-23 Women's National Team Will Travel to Europe to Face Norway and England

The U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team will travel to Europe from Jan. 31-Feb. 7 for two matches as part of a three-team competition in La Manga, Spain. The USA will face Norway on Feb. 4 and England on Feb. 6.

CHICAGO (Jan. 22, 2009) – The U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team will travel to Europe from Jan. 31-Feb. 7 for two matches as part of a three-team competition in La Manga, Spain. The USA will face Norway on Feb. 4 and England on Feb. 6.

This will be the first U.S. U-23 roster that features a majority of professional players with 11 of the 18 having been drafted by clubs in the new WPS. During the three years that the WUSA was in existence, this youth national team was run as a U-21 program, meaning the player pool for the USA’s oldest women’s youth national team were almost all in college and/or amateur players. Eleven of the players on the roster for the two matches in Spain have been capped at the U-23 level, lead by goalkeeper Val Henderson, who has patrolled the nets 14 times for the U.S. U-23s.

These will be the first international matches of the year for the U.S. U-23s, which piled up an 11-1-2 overall record in 2008, including a mark of 8-1-1 in international games. The U-23s won the annual Nordic Cup in resounding fashion, winning all four matches in Sweden against Europe’s top U-23 teams without allowing a goal, including a 3-0 victory against Germany in the championship game.

U.S. head coach Bill Irwin chose the 18-player roster after a January training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.

U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Roster
La Manga, Spain
Jan. 31-Feb. 7

Player	Pos.	Ht.	Birthdate	Hometown	Club/College	U-23 Caps/Goals
Averbuch, Yael	M	5’11”	11/03/1986	Upper Montclair, N.J.	Sky Blue FC	10/1
Bock, Brittany	F	5’7”	04/11/1987	Naperville, Ill.	Los Angeles Sol	0/0
Cinalli, Amanda	F	5’8”	05/10/1986	Maple Heights, Ohio	St. Louis Athletica	6/1
Davis, Kelsey	GK	5’11”	05/14/1987	Thousand Oaks, Calif.	Portland	4
Eyorokon, Parrissa	M	5’4”	09/15/1986	West Chester, Ohio	Washington Freedom	0/0
Henderson, Val	GK	5’7”	04/19/1986	Orinda, Calif.	Los Angeles Sol	14
Klein, Brittany	M	5’3”	10/29/1986	Arcadia, Calif.	Chicago Red Stars	10/2
Krzysik, Nikki	D	5’7”	05/23/1987	Clifton, N.J.	Chicago Red Stars	11/0
Larkin, Katie	F	5’6”	03/19/1987	Draper, Utah	Los Angeles Sol	7/0
Logterman, Stephanie	D	5’6”	02/25/1986	Austin, Texas	St. Louis Athletica	4/0
McNeill, Kia	D	5’9”	05/15/1986	Avon, Conn.	St. Louis Athletica	0/0
Moore, Kasey	D	5’8”	08/03/1987	Mission Viejo, Calif.	Boston Breakers	8/0
O’Hara, Kelley	F	5’5”	08/04/1988	Fayetteville, Ga.	Stanford	0/0
Press, Christen	F	5’7”	12/29/1988	P. V. Estates, Calif.	Stanford	0/0
Quinn, Lorraine	M	5’2”	08/14/1986	Farmingdale, N.Y.	Duke	4/0
Reynolds, Kat	D	5’8”	09/14/1987	Medina, Wash.	Santa Clara	4/0
Smerdzinski, Amy	M	5’3”	12/16/1986	Chantilly, Va.	Wake Forest	0/0
Tsao, Jessica	D	5’4”	11/02/1988	Portland, Ore.	Portland	0/0

U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (2): Kelsey Davis (Portland), Val Henderson (Los Angeles Sol)
DEFENDERS (6): Nikki Krzysik (Chicago Red Stars), Stephanie Logterman (St. Louis Athletica), Kia McNeil (St. Louis Athletica), Kasey Moore (Boston Breakers), Kat Reynolds (Santa Clara), Jessica Tsao (Portland)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Yael Averbuch (Sky Blue FC), Brittany Bock (Los Angeles Sol), Parrissa Eyorokon (Washington Freedom); Brittany Klein (Chicago Red Stars), Lorraine Quinn (Duke), Amy Smerdzinski (Wake Forest)
FORWARDS (4): Amanda Cinalli (St. Louis Athletica), Katie Larkin (Los Angeles Sol), Kelley O’Hara (Stanford), Christen Press (Stanford).

National Team Staff
Head Coach: Bill Irwin; Portland, Ore.
Asst. Coach: Everton Edwards; Miami, Fla.
Asst. Coach: Eric Watson; New York, N.Y.
Equip. Coordinator: Gabe Vogler; Minneapolis, Minn.
Team Coordinator: Amy Colquhoun; Long Beach, Calif.
Athletic Trainer: Kyle Nelson; Portland, Ore.
Team Doctor: Brad Moser; Minneapolis, Minn.