The U.S. Under-21 Women’s National Team will play its first competitive matches of the year during a week-long trip (Feb. 10-16) to the United Kingdom. U.S. head coach Jill Ellis will bring 18 players “over the pond” to play three matches. The U.S. team will play a yet-to-be finalized top division women’s club in its first match in London before taking a quick trip up to Scotland to play the Scotland Women’s National Team on Wed., Feb. 15 in Perth. The U.S. team will then travel back down to London for a final match on Friday, Feb. 17 against England’s U-21 side. The matches will mark a homecoming of sorts for Ellis, who was born in Folkestone, England, on the southeast coast. Ellis will be taking a look at several players new to the U-21 program, including Arizona State forward Liz Bogus, University of Portland forward Natalie Budge, Clemson goalkeeper Ashley Phillips, Texas A&M forward Ashlee Pistorius, Penn State defender Denay Riley and Notre Dame forward Kerri Hanks, a member of the last two U.S. U-19 squads that played in the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship and one of the leading scorers in U-19 history for the USA. Ellis has also called in midfielder Allie Long, a key member of the U.S. U-20 team that recently qualified for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia. There are number of U-21 veterans on the roster however, as five players were members of the team that won 2005 Nordic Cup championship in Sweden. Several players also make a return to the U-21s. Midfielder Sheree Gray, a starter on the U.S. team that played in the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in Thailand, was a member of the 2003 Nordic Cup Team and goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak was a member of the 2004 Nordic Cup Team.

U.S. U-21 Women’s National Team Roster – U.K. Tour (Feb. 10-18, 2006)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Ashley Phillips (Clemson), Kati Jo Spisak (Texas A & M); DEFENDERS (6): Rachel Buehler (Stanford), Mary Castelanelli (UCLA), Kendall Fletcher (UNC), Holly Gault (Kansas), Hayley Hunt (Stanford), Denay Riley (Penn State); MIDFIELDERS (5): Jen Buczkowski (Notre Dame), Bristyn Davis (UCLA), Sheree Gray (Penn State), Sarah Huffman (Virginia), Allie Long (Penn State); FORWARDS (5): Liz Bogus (Arizona State), Natalie Budge (Portland), Kerri Hanks (Notre Dame), Ashlee Pistorius (Texas A&M), Tiffany Weimer (Penn State)

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