Youth National Team Update: Mar. 1 - March 8

The U.S. youth national teams have a busy week ahead, as five teams train in Florida and another heads for China.

U-21 WOMEN HEAD TO CHINA FOR THREE-GAME FOREIGN TOUR: On the heels of the full Women's National Team, which participated in the Four Nations Tournament in China last January, the U.S. Under-21 Women's National Team will travel to the Far East from March 17-29 for three highly competitive matches in and around Shanghai, China.  The matches will be excellent preparation for U.S. U-21 head Coach Chris Petrucelli as he continues to mold his team for the 2004 Nordic Cup in July.  While the schedule has not been completely confirmed, the U.S. U-21s will likely face top Chinese women's club Shanghai FC on March 21 and then the Chinese Youth National Team on March 25.  The U-21s will then face one of the toughest tests in the young careers on March 28, should the match get confirmed, when they face the full Chinese National Team.  China, which is fresh off a 1-0 victory over Women's World Cup champion Germany in Germany, is one of the most difficult teams in the world to play on its home soil and will certainly be "played in" after just returning from the Algarve Cup in Portugal.  The U.S. roster includes six players with full Women's National Team experience, including 19-year-old Heather O'Reilly, a star of the 2002 U-19 Women's World Champions, who will participate in her first event of the year with the U-21s.  O'Reilly, who was on the USA's CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Team in Costa Rica last week, is also still age-eligible for the U.S. U-19s.  O'Reilly will be reunited with former U-19 teammate Kelly Wilson, who won the Silver Boot and Bronze Ball at the U-19 World Championship in Canada, as well as four other players from that historic team, defender Keeley Dowling, midfielder Sarah Huffman, midfielder Jill Oakes and forward Manya Makoski.  Petrucelli will take six overaged players to China, defined as players who are not age-eligible for the Nordic Cup and thus born before Jan. 1, 1983, but each Nordic Cup roster is allowed several overage players per team.

U-21 WNT Roster - Trip to China
Goalkeepers (2): Nicole Barnhart (Stanford), Jenni Branam (UNC);
Defenders (3): Keeley Dowling (Tennessee), Hayley Hunt (Stanford), Nandi Pryce (UCLA);
Midfielders (7): Sarah Huffman (Virginia), Lindsey Huie (Portland), Carly Lloyd (Rutgers), Joanna Lohman (Penn State), Jill Oakes (UCLA), Nikki Thaden (Texas), Kacey White (UNC);
Forwards (6): Ali Andrzejewski (Maryland), Jenny Farenbaugh (Stanford), Natasha Kai (Hawaii), Manya Makoski (Arizona State), Heather O'Reilly (UNC), Kelly Wilson (Texas).

U-17 ’87 MNT FINISHES CAMP WITH 3-0 WIN OVER UNIV. OF TAMPA: The U.S. Under-17 ’87 Men’s National Team shutout their third straight opponent in their only match last week as midfielder Danny Szetela scored two goals and forward Freddy Adu registered two assists to lead the U.S. to a 3-0 win over the University of Tampa on March 4 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. The U.S. opened the scoring in the 38th minute when defender Greg Folk scored his first goal with the U-17s since joining Residency last September after receiving a pass from Adu. After taking the slim lead, Szetela took care of the rest as he scored in the 51st and 88th minutes off services from Rodrigo Hidalgo and Adu. Marcus Rein picked up his second straight shutout. In their first two matches, the U-17s defeated the University of Clemson 5-0 and the College of Charleston 1-0, with both games on Feb. 28.

U-17 ‘87 MNT Results
Date          Opponent                       Result      U.S. Goal Scorers
Feb. 28     College of Charleston     1-0 W      Szetela
Feb. 28     Clemson University        5-0 W      Adu (3), Brooks, King
March 3    Univ. of Tampa              3-0 W      Folk, Szetela (2)

FIVE YOUTH TEAMS TRAINING IN BRADENTON, FLA., THIS WEEK: With five U.S. Soccer Youth National Teams conducting training camps at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., this week, a large contingent of the possible future full MNT and WNT players will be on display in the sunshine state. On the men’s side there’s the Under-18, Under-15 and the Under-17 Men’s National Teams playing games against each other, local clubs and formidable university squads. On the women’s side, there’s the Under-16 and Under-17 Women’s National Team, who will face international competition as they will each meet the Under-17 national teams of Germany and Canada. Besides the U-17 teams that train in Bradenton all year with U.S. Soccer’s Residency Program, the four other national teams arrived this weekend and have already been going through the rigors of two-a-day training sessions. While the U-17 WNT already played a match against the U-18 IMG squad yesterday (March 7), winning 5-0 behind goals from Hayley Siegel, Lauren Cheney, Kylee Rossi, and two from Amy Rodriguez, the rest of the squads won’t play their first match until tomorrow (March 9). With all four YNTs playing games throughout the week, check out ussoccer.com for results and special features on the teams and individual players in a chance to get to know more about the future players involved in U.S. Soccer youth programs.

U-18 MNT Schedule
Date              Opponent
March 9        Notre Dame
March 10      University of Virginia
March 11      U-17 MNT

U-18 MNT Roster
Goalkeepers (3): Marcus Rein (Modesto, Calif.), Stephen Sandbo (Columbus, Ohio), Chris Seitz (San Luis Obispo, Calif.);
Defenders (7): Angelo Amato (Livingston, N.J.), Greg Folk (Woodland Hills, Calif.), Adam Sloustcher (Pleasanton, Calif.), Nathan Sturgis (St. Augustine, Fla.), Julian Valentin (Lancaster, Pa.), Mike Videira (Milford, Mass.), Tim Ward (Waukesha, Wis.);
Midfielders (7): Eric Avila (Encinitas, Calif.), Anthony Beltran (Claremont, Calif.), Michael Bradley (Pennington, N.J.), Nico Colalluca (Coventry, R.I.), Christian Jimenez (San Dimas, Calif.), Dax McCarty (Maitland, Fla.), Daniel Szetela (Clifton, N.J.);
Forwards (7): Sergio Buriano (Buffalo, N.Y.), Charlie Davies (Manchester, N.H.), Mike Grella (Glen Cove, N.Y.), Rodrigo Hidalgo (Atlantis, Fla.), Dane Murphy (Redding, Conn.), Robbie Rogers (Huntington Beach, Calif.), Jamie Watson (Coppell, Texas).

U-15 BNT Schedule
Date             Opponent
March 9       U-17 MNT
March 11     U-17 MNT
March 13     Boca Juniors

U-15 BNT Roster
Goalkeepers (3): Jonathan Harris (Arlington Heights, Ill.), Brian Perk (R.S. Margarita, Calif.), Matthew Walker (Grand Blanc, Mich.);
Defenders (6): Douglas Ferner (Bloomfield, Mich.), Cameron Lamming (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), Raphael Martinez (Portage, Ind.), Steven Morales (Farmingdale, N.Y.), Lucas Swertloff (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Darryl Tom (Los Altos, Calif.);
Midfielders (10): Bryan Arguez (Miami, Fla.), Cameron Brown (Garland, Texas), Guiseppe Carotenuto (Scottsdale, Ariz.), Victor Cortez (El Sobrante, Calif.), Andrew Duran (Mokena, Ill.), Jose Gonzales (Soquel, Calif.), Kaoru Forbess (Benton, Ariz.), Jonathan Kluz (Etiwanda, Calif.), Peri Mesosevic (Guilford, Ill.), Anthony Wallace (St. Petersburg, Fla.);
Forwards (4): Andrew Giallombardo (Manalapan, N.J.), Joseph Sorrentino (Trenton, N.J.), John Tardy (Staton Island, N.Y.), Justin True (Lee’s Summit, Mo.).

U-17 WNT Schedule
Date              Opponent
March 9        Canada U-17
March 11      U-17 WNT
March 12      Germany U-17

U-17 WNT Roster
Goalkeepers (2): Kelsey Davis (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), Meagan McCray (San Francisco, Calif.);
Defenders (6): Allison Fries (Dublin, Ohio), Megan Holmes (Timonium, Md.), Kasey Moore (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Ashley Nick (Monrovia, Calif.), Stefani Rocco (Sacramento, Calif.), Caroline Walden (Guilford, Conn.);
Midfielders (10): Brittany Bock (Chicago, Ill.), Kiara Bosio (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Cydne Currie (Irving, Texas), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Kristina Larsen (Laguna Hills, Calif.), Amanda Lebo (Telford, Pa.), Courtney Lewis (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Elisabeth Redmond (Morristown, N.J.), Courtney Rosen (Brecksville, Ohio), Hayley Siegel (Ellicott City, Md.);
Forwards (6): Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Ashley Myers (Bel Air, Md.), Kelly Quinn (Dublin, Ohio), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Kylee Rossi (Pennington, N.J.), Marihelen Tomer (Diamond Bar, Calif.).

U-16 GNT Schedule
Date              Opponent
March 9        Germany U-17
March 11      U-17 WNT
March 12      Canada U-17

U-16 GNT Roster
Goalkeepers (2): Alyssa Naeher (Stratford, Conn.), Lauren Robertson (Mission Viejo, Calif.);
Defenders (7): Jenna Belcher (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.), Hannah Cerrone (Wappinger Falls, N.Y.), Kim Feeny (Danville, Calif.), Lindsey Johnson (Phoenix, Ariz.), Nicole Moore (Virginia Beach, Va.), Onnie Trusty (Media, Pa.), Lauren Wilmoth (Garland, Texas);
Midfielders (10): Carolyn Blank (Toms River, N.J.) Regan Chelsea (Raritan, N.J.), Amber Gnatzig (Humble, Texas), Ali Hawkins (Encinitas, Calif.), Melissa Hayes (Cave Creek, Ariz.), C.J. Ludemann (Holtsville, N.Y.), Jessica McDonald (Phoenix, Ariz.), Lauren Switzer (St. Charles, Ill.), Carissa Voegle (Livermore, Calif.), Olivia West (Indianapolis, Ind.);
Forwards (5): Katya Hessel (Edwardsville, Ill.), Alicia Jenkins (Diamond Springs, Calif.), Ashley Moore (Clifton Park, NY.), Casey Noguiera (Cedarburg, Wis.), Nikki Washington (Mesquite, Texas).

U-19 WNT AND NEW U-15 GIRLS TO HOLD CAMPS AT NATIONAL TRAINING CENTER: The U.S. Under-19 Women’s National Team and the newly created U.S. Under-15 Girls Developmental National Team will conduct week-long training camps at U.S. Soccer’s National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., this week. U-19 WNT head coach Mark Krikorian, who recently took over for current full Women’s National team assistant coach Tracy Leone, will continue to develop the core of the team that will enter CONCACAF Qualifying in May for the 2004 U-19 Women's Youth Championship, to be held November 10-27 in Thailand. The U-19s will likely play a couple matches against college teams or local clubs, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. This will be the first camp for the newly created Under-15 Girls, a team that was created to identify pre-high school standouts and prepare players for the Under-19 and Under-21 Women’s National Teams.

U-19 WNT Roster
Goalkeepers (4): Laura Comeau (Leigh, N.H.), Ashlyn Harris (Satellite Beach, Fla.), Ashley Phillips (West Peabody, Mass.), Julie Ryder (DeKalb, Ill.);
Defenders (6): Jen Buczkowski (Elk Grove Village, Ill.), Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Nikki Krzysik  (Clifton, N.J.), Stephanie Logterman (Austin, Texas), Stephanie Lopez (Elk Grove, Calif.), Becky Sauerbrunn (Olivette, Mo.),
Midfielders (8): Yael Averbuch (Upper Montclair, N.J.), Chioma Igwe (Belmont, Calif.), Elizabeth Jobe (Roswell, Ga.), Caroline Lea (Lakewood, Colo.), Rebecca Moros (Larchmont, N.Y.), Lorraine Quinn (Farmingdale, N.Y.), Jennifer Redmond (Morristown, N.J.), Carrie Schmit (La Mesa, Calif.);
Forwards (8): Bristyn Davis (Locust Valley, N.Y.), Tina Estrada (Fremont, Calif.), Sheree  Gray (Toms River, N.J.), Kerri Hanks (Allen, Texas), Kia McNeill (Avon, Conn.), Alexia Orand (Orange, Calif.), Julia Schnugg (Alamo, Calif.), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.).

U-15 GNT Roster
Goalkeepers (4): Rachel Bachtel (Dublin, Ohio), Wendy Balogun (New Carrollton, Md.), Kelly Dyer (Germantown, Tenn.), Jorde Kussmann;
Defenders (7): Skyy Anderson (Cambridge, Mass.), Lauren Barnes (Upland, Calif.), Kathleen Deines (Issaquah, Wash.), Gretchen Miller (Fariport, N.Y.), Megan Ohai (Draper, Utah), Mary Reynolds (Alpharetta, Ga.), Kacey Richards (Williamstown, N.J.);
Midfielders (8): Courtney Barg (Plano, Texas), Emily Esbrook (Novi, Mich.), Sinead Farrelly (Havertown, Pa.), Jessica Hurtado (Butler, N.J.), Taylor Lytle (Las Cruces, N.M.), Jamie Pollack (Powder Springs, Ga.), Caroline Simpson (Atlanta, Ga.), Rebecca Thomas (Burlington, Wash.);
Forwards (5): Bianca D’Agostino (Longmeadow, Mass.), Melissa Henderson (Garland, Texas), Brooke Knowlton (Rexford, N.Y.), Rachel Schuyler (Chesire, Conn.), Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.).