PREVIEW: U-20 USWNT Faces Canada in World Cup Qualifying Quarterfinal

Match Preview

U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team vs. Canada

2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship - Quarterfinal
Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

2 p.m. ET (Concacaf Go, Concacaf Facebook, Concacaf YouTube & TUDN Xtra)
March 4, 2020


U-20 WNT FACES RIVAL CANADA FOR SPOT IN SEMIS: After four straight wins, the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team will continue its journey at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship vs. regional rival Canada on Wednesday, March 4 at 2 p.m. ET. The winner will advance to the decisive tournament semifinal, which will send two winners to the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Canada should provide some of the USA’s stiffest competition yet at World Cup qualifying after rolling through its first four games with 30 goals scored and none allowed. Canada finished second in Group E after struggling in its first three games, but downed Cuba 6-0 in the Round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Saturday’s match will be broadcast live on Concacaf Go, Concacaf Facebook, Concacaf YouTube and TUDN. Follow the U-20 WNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

WATCH U-20 WNT QUALIFYING: Concacaf will broadcast all matches of the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship on Concacaf Go, as well as its Facebook and YouTube channels. Additionally, all matches will be available on TUDNxtra.

RIVALRY RENEWED: The USA is 3-2-0 all-time vs. Canada at this tournament, and Wednesday’s game marks the nations’ first meeting outside of the final at this competition. Canada hasn’t come out on top vs. the USA since 2008, and all five matches have been decided by a single goal. Most recently, the U.S. took down Canada 1-0 in the 2015 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship final, with 2020 NWSL College Draft selection Ashley Sanchez scoring the lone goal.

ROLLING THROUGH THE ROUND OF 16: The USA maintained its momentum from a dominant group stage in the Round of 16, downing St. Lucia 6-0. Once again, the U.S. got on the board early, as Mia Fishel netted her seventh of the tournament in just the eighth minute. The U.S. was up 4-0 before the end of the first half and added two more late to book its passage to the quarterfinals. Fishel netted another for her team-leading eighth of the tourney, while midfielder Brianna Pinto bagged a brace for her fourth and fifth goals of the competition.



2020 CONCACAF U.S. WOMEN’S U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (COLLEGE OR CLUB; HOMETOWN; U-20 CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (2): 12-Claudia Dickey (UNC; Charlotte, N.C.; 2/0), 1-Julia Dohle (Penn State; Scarsdale, N.Y.; 8/0)

DEFENDERS (7): 14-Maycee Bell (UNC; Wichita, Kan.; 7/1), 4-Sierra Enge (Stanford; Cardiff, Calif.; 3/1), 5-Naomi Girma (Stanford; San Jose, Calif.; 28/0), 13-Shae Holmes (Washington; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 4/1), 2-Brianna Martinez (Notre Dame; Albuquerque, N.M.; 7/0), 3-Emily Mason (PDA; Flemington, N.J.; 4/0), 15-Kennedy Wesley (Stanford; Rossmoor, Calif.; 3/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 20-Talia DellaPeruta (Köln/GER; Cumming, Ga.; 8/0), 18-Katelyn Duong (Minnesota; Portland, Ore.; 6/1), 10-Jenna Nighswonger (Florida State; Huntington Beach, Calif.; 7/1), 6-Brianna Pinto (UNC; Durham, N.C.; 35/9), 17-Alexa Spaanstra (Virginia; Brighton, Mich.; 17/3), 7-Summer Yates (Washington; Pasco, Wash.; 8/5)

FORWARDS (5): 9-Mia Fishel (UCLA; San Diego, Calif.; 3/8), 16-Rebecca Jarrett (Virginia; Clifton, N.J.; 7/1), 19-Samantha Meza (Solar Soccer Club; Dallas, Texas; 11/2), 8-Trinity Rodman (SoCal Blues SC; Newport Beach, Calif.; 4/5), 11-Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 28/23)



COMPETITION NOTES:

  • Forward Mia Fishel’s eight goals are second in the tournament behind Haiti’s Melchie Dumornay (10).
  • Ten players have scored for the USA at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship: Mia Fishel (8), Brianna Pinto (5), Trinity Rodman (4), Summer Yates (3), Katelyn Duong, Sierra Enge, Shae Holmes, Rebecca Jarrett, Samantha Meza and Alexa Spaanstra.
  • Twelve players have logged an assist for the U.S. at the tournament: Trinity Rodman (4), Alexa Spaanstra (4), Summer Yates (4), Katelyn Duong (2), Shae Holmes (2), Rebecca Jarrett (2), Maycee Bell (1), Naomi Girma (1), Brianna Martinez (1), Samantha Meza (1), Brianna Pinto (1), Kennedy Wesley (1).
  • The U.S. has recorded a shutout in four straight games to start the tournament.
    Haiti and the USA are the only teams yet to concede in the competition.



CANADA’S PATH: Canada finished second in Group E with four points, edging El Salvador with three. The Canadians scored two second-half goals to top El Salvador in its opener but drew Guatemala 0-0 in its second match. With a chance to clinch the top spot in the group vs. Jamaica, Canada fell 3-1, netting its lone goal on a fluke in second-half stoppage time.

In the Round of 16, Canada got on the board early vs. Cuba, scoring in the seventh minute and holding a 3-0 lead until late in the match. The Canadians added three more in the final 10 minutes of play to down Cuba 6-0. Forward Tanya Boychuk netted a brace and leads the team in scoring with four goals.


CANADA ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB):


GOALKEEPERS (2): 1-Anna Karpenko (Ontario REX), 18-Kayza Massey (West Virginia University/USA)


DEFENDERS (7): 2-Caleigh Boeckx (Rice University/USA), 13-Samantha Chang (University of South Carolina/USA), 4-Marika Guay (University of Santa Clara/USA), 15-Molly Quarry (BC REX), 8-Emma Regan (University of Texas/USA), 12-Caitlin Shaw (University of Oregon/USA), 6-Joanna Verzosa-Dolezal (BC REX)

MIDFIELDERS (5): 18-Wayny-Natasha Balata (Southern Methodist University/USA), 14-Lara Kazandjian (Ontario REX), 10-Maya Ladhani (Ontario REX), 5-Jade Rose (Ontario REX), 16-Sonia Walk (Ontario REX)

FORWARDS (6): 9-Tanya Boychuk (University of Memphis/USA), 7-Mya Jones (University of Memphis/USA), 11-Kaila Novak (UCLA/USA), 3-Leonie Portelance (West Virginia University/USA), 17-Andersen Williams (BC Rex), 19-Jazmine Wilkinson (BC REX)


CANADA NOTES: 

  • Canada’s roster features five players born in 2000, five born in 2001, nine born in 2002 and one born in 2003.

  • Eleven of Canada’s players are currently based at universities in the U.S. Forward Kaila Novak is a teammate of U.S. U-20 forward Mia Fishel at UCLA.

  • Canada has won two Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championships, in 2004 and 2008. It’s the second-most all-time, trailing the USA.

  • Canada has qualified for seven of nine FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cups. Its best finish came in the inaugural 2002 edition, taking the silver medal on home soil to the U.S. The nations squared off in a dramatic overtime final, with Lindsay Tarpley scoring the lone goal in a 1-0 win for the USA in front of nearly 48,000 fans. 

ROUND OF 16 RESULTS

February 29
Jamaica 9, Bermuda 1
USA 6, St. Lucia 0
Canada 6, Cuba 0
Dominican Republic 4, El Salvador 1

March 1
Haiti 12, Barbados 0
Mexico 12, Grenada 1
Trinidad and Tobago 3 (5), Puerto Rico 3 (4)
Guyana 2, Cayman Islands 0

 

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: This year brings the 10th edition of the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship. The tournament began in 2002 as the CONCACAF Women’s U-19 Championship.

 

In this new format, the tournament field features 20 teams. Sixteen were drawn into four groups of four, while four advanced directly to the Round of 16 via a pre-qualifying tournament. The top three finishers in each group qualified to the Round of 16. From here on, it’s a knockout bracket to the tournament final. The two winners of the semifinal matches will qualify to the 2020 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

 

This year’s Women’s U-20 Championship will only send two teams to the U-20 Women’s World Cup, rather than the usual three, due to the World Cup being played in the Concacaf region and hosts Costa Rica and Panama both receiving automatic bids.

ABOUT THE U-20 WNT: Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2000 are eligible for the 2020 U-20 Women’s World Cup and head coach Laura Harvey named players from three birth years: 12 players born in 2000, five born in 2001 and three born in 2002. The roster features two of the last three U.S. Soccer Young Female Players of the Year in forward Sophia Smith (2017) and midfielder Brianna Pinto (2019).

 

The timing of the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship at the start of the year after the college season made the player selection process less difficult. Fifteen of the 20 players on the roster are currently in college while three are playing for youth clubs. Smith is the sole professional on the roster after she was drafted by the Portland Thorns last month, becoming the first teenager to be taken No. 1 overall in the NWSL College Draft. Midfielder Talia DellaPeruta is currently playing as an amateur in Germany with Frauen-Bundesliga club FC Koln.