U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Defeats Slovakia Women’s National Team, 1-0, As Ally Sentnor Captains The USA And Scores Early Goal
Liz Beardsley Earns Shutout in Goal for USA
SENEC, Slovakia (Nov. 28, 2025) – The U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team defeated the full Slovakia Women’s National Team, 1-0, as Ally Sentnor scored a fifth minute goal and the USA withstood a second half push from the Central European country.
Sentnor, who has scored at almost every level of the U.S. Women’s Youth National Teams, added her first U-23 international goal when she roofed a left-footed shot into the upper left corner from the left side of the penalty area to give the USA an early lead.
The US. U-23 WNT will finish this trip in England where it will face the England U-23 WNT on Dec. 1 at Wham Stadium, a small venue in Accrington.
The USA dominated the first half as Slovakia struggled to mount any attacks on a chilly night outside of the capital of Bratislava, but that changed after the break. The USA, which also had several good chances to increase the lead, notably from forwards Maddie Dahlien and Riley Tiernan, had to withstand some quality looks at goal from the Slovakians. Houston Dash goalkeeper Liz Beardsley made several fine saves to preserve the shutout in her first U-23 cap.
The roster for this trip was made up exclusively of professional players, and these U-23 international matches are another step in U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Emma Hayes’ emphasis on this age group and its importance along the player pathway to the full National Team. Scheduling more youth international matches is part of the Federation’s continued focus on the U.S. Way philosophy, which emphasizes increased programming for Youth National Teams to create more opportunities for young players to advance through the pathway to the senior National Team with the goal of representing their country at a world championship.
This was the first international match under new head coach U-23 WNT head coach Heather Dyche.
Players born in 2002 or later are age-eligible for this year’s U-23 WNT, and the roster features players from six birth years ranging from 2002 to 2006, along with one born in 2008. Dyche called up three players born in 2002, eight born in 2003, five born in 2004, two born in 2005 and one in 2006.
Additional Notes:
- The three players on the roster who have senior National Team experience are Paris Saint-Germain FC defender Eva Gaetino (two caps), who was called up from the U-23s to the senior team roster during the October FIFA window and played against New Zealand on Oct. 29; Angel City FC defender Gisele Thompson (four caps); and Kansas City Current forward Ally Sentnor (14 caps and four goals), who is up for the FIFA Marta Award for best women’s goal of the year. She was nominated for her first career goal, which came against Colombia in the SheBelieves Cup on Feb. 20.
- Sentnor, who has seen extensive action for the senior side this year, is an example of what USWNT head coach Emma Hayes has said on numerous occasions: that some younger players may go with the U-23s at times during FIFA windows, especially if they have the opportunity to play international matches.
- One player on the roster, midfielder Sarah Schupansky, traveled to Europe after helping her club, Gotham FC, win the 2025 NWSL Championship Game on Nov. 22.
-U.S. Under-23 Women’s National Team Match Report-
Match: U.S. U-23 Women's National Team vs. Slovakia Women’s National Team
Date: November 28, 2025
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: NTC Senec; Senec, Slovakia
Weather: 35 degrees, sunny
| Scoring Summary | 1 | 2 | F |
| USA | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| SVK | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| USA – Ally Sentnor | 5th minute |
Lineups:
USA: 12-Liz Beardsley; 2-Gisele Thompson (18-Ayo Oke, 83), 4-Jayden Perry, 5-Eva Gaetino, 16-Sarah Schupansky (3-Evelyn Shores, 60); 8-Ally Lemos (17-Abi Brighton, 83), 6-Riley Jackson, 10-Ally Sentnor (Capt.) (19-Emeri Adames, 71); 7-Riley Tiernan (15-Sarah Weber, 60); 9-Pietra Tordin (14-Karlie Lema, 60); 11-Maddie Dahlien (13-Simone Jackson, 83)
Subs not used: 1-Neeku Purcell
Head Coach: Heather Dyche
SVK: 23-Martina Geletova (1-Anika K.H. Toth, 46); 3-Laura Retkesova, 6-Nina Matusicova (4-Barbora Vargova, 90+2), 7-Patricia Fischerova, 8-Klaudia Fabova (10-Martina Surnovska, 80), 9-Ludmila Matavkova (5-Aneta Surova, 80), 11-Patricia Hmirova (21-Victoria Kalaberova, 60), 13-Kristina Kosikova, 15-Tamara Moravkova (19-Sofia Anna Skerdova, 60), 17-Maria Mikolajova (Capt.) (18-Darina Hruzikova, 60), 20-Jana Vojtekova
Subs not used: 2-Michaela Martiskova; 12-Viktoria Opalkova; 14-Michaela Ferencova; 16-Sona Servatkova; 22-Zuzana Nina Narozna
Head Coach: Peter Kopun
Stats Summary: USA / SVK
Shots: 7 / 6
Shots on Goal: 3 / 3
Saves: 3 / 2
Corner Kicks: 2 / 3
Fouls: 3 / 5
Offside: 0 / 2
Misconduct Summary:
None
Officials:
Referee: Petra Vajdeckova (SVK)
Assistant Referee 1: Alexandra Vargova (SVK)
Assistant Referee 2: Martina Ukropova (SVK)
Fourth Official: Samuel Varga (SVK)