U.S. U-17 WNT kicks off World Cup year with training camp in Florida

CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team, under head coach B.J. Snow, will kick off an important year with a training camp from Jan. 3-10 in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

Snow has called up with 26 players for the second-to-last event before the squad enters CONCACAF qualifying in early March that will qualify three teams for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in Jordan in September. The USA will also host a four-team international tournament at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, Calif. in mid-February.

The 2016 CONCACAF Under-17 Women’s Championship will be held on the Caribbean island of Grenada from March 3-13. The tournament will send three teams to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to be played in Jordan in September of 2016.

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The roster for this training camp spans three birth years from 2001 to 1999, which is the age cut-off year for the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The Under-17 Women’s Championship will feature eight teams, three from the Caribbean Football Union (CFU), two from the Central American Football Union (UNCAF) and three from North America.

Canada, Mexico and the United States are automatically qualified from North America, Guatemala and Costa Rica qualified from the Central American Zone and Jamaica and Haiti qualified from the Caribbean Zone. As host country, Grenada is automatically qualified as one of the three representatives of CFU.

The eight teams will be drawn into two groups of four teams each and after the group stage, the winner and second-place team from each group will cross-over for the semifinals. The winner of each semifinal match qualifies directly to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup while the two losing semifinalists will play a third-place match with the winner also advancing to the World Cup.

U.S. U-17 WNT Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brooke Bollinger (Orlando City; Orlando Fla.), Laurel Ivory (Sunrise Sting; Surfside, Fla.), Katie Meyer (Eagles SC; Newbury Park, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (7): Naomi Girma (Central Valley Crossfire; San Jose, Calif.), Karlie Paschall (Tennessee Soccer Club; Brentwood, Tenn.), Izzy Rodriguez (Michigan Hawks; Canton, Mich.), Karina Rodriguez (So Cal Blues; Torrance, Calif.), Emily Smith (De Anza Force; Los Gatos, Calif.), Kennedy Wesley (So Cal Blues; Rossmoor, Calif.), Sydney Zandi (Penn Fusion; West Chester, Pa.)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Ryanne Brown (Indiana Fire; Indianapolis, Ind.), Jordan Canniff (Richmond United; California, Md.), Emina Ekic (Javanon; Fairdale, Ky.), Sierra Enge (Carlsbad Elite; Cardiff, Calif.), Jaelin Howell (Real CO; Windsor, Colo.), Brianna Pinto (CASL; Durham, N.C.), Alyssa Poarch (FC Delco; Middletown, Delaware), Ashley Sanchez (So Cal Blues; Monrovia, Calif.), Taryn Torres (FC Dallas; Frisco, Texas)
FORWARDS (7): Rachel Jones (Tophat; Lawrenceville, Ga.), Civana Kuhlmann (Colorado Rush; Littleton, Colo.), Sophie Smith (Real Colorado; Windsor, Colo.), Alexa Spaanstra (Michigan Hawks; Brighton, Mich.), Frankie Tagliaferri (PDA; Colt Neck, N.J.), Jordan Taylor (Ohio Premier Eagles; Wadsworth, Ohio), Kate Wiesner (Slammers FC; Monrovia, Calif.)