U.S. U-16 Girls National Team defeats Croatia 4-0

WOLUWE-SAINT-LAMBERT, Belgium (Via U.S. Soccer) – The Under-16 Girls’ National Team defeated its counterparts from Croatia, 4-0, in its opening match at the Women’s U-16 Development Tournament.

In a match that featured 40-minute halves, Trinity Rodman opened the scoring in the 20th minute and the USA went into halftime with a 1-0 lead. Joyelle Washington tallied twice in two minutes early in the second half and then Michelle Cooper added an insurance goal in the 56th minute.

The first goal came after some defense pressure from Allyson Sentnor forced a turnover in the Croatia defensive third. The ball rolled to Rodman, who beat a last defender before slotting home.

Washington effectively put the game away by scoring in the 42nd and 43rd minutes. Her first goal came after Kayla Colbert made an overlapping run down the right wing and then struck a cross on the ground into the penalty area that Washington finished with the inside of her foot. The second came after she stole the ball from a Croatia defender and finished from inside the penalty box.

Samar Guidry created the final goal, sending a long ball over the back line to the sprinting Cooper, who cut in from the left side, beating a defender, and hit a blast into the net at the far post. These were the first goals for all three players at the U-16 international level.

The USA will face host Belgium on May 14 and finish with Switzerland on May 16. In the other match today, Belgium hammered Switzerland, 5-0. This tournament is for players born in 2001 and 2002 so the Americans are playing against older teams as the U.S. roster features mostly players born in 2002 and 2003 and one born in 2004.

The tournament has some unique rules, all geared toward player development.

• Each player on the 20-player rosters must play a minimum of 80 minutes during the tournament, the equivalent of one full match.
• No player may play more than 120 minutes in a 48-hour period.
• Every player must start a match at least once.
• There will be no draws in the tournament. Any match that is tied at the end of regulation will go into penalties with the following points being awarded according to the outcomes:
  • 3 points – Win in Regulation
  • 2 points – Win after penalties
  • 1 point – Loss after penalties
  • 0 points – Loss in Regulation

New U-16 GNT head coach Kacey White is attending her first event with the team and is working with U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team head coach Jaime Frias, who coached the U-16s over the past year before taking his new position.

This group of players moved up from the U-14 level last year and will spend two years as the U-16 GNT before moving on to the U-18s. These players are all age-eligible for the 2018 U-17 Women’s World Cup, which has an age cut-off of players born on or after January 1, 2001, but will eventually be the core age group for the team that will attempt to qualify for the U-20 Women’s World Cup in 2022.

– U.S. Under-16 Girls’ National Team Match Report –

Match: U-16 Girls’ National Team vs. Croatia U-16 GNT
Date: May 12, 2017
Competition: Women’s U-16 Development Tournament
Venue: Stade Fallon; Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, Belgium
Weather: 66 degrees; partly cloudy, light showers

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F
USA 1 3 4
CRO 0 0 0

USA – Trinity Rodman (Allyson Sentnor) 20th minute
USA – Joyelle Washington (Kayla Colbert) 42
USA – Joyelle Washington 43
USA – Michelle Cooper (Samar Guidry) 56

Lineups:
USA: 1-Mia Justus (12-Stephanie Sparkowski, 41); 15-Smith Hunter (2-Kayla Colbert, 41), 3-Samar Guidry (capt.), 5-Dasia Torbert, 19-Devi Dudley (16-Katie Groff, 41), 6- Aislyn Crowder (7-Isabel Loza, 41), 8-Josephine Aulicino (4-Michaela Rosenbaum, 41), 10-Trinity Rodman (24-Jillian Shimkin, 41), 14-Tatiana Fung (11-Alexis Missimo, 41), 17-Samantha Kroeger (18-Michelle Cooper, 41), Allyson Sentnor (13-Joyelle Washington, 41)
Subs not used: None
Head Coach: Jaime Frias

CRO: 12-Nensi Adamovic; 2- Lucija Zovak (18- Lara Lucic, 53), 4-Ana Pavičić (capt.), 5-Josipa Burcul (16-Marta Mikina, 53), 6-Mara Stancic (13-Mari Horvat, 41), 7-Karla Kurkutovie, 8-Rahela Vego (15-Nika Petaric, 53), 9-Gabrijela Dugandzic (20-Ana Kalaj, 68), 10-Fatjesa Gegollaj, 11-Ena Pernar, 14-Vaness Mara Dujmovic
Subs not used: 3-Iva Petrusic, 17-Ana Marija Petrovic, 19-Viktorija Kovac, 23-Katarina Mandic
Head Coach: Tihana Nemčić

Stats Summary: USA / CRO
Shots: 22 / 2
Shots on Goal: 14 / 2
Saves: 2 / 10
Corner Kicks: 3 / 1
Fouls: 8 / 12
Offside: 3 / 0

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Michelle Cooper (caution) 66th minute

2017 Women’s U-16 Developmental Tournament Standings – Belgium

2017 Women’s U-16 Developmental Tournament Results and Schedule – Belgium

May 12, 2017
Belgium 5, Switzerland 0
USA 4, Croatia 0

May 14
USA vs. Belgium
Croatia vs. Switzerland

May 16
USA vs. Switzerland
Belgium vs. Croatia