U.S. U-20 WNT defeats England 1-0 in La Manga Tournament

LA MANGA, Spain (Via U.S. Soccer) – The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team defeated its counterpart from England, 1-0, in its second match of the Women’s U-23 La Manga Tournament.

Forward Sophia Smith scored the game’s lone goal in the 36^th minute to give her five goals in her last three U-20 internationals, which included two scores in a 4-1 win against the Sweden U-23 WNT on April 5 in the first game of this friendly tournament. The goal gave Smith 14 career U-20 goals in 19 games.

The USA will face the Italy U-23 WNT on April 9 to finish the competition. The games are part of a friendly tournament that also features the U-23 WNTs of France, Norway and Sweden and the U-20 WNTs of England, China and Norway.

+READ: U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team downs Sweden U-23 WNT 4-1

Smith, the 2017 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year, scored via a nice assist from midfielder Savannah DeMelo, who slipped a through ball into the right sight of the penalty box. Smith got behind the defense and blasted her shot into the upper left corner.

The USA is currently preparing for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which will take place from Aug. 5-24 in four venues in the Brittany region of France. The USA was drawn into Group C and opens the tournament on Monday, Aug. 6 against Japan (1:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. local), faces Paraguay on Tuesday, Aug. 9 (1:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. local) and finishes the group against Spain on Monday, Aug. 13 (7:30 a.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. local). The USA will play its first two group games at Stade Guy-Piriou in Concarneau and its third group game at Stade du Clos Gastel in Dinan Léhon.

+READ: NCAA Women’s Soccer Commitment Announcements | April 2018

– U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team Match Report –

Match: U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team vs. England U-20s
Date: April 7, 2018
Competition: Women’s U-23 La Manga Tournament 2018
Venue: Field A – La Manga Club Football Centre; La Manga, Spain
Weather: 59 degrees, cloudy

Scoring Summary:    1          2          F
USA                             1          0          1
ENG                            0          0          0

USA – Sophia Smith (Savannah DeMelo)                 36^th minute

Lineups:
USA: 22-Laurel Ivory; 2-Kiara Pickett (capt.), 5-Zoe Morse, 4-Naomi Girma, 13-Tara McKeown (21-Isabel Rodriguez, 71); 18-Jaelin Howell, 6-Savannah DeMelo (8-Brianna Pinto, 71),16-Viviana Villacorta (11-Taryn Torres, 81); 17-Abigail Kim (9-Civana Kuhlmann, 65), 3-Sophia Smith (7-Penelope Hocking, 81), 23-Kelsey Turnbow (19-Ashley Sanchez, 46)
Subs Not Used: 1-Amanda McGlynn, 10-Jordan Brewster, 12-Brooke Heinsohn, 14-Samantha Hiatt, 15-Karina Rodriguez, 20-Samantha Coffey
Head Coach: Jitka Klimkova

ENG: 13-Sandy Maclver, 5-Grace Fisk (capt.), 6-Megan Finnigan, 14-Taylor Hinds, 2-Anna Patten, 10-Mollie Rouse (4-Chloe Peplow, 79), 18-Georgia Stanway, 8-Georgia Allen, 11-Rinsola Babaiide (17-Niamh Charles, 46), 7-Chloe Kelly (3-Mayumi Pacheco, 79), 16-Charlie Wellings
Subs Not Used: 1-Ellie Roebuck, 9-Ellie Brazil, 12-Alicia Johnson, 15-Lucy Parker, 19-Rianna Dean, 20-Zoe Cross, 21-Serena Fletcher
Head Coach: Mo Marley

Stats Summary: USA / ENG
Shots: 10 / 7
Shots on Goal: 4 / 4
Saves: 4 / 3
Corner Kicks: 4 / 5
Fouls: 12 / 6
Offside: 2 / 1

Misconduct Summary:
USA – Tara McKeown (caution)                    35^th minute
USA – Jaelin Howell (caution)                        58

Officials:
Referee: Elena Contreras Patino
Assistant Referee 1: Veronica Garcia Garcia
Assistant Referee 2: Marta Masso Gomez
4^th Official: Sofie B. Janeheim