U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team ends La Manga event on high note

LA MANGA, Spain (Via U.S. Soccer) — The U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team defeated Sweden 4-0 in its final match at the Women’s U-19 La Manga Tournament 2019. Four different players scored for the USA, finishing the three-game competition on a high note.

“Our performance today was a great way to finish the event. I was really impressed with how much information the players took on-board and how they translated that into three meaningful games,” head coach Mark Carr said. “Playing quality opponents like Germany, France and Sweden will only make us better in the long run.

“We’re just starting the U-20 cycle, so we are early in our process of exploring the entire pool of players, building our team and implementing our style of play. We know we have lots of work ahead of us and now it will be about every player in the pool (2000, 2001 and 2002 birth-year players) accelerating their development in their own respective environments, focusing on performance and re-preparing themselves for the international level again ahead of the next camp.”

The USA got off to a fast start against Sweden, scoring in the 11th minute. Midfielder Maya Doms took a corner kick, and it found the head of defender Maycee Bell in the middle of the penalty area, where the 5-11 center back knocked it home.

The U.S. added its second goal in the 30th. Midfielder Sophie Jones played a ball to defender Makenna Morris streaking up the left side. Morris took a few dribbles before putting a low cross into the box for forward Summer Yates, who slotted it past the goalkeeper.

After notching assists in the first half, both Doms and Morris netted goals of their own after the break. In the 53rd, Morris ripped a high shot from 20 yards out, and while the ‘keeper tried to deflect it, it got past her to the upper right corner. Doms found the back of the net in the 64th. Spotting the ‘keeper off her line, she launched a shot from 30 yards out that went up and over the goalkeeper.

The 20-player U.S. roster in La Manga is made up of 11 players born in 2000 (the age cut-off year for the 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup), eight players born in 2001 and one in 2002. Nine players on the roster were a part of the USA’s 2018 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Team and three – defender Naomi Girma, midfielder Brianna Pinto and forward Alexa Spaanstra – were a part of the USA’s 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team and return for their second U-20 cycle. The roster is a mixture of collegiate and youth club players with seven already enrolled in college.

This friendly competition – which consists of players born in the same birth years as the U.S. team – features 14 countries. In addition to the USA and its three opponents, China, Denmark, England, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Spain and Switzerland are also participating.

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

Match: U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team vs. Sweden
Date: March 5, 2019
Competition: Women’s U-19 La Manga Tournament 2019
Venue:  La Manga Club; La Manga, Spain
Kickoff: 2:00 p.m. local
Weather: 65 degrees, sunny

Scoring Summary:   1          2          F
SWE                            0          0          0
USA                            2          2          4

USA – Maycee Bell (Maya Doms)                  11th minute
USA – Summer Yates (Makenna Morris)       30
USA – Makenna Morris                                  53
USA – Maya Doms                                         64

Lineups:
USA: 1-Julia Dohle (22-Hensley Hancuff, 46), 2-Brianna Martinez, 4-Naomi Girma, 13-Maycee Bell, 20-Makenna Morris (5-Michela Agresti, 56), 10-Maya Doms, 6-Sophia Jones, 19-Coriana Dyke (8-Brianna Pinto, 46), 7-Alexa Spaanstra (capt.) (11-Jordan Canniff, 71), 17-Summer Yates (18-Hannah Richardson, 71), 21-Samantha Meza (24-Sakura Yoshida, 86)
Subs not used:3-Natalia Staude, 9-Isabella D’Aquila, 23-Emily Gray
Head Coach: Mark Carr

SWE: 12-Elin Vaughan (GK), 2-Clara Härding, 4-Saga Jantoft, 5-Kajsa Lang, 7-Alva Selrud (6-Josefin Harrysson, 81), 19-Beata Olsson, 9-Olivia Wänglund (11-Agnes Nyberg, 61), 8-Linn Vickius, 15-Wilma Thörnqvist (10-Wilma Ljung Klingwall, 67), 18-Emma Engström (20-Evelyn Ijeh, 61), 17-Cornelia Kapocs (16-Paulina Nyström, 61)
Subs not used: 1-Moa Edrud, 3-Linn Bogren, 13-Lisa Johansson, 14-Tilde Lindwall, 21-Anna Larsson
Head Coach: Anders Johansson

Stats Summary: USA/SWE
Shots: 12/2
Shots on Goal: 8/2
Saves: 2/4
Corner Kicks: 9/3
Fouls: 9/10
Offsides: 3/1

Misconduct Summary:
N/A