U.S. Soccer to host four-team U-20 Women’s Tournament at NTC in Carson
CHICAGO (Via U.S. Soccer) – U.S. Soccer will stage a four-team Under-20 women’s international tournament from June 2-6 as the USA will host Brazil, Japan and Mexico in the 2015 U-20 Women’s NTC Invitational. All the matches will be played on the Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, California.
Each of the match days – June 2, 4 and 6 – will feature a doubleheader with the USA playing the second game of the day. The winner of the competition will be based on total points with the first tiebreakers being overall goal difference and then total goals scored. Admission to the matches is free to the public. Parking is free on June 2 and 4, but not on June 6 as there is a Los Angeles Galaxy game that evening at the StubHub Center. All tournament matches will be streamed live on ussoccer.com.
| Date | Teams | Kickoff (PT) | Location (U.S. Soccer NTC at StubHub Center) |
| Tues., June 2 | Mexico vs. Brazil | 3 p.m. | Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field – Field #1 |
| Tues., June 2 | USA vs. Japan | 6 p.m. | Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field – Field #1 |
| Thurs., June 4 | Brazil vs. Japan | 3 p.m. | Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field – Field #1 |
| Thurs., June 4 | USA vs. Mexico | 6 p.m. | Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field – Field #1 |
| Sat., June 6 | Japan vs. Mexico | 12 p.m. | Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field – Field #1 |
| Sat., June 6 | USA vs. Brazil | 3 p.m. | Glenn “Mooch” Myernick Field – Field #1 |
All of the teams are currently preparing for qualifying for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup which will be held in Papau New Guinea. Like the USA, Brazil has participated in all seven of the FIFA U-19/U-20 Women’s World Cups that have been contested thus far. Japan has participated in four tournaments and Mexico has played in all but the 2004 tournament in Thailand that was a U-19 event.
U-20 Women’s National Team head coach Michelle French has called in 20 players for the tournament, seven of whom are already in college (two players enrolled early and have yet to play a college season in forward Kelcie Hedge (University of Washington and defender Kaleigh Riehl (Penn State) with seven more graduating this summer and heading off for their freshman seasons this fall.
Seven players on the roster were born in 1996, which is the age cut-off for next U-20 Women’s World Cup. Nine were born in 1997 with midfielder Jordan Harr, midfielder Savannah DeMelo and forward Mallory Pugh (all 1998s) and forward Ashley Sanchez (1999), the youngest players on the roster. Pugh was a starter for the U.S. team at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, while Sanchez was recently called up from the U-17 WNT and is age-eligible for the 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup to be held in Jordan.
U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team Roster by Position
2015 U-20 Women’s NTC Invitational:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Samantha Leshnak (Ohio Elite; Liberty Township, Ohio), Casey Murphy (Rutgers; Bridgewater, N.J.)
DEFENDERS (6): Alana Cook (Match Fit FC; Far Hills, N.J.), Maddie Elliston (Penn State; Omaha, Neb.), Sabrina Flores (Notre Dame; Livingston, N.J.), Natalie Jacobs (Slammers FC; Coto de Caza, Calif.), Courtney Petersen (Michigan Hawks; Canton, Mich.), Kaleigh Riehl (Penn State; Fairfax Station, Va.)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Megan Buckingham (UNC; Novi, Mich.), Marley Canales (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.), Savannah DeMelo (Beach FC; Bellflower, Calif.), Jordan Harr (Dallas Sting; Sachse, Texas), Mikaela Harvey (Texas A&M; Liberty Hill, Texas), Kelcie Hedge (Washington; Post Falls, Idaho), Emily Ogle (Penn State; Strongsville, Ohio), Parker Roberts (KC Metro Dynamos; Leawood, Ks.)
FORWARDS (4): Hana Kerner (Match Fit FC; Upper Saddle River, N.J.), Mallory Pugh (Real Colorado; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), Taylor Racioppi (PDA; Ocean Township, N.J.), Ashley Sanchez (SoCal Blues; Monrovia, Calif.)
Additional Notes:
- The CONCACAF qualifying tournament 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be held in December in Honduras.
- Each team is allowed to name 20 players on its tournament roster.
- Teams will be allowed six total substitutions per game with no re-entry. In the second half of the matches, a team may stop the game a maximum of three times to make substitutions. During each of these stoppages, a team may make more than one substitution, up to the limit of the six total per match.
- After goal difference and goals scored, the next tie-breakers will be the head-to-head result.
- Players eligible for the 2015 U-20 Women’s NTC Invitational must have been born on or after Jan. 1, 1996, which is the age cut-off for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
- There will be no suspensions for accumulation of yellow cards during the tournament, but a player receiving a red card will have to sit out a minimum of one match.
