U.S. U-20 Women’s Youth National Team roster announced for Colombia trip

CHICAGO – The U.S. U-20 Women’s Youth National Team will travel to Bogotá, Colombia for a training camp from Feb. 18-28 that will feature two matches against the Colombia U-20 WNT, the hosts of the 2024 U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

U.S. head coach Tracey Kevins has named 20 players to the roster, six of whom will be rookies in the NWSL this coming season, 12 college players and two youth club players. Twelve players on the roster helped the USA qualify for the upcoming World Cup via the 2023 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic.

Eighteen-year-old Angel City FC defender Gisele Thompson is currently in camp with the senior U.S. Women’s National Team in Los Angeles as a training player ahead of the Concacaf W Gold Cup. The veteran of the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will depart USWNT camp on Feb. 19 to join the U-20s.

The USA will face Colombia twice in Bogotá during the trip, on Sunday, Feb. 25 at Estadio El Campín, the main soccer stadium in Colombia’s capital, and on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at Estadio de Techo, a smaller venue.

The event will serve as excellent preparation for the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which will take place from August 31 to September 22, 2024 and will feature players born on or after Jan. 1, 2004.

“I couldn’t ask for better matches to help prepare our team for the World Cup,” said Kevins. “To play away against a talented South American opponent and get to experience the host country for the World Cup — the climate, the fans, the fields, the culture — is something that will be extremely valuable for us. I really want to thank the NWSL clubs for their collaboration and communication and I know their players will get some quality games that will benefit their growth before they head into their first pro seasons.”

For this camp, Kevins selected 13 players born in 2004, five born in 2005 and two born in 2006, those being Florida United SC midfielder Reese Klein and Kansas City Current midfielder Claire Hutton, who recently captained the U.S. U-19 WYNT to a bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile. From this roster, Thompson and midfielder Lauren Martinho were also on that Pan Am squad.

U.S. U-20 WOMEN’S YOUTH NATIONAL TEAM
TRAINING CAMP ROSTER & MATCHES – BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (COLLEGE OR CLUB; HOMETOWN)

Goalkeepers (2): Mackenzie Gress (Penn State; Lyndhurst, N.J.), Teagan Wy (California; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)

Defenders (7): Tessa Dellarose (UNC; Grindstone, Pa.), Elise Evans (Stanford; Redwood City, Calif.), Heather Gilchrist (Florida State; Boulder, Colo.), Savy King (Bay FC; West Hills, Calif.), Reese Klein (Florida United SC; Cooper City, Fla.), Leah Klenke (Notre Dame; Houston, Texas), Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC; Studio City, Calif.)

Midfielders (5): Sam Courtwright (Texas Tech; Dallas, Texas), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current; Bethlehem, N.Y.), Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage; Roswell, Georgia), Ally Lemos (Orlando Pride; Glendora, Calif.), Lauren Martinho (North Carolina Courage Academy; Cary, N.C.)

Forwards (6): Jordynn Dudley (Florida State; Milton, Georgia), Kat Rader (Duke; Stuart, Fla.), Giana Riley (Gonzaga; Manteca, Calif.), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals FC; Hanson, Mass.), Taylor Suarez (Florida State; Charlotte, N.C.), Pietra Tordin (Princeton; Miami, Fla.)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• The players in this camp from the Concacaf qualifying roster are goalkeepers Mackenzie Gress and Teagan Wy, defenders Elise Evans, Savy King, Leah Klenke, Tessa Dellarose and Gisele Thompson, midfielders Ally Lemos and Lauren Martinho and forwards Jordynn Dudley, Kat Rader and Ally Sentnor.
• Sentnor and the currently injured Maddie Dahlien were the USA’s leading scorers at World Cup qualifying, each scoring four times. Martinho had two goals in the Dominican Republic while Dudley, Lemos, Rader and Thompson each had one.
• Dudley and defender Heather Gilchrist had big 2023 college seasons, helping Florida State win the NCAA Championship. Dudley was named ACC Freshman of the Year after scoring a remarkable 14 goals with nine assists, including a goal and an assist in the NCAA Championship Game. Gilchrist, a sophomore, started all 21 matches for the Seminoles.
• Three of the current pros were taken in the first round of the 2024 NWSL Draft: Ally Sentnor at #1 by Utah Royals FC, Savy King at #2 by Bay FC and Ally Lemos at #9 by the Orlando Pride. The other three pros — Riley Jackson (North Carolina Courage), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current) and Gisele Thompson (Angel City FC) — all signed professional contracts as high schoolers, opting out of college soccer.
• Sentnor led the North Carolina Tar Heels in scoring with 11 goals and seven assists in 2023 and was named ACC Midfielder of the Year.
• Seven players on the roster have previous Youth World Cup experience with Sentnor and Wy being a part of the USA’s 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup roster. While Wy did not see action, Sentnor played in all three matches in Costa Rica and scored against Ghana.
• Five players on this roster were a part of the USA’s 2022 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup Team: defenders King and Thompson, midfielders Martinho and Jackson and forward Taylor Suarez. All saw significant action during the World Cup in India and Jackson captained the USA.
• Midfielder Sam Courtwright was the 2023 Big 12 Freshman of the Year. She had five goals and eight assists in helping lead Texas Tech to the regular season conference title.
• Forward Giana Riley led the West Coast Conference in scoring in 2023 for Gonzaga with 12 goals to go along with six assists.
• These matches could mark the first U-20 caps for Courtright, Gilchrist, Gress, Hutton, Jackson, defender Reese Klein, Riley, Princeton forward Pietra Tordin and Florida State-bound Suarez.