USA squad set for 2020 Women's U-20 World Cup qualifying

• by Mike Woitalla  @MikeWoitalla, Feb 13, 2020

U.S. coach Laura Harvey  has named her 20-player roster for the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, Feb. 22-March 8 in the Dominican Republic, from which two teams qualify for the 2020 World Cup. Two Concacaf teams, Costa Rica and Panama, qualify automatically as co-hosts of the World Cup in August.

U.S. 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship Roster

GOALKEEPERS (2)
Claudia Dickey (Univ. of North Carolina; Charlotte, N.C.; 0/0)
Julia Dohle (Penn State; Scarsdale, N.Y.; 6/0)

DEFENDERS (7)
Maycee Bell (Univ. of North Carolina; Wichita, Kan.; 4/1)
Sierra Enge (Stanford; Cardiff, Calif.; 0/0)
Naomi Girma (Stanford; San Jose, Calif.; 25/0)
Shae Holmes (Univ. of Washington; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 2/0)
Brianna Martinez (Notre Dame; Albuquerque, N.M.; 4/0)
Emily Mason (PDA; Flemington, N.J.; 2/0)
Kennedy Wesley (Stanford; Rossmoor, Calif.; 0/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6):
Talia DellaPeruta (FC Köln/GER; Cumming, Ga.; 4/0)
Katelyn Duong (Univ. of Minnesota; Portland, Ore.; 3/0)
Jenna Nighswonger (Florida State; Huntington Beach, Calif.; 4/1)
Brianna Pinto (Univ. of North Carolina; Durham, N.C.; 32/4)
Alexa Spaanstra (Univ. of Virginia; Brighton, Mich.; 13/2)
Summer Yates (Univ. of Washington; Pasco, Wash.; 4/2)

FORWARDS (5):
Mia Fishel (UCLA; San Diego, Calif.; 0/0)
Rebecca Jarrett (Univ. of Virginia; Clifton, N.J.; 5/0)
Samantha Meza (Solar SC; Dallas, Texas; 7/1)
Trinity Rodman (SoCal Blues SC; Newport Beach, Calif.; 2/1)
Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 27/23)
• U-20 caps/goals in parantheses)

The USA -- which has qualified for every U-20 World Cup since the biennial tournament launched in 2002, and won the title in 2002, 2008 and 2012 -- faces Cuba (Feb. 22), host Dominican Republic (Feb. 24) and Honduras (Feb. 26) in Group C play.

“I am excited to get our World Cup qualifying campaign started,” Harvey said. “With the new Concacaf format, the schedule is extremely demanding, and we are going to need to plan well to make sure we utilize all of our players throughout the tournament. I’m looking forward to seeing what level we can put out on the field and I’m hoping that throughout the campaign we can show growth as a collective team and see some individuals shine.”

Portland Thorns forward Sophia Smith, who left Stanford after winning the 2019 NCAA title as a sophomore, is the only professional on the roster. Sixteen members on the squad are collegians and three are youth club players. Midfielder Talia DellaPeruta plays as an amateur in Germany with Frauen-Bundesliga club FC Koln.

Four players were part of the 2018 U.S. U-20 World Cup squad that exited in the first round on Coach Jitka Klimkova's team: Smith, defender Naomi Girma, midfielder Brianna Pinto and forward Alexa Spaanstra.

• Sierra Enge, one of three players on the roster who helped Stanford win the 2019 NCAA Championship title, is a newcomer to the U-20s.

• 2002-born defender Emily Mason, midfielder DellaPeruta and forward Trinity Rodman are age-eligible for the 2022 U-20 Women’s World Cup.

• Coach Harvey, who was hired January after most recently coaching the NWSL's Utah Royals, served as an assistant coach for England's U-17s in 2008 and U-19s in 2010.