The U.S. U-20 women’s national team will hold a training camp and play two games May 21-June 1 in Papua New Guinea, to where it will return for the 2016 U-20 Women’s World Cup Nov. 13-Dec. 3.
“The trip to PNG will be a fantastic opportunity for our group to continue to learn how to acclimate, adapt and adjust to a new environment and culture prior to our arrival in November forthe World Cup,” said U.S. head coachMichelle French. “We were fortunate enough to schedule a similar trip prior to World Cup qualifying in Honduras and it proved extremely valuable in our preparations for thattournament.”
The USA will play games against Japan (May 27) and Papua New Guinea (May 30) in the capital of Port Moresby, which will host all 32 World Cup games, in four stadiums.
French has called in 21 players for the trip, 17 of whom are collegians. The youth players include So Cal Blues forward Ashley Sanchez and Beach FC midfielder SavannahDemelo.
Ashley Sanchez (Photo courtesy U.S. Soccer)
Sanchez helped the U.S. U-20s and the U-17s qualify for their 2016 World Cups, and trained withthe full national team in April. Demelo, 18, leads this roster with 14 appearances for the U-20s.
U.S. U-20 women’s national team
GOALKEEPERS (3): Emily Boyd (Cal; Seattle, Wash.), Rose Chandler (Penn State; Atlanta, Ga.), Casey Murphy (Rutgers; Bridgewater, N.J.) .
DEFENDERS (7):Madeline Elliston (Penn State; Omaha, Neb.), Emily Fox (FC Virginia; Ashburn, Va.), Sabrina Flores (Notre Dame; Livingston, N.J.), Ellie Jean (Penn State; Coventry, Conn.), Natalie Jacobs (Notre Dame;Coto de Caza, Calif.), Taylor Otto (CASL; Apex, N.C.), Kaleigh Riehl (Penn State; Fairfax Station, Va.).
MIDFIELDERS (7): Marley Canales (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.),Katie Cousins (Tennessee; Forest, Va.), Savannah DeMelo (Beach FC; Bellflower, Calif.), Kelcie Hedge (Washington; Post Falls, Idaho), Emily Ogle (Penn State; Strongsville, Ohio), Courtney Petersen(Virginia; Canton, Mich.), Parker Roberts (Florida; Leawood, Kansas).
FORWARDS (4): Taylor Racioppi (Duke; Ocean Township, N.J.), Ashley Sanchez (So Cal Blues; Monrovia, Calif.),Jessie Scarpa (North Carolina; Lakeland, Fla.), Ally Watt (Texas A&M; Colorado Springs, Colo.).