Lauren Cheney © Brad Smith / isiphotos.com Photo Gallery

CHICAGO (June 4, 2007) - In its final training camp before heading to Brazil for the 2007 Pan-American Games, the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team will hold a training camp in Maryland as head coach Jillian Ellis brings in 24 players for eight days from June 9-16, a period that will include scrimmages against two W-League teams.

As the Pan-American Games is an “open” tournament for women, Ellis will bring four “overage” players into this camp, none of whom who are age-eligible for the 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, the ultimate goal of this team, to be held at the end of next year in Chile.

Those “overage” players are forwards Michele Weissenhofer and Lauren Cheney (who spent most of the last three months in Residency Training Camp with the full Women’s National Team), midfielder Amanda Poach (a member of the FIFA All-Star Team at the 2006 U-20 WWC in Russia) and defender Brittany Taylor.

Ellis also named four players just graduating from high school in Gatorade Girl’s National High School Player of the Year Melissa Henderson, a forward from Garland, Texas, headed to Notre Dame, and defender Meghan Klingenberg from Pennsylvania and forward Rachel Givan from Mississippi, both headed to UNC, and midfielder Kylie Wright, who will attend UCLA. Ellis also named the Parade Girl’s High School Player of the Year, junior Teresa Noyola, who at 17 is the young player on the roster.

For the first time, Ellis will have on her roster the three players from U.S. team that competed in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship who are age-eligible for the next U-20 WC, in midfielder Tobin Heath and forwards Casey Nogueira and Kelley O’Hara, all of whom spent some time training with the full Women’s National Team in 2007. Ellis also gives a first call-up to midfielder Nikki Washington, who performed so well for UNC during the NCAA Final Four last fall. Ellis has some serious height in her goalkeeper corps, calling in 5-foot-11 Chantel Jones, 5-foot-9 Alyssa Naeher and 6-foot Kristin Olsen. The camp may have an emphasis on attacking as Ellis has called in 10 forwards among the 24 players.

While in Maryland, the U-20s will take on the Virginia Majestics on June 12 and face the Washington Freedom on June 14. The Pan-Am games will be held in Rio de Janeiro from July 12-26 and will feature two groups of five teams each with Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama and the USA participating on the women’s side. Matches will be held on July 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 23 and 26.

U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team Roster – Boyds, Maryland
June 9-16, 2007
Goalkeepers (3): Chantel Jones (Virginia), Alyssa Naeher (Penn State), Kristin Olsen (USC)
Defenders (4): Meghan Klingenberg (Hot Spurs), Nikki Marshall (Colorado), Brittany Taylor (UConn), Lauren Wilmoth (UCLA)
Midfielders (7): Becky Edwards (Florida State), Kaley Fountain (Wake Forest), Tobin Heath (UNC), Teresa Noyola (MVLA Mercury), Amanda Poach (Santa Clara), Nikki Washington (UNC), Kylie Wright (So Cal Blues)
Forwards (10): Lauren Cheney (UCLA), Gina DiMartino (Boston College), Michelle Enyeart (Portland), Rachel Givan (Mississippi United), Melissa Henderson (Dallas Texans), Alicia Jenkins (Stanford), Jessica McDonald (Phoenix College), Casey Nogueira (UNC), Kelley O’Hara (Stanford), Michele Weissenhofer (Notre Dame)