Stephanie Lopez led the team at the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Thailand. © John Todd / isiphotos.com Photo Gallery

CHICAGO (May 6, 2008) – The U.S. Under-20 and Under-17 Women’s National Teams were both drawn into Group A of their respective 2008 CONCACAF Women’s Championship. The U.S. U-20 Women will face Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago and Mexico in the group phase of the 2008 CONCACAF U-20 Women’s Championship from June 17-28 in Puebla, Mexico. The U.S. U-17 Women will take on Costa Rica, El Salvador and Trinidad & Tobago in Group A of the 2008 CONCACAF U-17 Women’s Championship from July 17-26 in Trinidad & Tobago.

Joining the U.S. U-20 Women in Group A are Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago and tournament hosts, Mexico. Group B will feature Canada, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Nicaragua. A match schedule for the tournament will be announced in the near future.

All matches will take place at the Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla, the capital of the state of Puebla, Mexico. The tournament, which will be held in the city of Puebla, Mexico, from June 17-28, is composed of two groups of four teams. The top three teams at the tournament will earn a spot at the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Chile from Nov. 19 to Dec. 7.

It is the second time the U.S. has participated in a CONCACAF Women’s U-20 championship, having won the inaugural event with a 3-2 victory against Canada on Jan. 27, 2006, in Veracruz, Mexico. The team qualified for the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship one game earlier, with a 3-0 win against Mexico in the tournament semifinal.

Prior to becoming an Under-20 event, CONCACAF previously hosted two Women’s Under-19 qualifying tournaments, one in Canada in 2004 and in Trinidad & Tobago in 2002. From those competitions, the U.S. went on to compete at, both, the 2004 FIFA U-19 World Championship in Thailand and the inaugural FIFA U-19 World Championship in 2002 in Canada.

At the inaugural tournament in Canada, the U.S. defeated the hosts, 1-0, in a dramatic title game on a golden goal by current Women’s National Team veteran Lindsay Tarpley.

In 2004, the USA traveled as on of the favorites to the exotic locale of Thailand, but fell to Germany in the semifinals. The team rebounded to defeat Brazil, 3-0, in the third place match.

The U.S. Under-17 Women will face Costa Rica, El Salvador, and hosts Trinidad & Tobago at Marvin Lee Stadium in Macoya, during the group phase. Group B features Canada, Jamaica, Mexico and Puerto Rico and they will play their matches at Dwight York Stadium in Bacolet.

The U.S. kicks off the tournament with a match against Costa Rica on Thursday, July 17, at 5 p.m. ET. Two days later, the U.S. takes on El Salvador at 4 p.m. ET, finishing up group play on Monday, July 21, against Trinidad & Tobago at 7 p.m. ET.

The tournament semifinals will take place on Thursday, July 24, at Marvin Lee Stadium at 5 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. ET. The third place match will take place at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 26, with the championship match directly following at 6 p.m. ET.

It will be the first time that CONCACAF hosts a qualifying tournament for women at the Under-17 age level, as it precedes the inaugural FIFA Women’s World Cup for that age group. Three teams from the CONCACAF Women’s U-17 Championship will advance to the inaugural 2008 FIFA U-17 World Cup from Oct. 28 to Nov. 16 in New Zealand.

2008 CONCACAF WOMEN’S UNDER-20 CHAMPIONSHIP
Estadio Cuauhtemoc; Puebla, Mexico – June 17-28, 2008

Group A
Cuba
Mexico
Trinidad & Tobago
USA

Group B
Canada
Costa Rica
Jamaica
Nicaragua

2008 CONCACAF WOMEN’S UNDER-17 CHAMPIONSHIP
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Group A
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Trinidad & Tobago
United States

Group A Schedule - Marvin Lee Stadium; Macoya, Trinidad & Tobago

Date	Matchup	Kickoff (ET)
July 17	Costa Rica vs. United States	5 p.m.
	Trinidad & Tobago vs. El Salvador	7 p.m.
July 19	United States vs. El Salvador	4 p.m.
	Trinidad & Tobago vs. Costa Rica	6 p.m.
July 21	El Salvador vs. Costa Rica	5 p.m.
	Trinidad & Tobago vs. United States	7 p.m.

Group B
Canada
Jamaica
Mexico
Puerto Rico

Group B Schedule - Dwight Yorke Stadium; Bacolet, Trinidad & Tobago

Date	Matchup	Kickoff (ET)
July 17	Puerto Rico vs. Canada	5 p.m.
	Mexico vs. Jamaica	7 p.m.
July 19	Mexico vs. Puerto Rico	4 p.m.
	Canada vs. Jamaica	6 p.m.
July 21	Jamaica vs. Puerto Rico	5 p.m.
	Canada vs. Mexico	7 p.m.

Semifinals*

Date	Matchup	Kickoff (ET)
July 24	Group B Winner vs. Group A Runner-up	5 p.m.
	Group A Winner vs. Group B Runner-up	7 p.m.

* order of matches subject to change

Finals

Date	Matchup	Kickoff (ET)
July 26	Third Place	4 p.m.
	Championship	6 p.m.