CHICAGO (May 10, 2022) – The U.S. Under-20 Women’s Youth National Team will face Costa Rica in two friendly matches at the Elite Athlete Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The U-20 WYNT will gather from May 11-19 and will face Costa Rica on May 15 and 18. Both matches will be held as closed-door scrimmages.
Head coach Tracey Kevins has called in 23 players for the training camp and matches. With the goal of expanding the player pool, just one player was named for this camp from the U.S. roster that won the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship earlier this spring – midfielder Sally Menti -- who suffered a wrist injury during the USA’s first match at the tournament and was ruled out of the rest of the competition.
Costa Rica is the host nation for this August’s 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup and did not participate in the Concacaf qualifying tournament. The USA punched its ticket to the World Cup with a dominant run at CWU20, rattling off seven straight victories and a 49-0 goal differential to win its record seventh regional title at this age level.
GOALKEEPERS (3): Nadia Cooper (Washington State; Houston, Texas), Leah Freeman (Oregon; Berkeley, Calif.), Teagan Wy (SoCal Blues; Rancho Santo Margarita, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (7): Macy Blackburn (Texas Tech; Fort Worth, Texas), Avani Brandt (Stanford; Syosset, N.Y.), Sydney Cheesman (Colorado Rush; Lafayette, Colo.), Sydney Jones (Ohio State; Cincinnati, Ohio), Makenna Morris (Clemson; Germantown, Md.), Evelyn Shores (Tophat SC; Atlanta, Georgia), Kolo Suliafu (SoCal Blues; Ontario, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Korbin Albert (Notre Dame; Grayslake, Ill.), Sofia Cook (UCLA; Huntington Beach, Calif.), Annie Karich (Beach FC; Surfside, Calif.), Carina Lageyre (Florida United; Cooper City, Fla.), Sally Menti (Santa Clara; Seattle, Wash.), Jaedyn Shaw (Washington Spirit; Frisco, Texas), Jillian Shimkin (Penn State; Rockville Centre, N.Y.)
FORWARDS (6): Taylor Huff (Tennessee; Mansfield, Ohio); Jameese Joseph (NC State; Beltsville, Md.); Camryn Lancaster (TCU; Mansfield, Texas), Mia Minestrella (Beach FC; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Katherine Rader (Florida United; Stuart, Fla.), Riley Tiernan (Rutgers; Voorhees, N.J.)
Midfielder Jillian Shimkin and forward Katherine Rader were alternates for the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship roster and trained with the team in Florida before it traveled to the Dominican Republic for the tournament. Midfielder Carina Lagerlye also trained with the team in Florida prior to its departure.
The roster is made up of 14 collegiate players and eight youth club players. Midfielder Jaedyn Shaw is currently training with Washington Spirit in the NWSL. Eight players are receiving their first U-20 WYNT call-up of the 2021-22 cycle: defenders Macy Blackburn and Sydney Jones, midfielders Korbin Albert, Lageyre and Shaw plus forwards Taylor Huff, Jameese Joseph and Camryn Lancaster
The U.S. is set to kick off the U-20 Women’s World Cup on Aug. 11 vs. Ghana. The Final Draw for the tournament was held last week in Costa Rica and the USA was drawn into Group D alongside reigning world champion Japan, Netherlands and Ghana.