CHICAGO -- Thorns FC forward Sophia Smith was named to the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team by head coach Laura Harvey to represent the USA at the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, to be held Feb. 22-March 8 in the Dominican Republic.
The USA will open the tournament on Friday, Feb. 22 against Cuba, continue Group C play on Sunday, Feb. 24 vs. host Dominican Republic and wrap up the opening stage on Tuesday, Feb. 26 vs. Honduras.
The roster consists of 16 collegiate players and three youth club players. Forward Sophia Smith is the only professional on the roster. She was the top pick in the 2020 National Women’s Soccer League College Draft by Portland, becoming the first teenager to be taken #1. Smith was recently called up to the senior Women’s National Team for the squad’s annual January camp and was voted the 2017 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year. She helped the U.S. qualify for the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and reach that final in Trinidad and Tobago and is one of the U-20 WNT’s most-prolific scorers ever, netting 23 goals in 27 appearances.
2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship Roster by Position (College or Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (2): Claudia Dickey (UNC; Charlotte, N.C.; 0/0), Julia Dohle (Penn State; Scarsdale, N.Y.; 6/0)
DEFENDERS (7): Maycee Bell (UNC; Wichita, Kan.; 4/1), Sierra Enge (Stanford; Cardiff, Calif.; 0/0), Naomi Girma (Stanford; San Jose, Calif.; 25/0), Shae Holmes (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 (Köln/GER; Cumming, Ga.; 4/0), Katelyn Duong (Minnesota; Portland, Ore.; 3/0), Jenna Nighswonger (Florida State; Huntington Beach, Calif.; 4/1), Brianna Pinto (North Carolina; Durham, N.C.; 32/4), Alexa Spaanstra (Virginia; Brighton, Mich.; 13/2), Summer Yates (Washington; Pasco, Wash.; 4/2)
FORWARDS (5): Mia Fishel (UCLA; San Diego, Calif.; 0/0), Rebecca Jarrett (Virginia; Clifton, N.J.; 5/0), Samantha Meza (Solar Soccer Club; Dallas, Texas; 7/1), Trinity Rodman (SoCal Blues SC; Newport Beach, Calif.; 2/1), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns; Highlands Ranch, Colo.; 27/23)
The 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship introduces a new qualifying format that will feature 20 teams -- 16 divided into four groups of four, and four who have already advanced to the Round of 16 via pre-tournament qualifying.
The top three finishers in the four groups will advance to the Round of 16 and join the four teams already qualified for the knockout round. From there, the teams will play a single-elimination tournament with the top two finishers qualifying for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
In years prior, the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship has qualified three teams to the U-20 Women’s World Cup, but Concacaf countries Costa Rica and Panama have both been granted automatic bids to the tournament as co-hosts, reducing the number of berths for the Confederation.
All 39 matches of the tournament will take place in two venues in the Dominican Republic -- Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez in Santo Domingo and Estadio Panamericano in San Cristobal.
2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship
USA -- Group C Schedule
Feb. 22 USA vs. Cuba 4:00 p.m. Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Feb. 24 USA vs. Dom. Republic 4:00 p.m. Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Feb. 26 USA vs. Honduras 7:00 p.m. Estadio Olimpico Felix Sanchez; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
