The US U20 Women’s National Team roster got a glimpse of what’s possible Thursday when it had the opportunity to scrimmage against the Los Angeles Sol at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

The likes of Shannon Boxx, Stephanie Cox, and Karina LeBlanc strolled onto the field and displayed the kind of skills that have produced U.S. Women’s National Team appearances, Olympic medals and currently the top record in the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer.

Needless to say, it was a special experience for the U20 group.

“We have been looking forward to it all week,” said U20 WNT midfielder Samantha Mewis. “The coaches told us from the beginning that they would try to set it up and we were all excited. It was a very awesome opportunity. I’m going to go home and tell people that I got to play against them.”

The U20 team didn’t just play – it competed.

Elizabeth Eddy was poised with the ball, as was Zakiya Bywaters, who is known for her speed but also showed some strength while fending off bigger and more experienced defenders.

College standouts Tiffany McCarty (Florida State) and Lauren Alwine (Virginia) were strong with possessions despite the team’s difficulty creating many real chances. Stanford’s Teresa Noyola proved that she’s one of the fastest players on the field regardless of her competition and UCLA recruit Jenna Richmond didn’t play intimidated.

Not surprisingly, the US team was exploited some on the defensive side.  Playing with most of their key players minus Marta, the Sol was organized and spread the US group thin, something the U20s will try to learn from.

“We have to learn how to play better team defense, which I think we’ll work on some more,” Eddy said. “I didn’t realize they would be so fast. It helps us to play at a higher speed – it’s all of our goals to play at the top level.”

In what was an abbreviated scrimmage, Los Angeles provided both of the action’s goals. Iris Mora, who plays for the Pali Blues of USL W-League, took a good ball from Aya Miyama and finished to beat goalkeeper Taylor Vancil (Louisville) late in the first half.

McCall Zerboni kicked things off in the second half when she blasted a volley for another score.

Sol keeper LeBlanc played about 10 minutes before retreating to the sideline where she underwent some strenuous drills with a coach. Val Henderson took over in goal but was never tested.

The U20s are back to work Friday and will conclude the camp with an intra-squad scrimmage Saturday.

Neither day will replace their brush with the professionals as the highlight of the week.


Click here for more U20 WNT camp coverage.


U.S. U20 WNT Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Bianca Henninger (Santa Clara; Los Gatos, Calif.), Cat Parkhill (Minnesota; Apple Valley, Minn.), Taylor Vancil (Louisville; South Elgin, Ill.)
DEFENDERS (5): Zakiya Bywaters (Neusport SC; Las Vegas, Nev.), Crystal Dunn (Albertson SC; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Cami Levin (Stanford; Newport Coast, Calif.), Bailey Powell (Georgia; Fayetteville), Toni Pressley (Florida State; Melbourne, Fla.)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Charney Burk (Portland; North Tuscan, Calif.), Kelly D’Ambrisi (Georgetown; Turnbull, Conn.), Katy Frierson (Auburn; Birmingham, Ala.), Maya Hayes (Aristics Club; West Orange, N.J.), Alev Kelter (Alaska Rush; Eagle River), Teresa Noyola (Stanford; Palo Alto, Caif.), Samantha Mewis (SC Scorpions; Hanson, Mass.), Jenna Richmond (McLean SC; Centreville, Va.), Beth West (Texas A & M(w); Centennial, Colo.)

FORWARDS (8): Lauren Alwine (Virginia; Elizabethtown, Pa.), Kim Castleberry (Dallas Texans; McKinney, Texas), Elizabeth Eddy (So Cal Blues; Costa Mesa, Calif.), Courtney Jones (North Carolina; Danville, Calif.), Sydney Leroux (UCLA; Phoenix, Ariz.), Tiffany McCarty (Florida State, Laurel; MD), Courtney Verloo (South Side Strikers, Tualatin, Ore.)