CHULA VISTA, California – Coach Steve Swanson has turned this U.S. U20 Women’s National Team camp into an episode of “Survivor.”

The U20s have holed up at the U.S. Olympic Training Center for two weeks, an extraordinarily long amount of time considering they won’t be leaving the island during the stint.

But the U.S. team has good cause for its lengthy powwow. With an international trip to Spain set for February and the U20 World Cup Qualifying Tournament scheduled for March there is little time to waste. A roster must be selected then molded, and if that requires a marathon meeting then so be it.

May the strongest women survive. 

“We had a camp scheduled for December but we decided it didn’t make sense because some schools still had exams and these players are all coming off a full college season,” Swanson explained.

 

“Had we had that camp this one probably wouldn’t be as long. There’s an urgency because qualifying is coming, so we’re pushing players but not overdoing it. That’s the challenge.”

The U20s haven’t rushed into their schedule since arriving January 5, and thus far the week has included an afternoon of lactate testing as well as a full day off.

Today, the squad will get its first bit of true competition when it takes on the Shanghai Women’s Football Club of China in the first of two matches during the camp. 

The U20s are itching to play.

“The last time we played here internationally (during the summer), we played Japan twice and won once and lost once. We hope to come away with two wins this time and we’re looking pretty good,” said midfielder Mandy Laddish.

 

Laddish, a Notre Dame standout, is surrounded by the nation’s top college stars. Aside from club youngsters Bryane Heaberlin, Cari Roccaro, Lindsey Horan and Abby Smith, the pitch resembles an NCAA All Star Game.

“It’s so competitive all the time,” Laddish said. “It’s great because these are the best players in college so it’s great to play against this caliber for two weeks. Most camps are individually based, but because of (qualifying) this one is all about getting team chemistry. It’s very team based.”

Swanson will be trying to find a team over this next week – a challenge with so many great players to choose from.

“We’ve tried to bring in a bigger pool,” Swanson said. “We’ve got background and have seen a lot of players. We’ll try to narrow down things after this camp and take that team to Spain.

“We’re playing a team in Shanghai that should give us two good games to evaluate the players  and it’ll be a very beneficial workload. A lot of these players have been playing for 11 months straight and had an intense schedule; you have to allow them to get their rest coming back but we also have a lot coming up.”

 

Welcome to “Survivor.”

 

GOALKEEPERS (4): Bryane Heaberlin (Clearwater Chargers; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Jami Kranich (Villanova; Hamden, Conn.), Abby Smith (Dallas Texans; Dallas, Texas), Abby Steele (Oregon; Santa Rosa, Calif.) 

 

DEFENDERS (10): Olivia Brannon (Virginia; Troy, Mich.), Kori Chapic (Penn State; Russell, Ohio), Abby Dahlkemper (UCLA; Menlo Park, Calif.), Crystal Dunn (North Carolina; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Jaelene Hinkle (Texas Tech; Denver, Colo.), Julie Johnston (Santa Clara; Mesa, Ariz.), Kassey Kallman (Florida State; Woodbury, Minn.), Casey Morrison (Boston College; York, Pa.), Mollie Pathman (Duke; Durham, N.C.), Cari Roccaro (Albertson Fury; East Islip, N.Y.) 

 

MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Virginia; St. Simons Island, Ga.), Kaysie Clark (Missouri; Liberty, Mo.), Vanessa DiBernardo (Illinois; Naperville, Ill.), Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick (UC Berkeley; Pleasanton, Calif.), Sarah Killion (UCLA; Fort Wayne, Ind.), Mandy Laddish (Notre Dame; Lee’s Summit, Mo.), Sam Mewis (UCLA; Hanson, Mass.) 

 

FORWARDS (9): Micaela Capelle (Portland; Gresham, Ore.), Maya Hayes (Penn State; West Orange, N.J.), Lindsey Horan (Colorado Rush; Golden, Colo.), Sophia Huerta (Santa Clara; Boise, Idaho), Stephanie McCaffrey (Boston College; Winchester, Mass.), Kealia Ohai (North Carolina; Draper, Utah), Kate Schwindel (West Virginia; Livingston, N.J.), Katie Stengel (Wake Forest; Melbourne, Fla.), Chi Ubogagu (Stanford; Coppell, Texas)