CHULA VISTA, California – He said he’s “pretty close.” 

Steve Swanson, that is, the U.S. U20 Women’s National Team coach. He’s had two weeks to evaluate his crop of talent in the latest camp at the Olympic Training Center. Now, he has choices to make and a team to build for the upcoming CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament in Panama on March 1-11.

The groups for the U20 World Cup qualifying have recently been announced with the United States joining host Panama, Guatemala and Cuba in Group B.  

The U20s will prep for the event with next month’s trip to Spain in an international test Swanson hopes will give them a sufficient test.

“We’re going to play three teams that have already qualified for the Cup, so that will be a good experience,” Swanson said. “We’re trying to build this team piece by piece and get them on the same page. It takes a lot and the progress we made is a testament to how hard they’ve all worked.”

The team that heads to Spain will likely be the one also tabbed for qualifying. So … who’s going?

Based on what we saw at the recent gathering, here’s our take (and the coach wasn’t giving any hints, for the record).

 

Katie Stengel, Lindsey Horan, Morgan Brian, Sarah Killion, Julie Johnston, Crystal Dunn, Mollie Pathman, Kassey Kallman, Kealia Ohai, Chioma Ubogagu   

Skinny: The players mentioned above were clear studs during the week and have the physical capabilities that set them apart. The aforementioned standouts all played together Wednesday, save Ubogagu, and looked like a sharp and cohesive bunch. Pencil them in.

Cari Roccaro, Maya Hayes, Abby Smith, Kori Chapic.

Skinny: These players should like their chances. Roccaro and Smith are two of the few non-collegiate players in the bunch but both have shown their extensive national team experience. Roccaro played alongside most of the top tier players on Wednesday and looked right at home. Smith has been a tremendous goalkeeping prospect for years and should be brought along as she continues to develop. 

 

You’re on the bubble: 

Mandy Laddish, Abby Dahlkemper, Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick, Stephanie McCaffrey, Sam Mewis 

Skinny: This group showed flashes, but many choices will come down to the numbers game depending on which positions are sufficiently filled.

Note: Unmentioned players simply mean we didn’t see enough evidence to accurately put them in a category.

So that’s our prognosis of the team. When we’ll we get Swanson’s?

“They’ll know pretty soon after camp,” Swanson said. “We’ve had a good chance to evaluate and the good thing about a long camp is it gave players time to establish themselves and make their case.”

 

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. Simmons 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.), Chioma Ubogagu (Stanford; Coppell, Texas)