United States women's national under-23 soccer team

United States Under-23

Nickname(s)	Team USA The Stars and Stripes The Yanks
Association	United States Soccer Federation
Confederation	CONCACAF (North America)
Head coach	Steve Swanson
FIFA code	USA
First colors Second colors
Nordic Cup
Appearances	12 (first in 1997)
Best result	Winners (1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008)

The United States U-23 women's national soccer team is a youth soccer team operated under the auspices of U.S. Soccer. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the full Women's National Team. The team's most recent major tournament was the 2008 Nordic Cup, in which the United States team won 3–0 over Germany. The team competes in a variety of competitions, including the annual Nordic Cup, which is the top competition for this age group. The current head coach is Steve Swanson.

History

Beginnings as a U-20 program

The United States U-23 team has been active since 1989, however it was run as a U-20 team from its inception until 1998.^[1] Its main goal was to prepare college players for the step up to international soccer. Women had no viable opportunities to enhance their playing abilities, aside from overseas, since the United States lacked a top-level domestic league during this time.

The switch to U-21

In 1998, United States Soccer Federation decided to make the team a U-21 team in order to give women a higher level of play to better prepare them for the full National Team. In accordance with this strategy, the U-21 team frequently rostered "over-aged" players in the U-21 training camps, as well as the Nordic Cup. It remained a U-21 team from 1998 through 2008.

Competing as a U-23 team

2008 saw the change of the USA's oldest youth national team moved to the U-23 level. The move was made by the United States Soccer Federation in response to age-level changes FIFA had made to its oldest women's youth competition, now named FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. The age limit was raised from being a U-19 tournament to a U-20 tournament. This change, coupled with a newly introduced U-23 age limit to the Nordic Cup, prompted the USSF to rethink and eventually change the youth development team. The team continues to serve as a stepping-stone for collegiate and post-collegiate players to the United States Women's National Team.^[2] Additionally, many U-23 players develop further through the National Women's Soccer League. While many of the post-collegiate players play in this league to develop their game, the U-23's turned focus on college players who are out of season and may not yet be NWSL-eligible.

Players

Current squad

The following 20 players were called up for the 2016 Nordic Tournament running from May 28-June 8, 2016.^[3]

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Jane Campbell	February 17, 1995			Stanford Cardinal
	GK	Madalyn Schiffel	September 19, 1994			Avaldsnes IL
	DF	Brittany Basinger	June 30, 1995			Penn State Nittany Lions
	DF	Maddie Bauer	March 20, 1995			Stanford Cardinal
	DF	Kirsten Crowley	September 24, 1994			Florida State Seminoles
	DF	Claire Falknor	May 12, 1993			FC Bayern Munich
	DF	Kristen McNabb	April 17, 1994			Virginia Cavaliers
	MF	Meggie Dougherty Howard	July 27, 1995			Florida Gators
	MF	Caroline Flynn	February 28, 1994			Nebraska Cornhuskers
	MF	Christina Gibbons	December 30, 1994			Duke Blue Devils
	MF	McKenzie Meehan	December 25, 1994			Boston College Eagles
	MF	Toni Payne	April 22, 1995			Duke Blue Devils
	MF	Morgan Proffitt				Marquette Golden Eagles
	MF	Margaret Purce	September 18, 1995			Harvard Crimson
	MF	Stephanie Ribeiro				Connecticut Huskies
	MF	Andi Sullivan	December 20, 1995			Stanford Cardinal
	FW	Ashley Herndon	October 4, 1994			James Madison Dukes
	FW	Rachel Hill	April 17, 1995			Connecticut Huskies
	FW	Savannah Jordan	January 24, 1995			Florida Gators
	FW	Tyler Lussi				Princeton Tigers

Recent call-ups

The following players were named to a squad in the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Diana Poulin	March 6, 1995			St. John's Red Storm	May 2016 Training Camp
GK	Andi Tostanoski	August 29, 1994			Seattle Reign FC	May 2016 Training Camp
GK	Katelyn Rowland	March 16, 1994			FC Kansas City	2016 Istria Cup
GK	Abby Smith	October 4, 1993			Boston Breakers	v. Republic of Ireland; January 25, 2016
DF	Emily Byorth	March 22, 1995			Clemson Tigers	May 2016 Training Camp
DF	Alana Cook	April 11, 1997			Stanford Cardinal	May 2016 Training Camp
DF	McKenzie Karas	October 9, 1994			Washington Huskies	May 2016 Training Camp
DF	Kayla Mills	November 8, 1995			USC Trojans	May 2016 Training Camp
DF	Nini Rabsatt-Smith	May 23, 1994			South Alabama Jaguars	May 2016 Training Camp
DF	Erin Smith	July 21, 1995			Rutgers Scarlet Knights	May 2016 Training Camp
DF	Abby Dahlkemper	May 13, 1993			Western New York Flash	2016 Istria Cup
DF	Caprice Dydasco	August 19, 1993			Washington Spirit	2016 Istria Cup
DF	Katie Naughton	February 15, 1994			Chicago Red Stars	2016 Istria Cup
DF	Erica Skroski	February 14, 1994			Sky Blue FC	2016 Istria Cup
DF	Christen Westphal	September 2, 1993			Boston Breakers	2016 Istria Cup
DF	Gabrielle Seiler	September 14, 1994			Florida Gators	v. Republic of Ireland; January 25, 2016
MF	Rose Lavelle	May 14, 1995			Wisconsin Badgers	May 2016 Training Camp
MF	Sandra Yu	November 5, 1994			Notre Dame Fighting Irish	May 2016 Training Camp
MF	Danielle Colaprico	May 6, 1993			Chicago Red Stars	2016 Istria Cup
MF	Mandy Freeman	March 23, 1995			USC Trojans	2016 Istria Cup
MF	Shea Groom	March 4, 1993			FC Kansas City	2016 Istria Cup
MF	Michaela Hahn	April 19, 1994			Western New York Flash	2016 Istria Cup
MF	Havana Solaun	February 23, 1993			Seattle Reign FC	2016 Istria Cup
MF	Samantha Witteman	February 26, 1994			Orlando Pride	2016 Istria Cup
MF	Marti Corby				Grand Valley State Lakers	v. Republic of Ireland; January 25, 2016
MF	Alexis Shaffer	September 20, 1994			Virginia Cavaliers	v. Republic of Ireland; January 25, 2016
MF	Josee Stiever	March 26, 1995			Minnesota Golden Gophers	v. Republic of Ireland; January 25, 2016
MF	Mallory Weber	April 4, 1994			Portland Thorns FC	v. Republic of Ireland; January 25, 2016
FW	Jackie Stengel	December 22, 1994			NC State Wolfpack	May 2016 Training Camp
FW	Makenzy Doniak	February 25, 1994			Western New York Flash	2016 Istria Cup
FW	Taylor Smith	December 1, 1993			Western New York Flash	2016 Istria Cup
FW	Murielle Tiernan	December 22, 1994			Virginia Tech Hokies	v. Republic of Ireland; January 25, 2016

Coaches

• Jerry Smith (2001–2002)
• Chris Petrucelli (2003–2004)
• Jill Ellis (2005–2006)
• Bill Irwin (2007–2011)
• Randy Waldrum (2012–2013)
• Steve Swanson (2013–present)

References

1. 2009 WNT U.S. Soccer Media Guide
2. "Page Not Found".
3. http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/2016/05/25/18/34/160525-u23wnt-will-travel-to-england-for-womens-nordic-tournament