USYNT Under-20 Stars: Where They Played Club Soccer
The Under-20 USYNT will compete at the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. The tournament is being held in Costa Rica and will run from August 10-28. It’s been a long wait for the tournament that was initially scheduled for 2020 but was postponed and then canceled due to COVID-19.
The US will kick off their tournament on Thursday, August 11, at 1 PM ET against Ghana. They’re looking to win the tournament for the first time since 2012.
We take a look at where some of the stars of the 21-player U-20 squad played club soccer.
Jaedyn Shaw – Solar Soccer Club
Before Shaw signed her first professional contract with the San Diego Wave, she was playing club soccer with Solar SC, an ECNL club. She also spent time with FC Dallas. Shaw is one of the best young youth players in the country, and before she turned pro, she was the top midfielder for the class of 2023.
Shaw is one of two professional players on the roster, with the other being Olivia Moultrie.
Michelle Cooper – IMG Academy
The forward was a star at IMG Academy before joining Duke. Cooper is currently leading this team in goals, with eight goals scored. She’s been called up to the youth national teams since 2016.
Neeku Purcell – Seattle Reign Academy
Purcell will likely be the starter during the tournament. The goalkeeper earned the shutout in the 2022 Concacaf U-20 championship game, helping the US finish the tournament with zero goals conceded.
She played her youth career at Seattle Reign Academy and made a name for herself as one of the best keepers in the country. Purcell will begin her college career at UCLA this fall.
Emily Mason – PDA
Mason is one of the most experienced members of the squad. The defender played her club career at the Players Development Academy (PDA) in New Jersey, which is part of ECNL. Coming out of high school, she was the 2020 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year.
She’s currently a sophomore at Rutgers. She started 18 of their 23 games last season during her freshman year.
Talia DellaPeruta – Tophat SC
DellaPeruta is another experienced player, having played previously for the US at the 2018 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup. She played her club soccer with Tophat in ECNL. The midfielder is currently a junior at North Carolina.
Simone Jackson – LAFC Slammers
Simone Jackson is a sophomore at USC who started in all games her freshman year. She played club soccer for LAFC Slammers and has been in every USYNT level since she was U-14 in 2016.
She’s had nine caps with the under-20 USYNT and seven goals.
Korbin Albert – Eclipse Select
Before playing at Notre Dame, midfielder Korbin Albert played club soccer for Eclipse Select out of Illinois. In 2018-2019, Albert was named the ECNL Midwest Player of the Year.
Now with four caps and one goal for the under-20 team, Albert will be looking to add more.
Olivia Moultrie – Beach FC
If you know anything about young soccer stars, you’ve heard of Olivia Moultrie, and it’s no surprise she’s on this roster. Moultrie is the youngest player on this under-20 team, born in 2005.
She was the first girl to play for a boys club team and played in the US Soccer Development Academy system. She trained with Total Futbol Academy and Beach FC before turning pro for the Portland Thorns in 2019.
Ayo Oke – Tophat SC
Ayo Oke is a sophomore defender at UC Berkeley. She played club soccer for Tophat SC, where she helped lead the team to a Girls Academy League Championship in 2021.
Additionally, she was honored with Pac-12 All Freshman-Team and ranked tenth on her team in minutes her freshman year.
Trinity Byars – Solar SC
Trinity Byars played exclusively for Solar Soccer Club before playing for the University of Texas. In 2020, while playing for Solar SC, Byars scored 13 goals in five matches, converting 59% of her opportunities.
For the under-20 USYNT, Byars has appeared in nine matches and scored three times.
Featured image via @usynt on Instagram
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