Where the Stars of the U20 USYNT World Cup Team Play
The U20 USYNT won Bronze at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia. It was the United States’ best finish at the tournament since 2012. From ECNL to the NWSL, we look at where each player on the roster plays.
Caroline Birkel – St. Louis Scott Gallagher
Birkel plays in the ECNL with her club team, St. Louis Scott Gallagher. She’s in the class of 2025 and has verbally committed to playing collegiately at Stanford.
Mackenzie Gress – Penn State
Gress is a redshirt sophomore at Penn State, where she was featured in two games for the Nittany Lions. She’s from New Jersey and played club soccer with STA Girls Academy.
Teagan Wy – California
Wy is a junior at California, in her three seasons she’s played in 29 games. Before joining Cal, she played club soccer for the SoCal Blues Soccer Club in the ECNL.
Jordyn Bugg – Seattle Reign
Bugg signed a professional contract with the Seattle Reign in July, and her contract will run through the 2026 season. The defender previously played club soccer for the San Diego Surf Soccer Club.
Elise Evans – Stanford
Evans is a standout defender for the Cardinals. Last year, she was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. This year, she’s started seven games for Stanford. The defender played club soccer with San Jose Earthquakes Girls Development Academy and FC Bay Area Surf.
Heather Gilchrist – Florida State
Gilchrist is a junior for the Seminoles and has played over 4,000 minutes in her career so far. The defender helped lead Florida State to a National Championship win in 2023. She’s from Boulder, Colorado, where she played club for Colorado Rush.
Savy King – Bay FC
King was the second overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft by Bay FC, and was the expansion side’s first draft pick ever. She’s appeared in 17 games for Bay as a rookie. Before turning pro, King spent one season at North Carolina where she appeared in all 23 matches of the 2023 season for the Tar Heels.
Leah Klenke – Notre Dame
Klenke is currently in her junior year at Notre Dame. She had a standout 2023 season, with ten assists in 20 games. The midfielder has started five games for the Fighting Irish so far.
Gisele Thompson – Angel City
Thompson signed a three-year contract with Angel City in December 2023. Before joining Angel City, she played for the Santa Clarita Blue Heat in the United Women’s Soccer League. She’s appeared in 13 games for Angel City in the 2024 season.
Addison Halpern – PDA
Halpern was the youngest player on the roster, at 17. She currently plays for PDA in the ECNL and is committed to playing collegiately at the University of Virginia.
Claire Hutton – Kansas City Current
Hutton signed with the Current in December and has been a key member of the Kansas City midfield. So far in the 2024 season, she’s appeared in 20 games and played over 1500 minutes.
Riley Jackson – North Carolina Courage
Jackson signed with the Courage in 2023 as a U18 player. She earned her first professional appearance on March 15, 2024. The midfielder competed in the ECNL with Concorde Fire SC.
Ally Lemos – Orlando Pride
Lemos is currently in her rookie season with the Pride. In 2024, she appeared in 12 games for the league leaders. The Orlando Pride drafted Lemos with the ninth overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft. She spent two seasons at UCLA, starting 44 games and tallying 11 assists for the Bruins.
Yuna McCormack – Virginia
McCormack is a sophomore at Virginia, where she’s appeared in 23 games for the Cavaliers. Before attending Virginia, she played club soccer with FC Bay Area.
Taylor Suarez – Florida State
Suarez is a freshman at Florida State. So far, she’s appeared in five games for the Seminoles and scored two goals. She went to Ardrey Kell High School, where she led them to a state championship. She was also the Gatorade North Carolina Player of the Year twice.
Emeri Adames – Seattle Reign
Adames became the first U-18 player to ever sign with the Reign when she signed a three-year contract in March 2024. She’s appeared in 19 games for Seattle and she became the youngest player to ever score for the club when she netted her first professional goal in May against the Washington Spirit.
Maddie Dahlien – North Carolina
Dahlien is a junior at North Carolina. In three years, she’s appeared in 53 games for the Tar Heels. In just six games during the 2024 season, she’s tallied three assists.
Jordynn Dudley – Florida State
Dudley is a sophomore forward at Florida State. She had a great freshman year, starting 16 games and scoring ten goals for a Seminole squad that won the National Championship. She was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in 2023. So far in the 2024 season, she’s appeared in six games and tallied three goals and three assists.
Giana Riley – Florida State
Riley is a junior in her first year with the Seminoles after spending two seasons with Gonzaga. At Gonzaga, she appeared in 36 games and scored 17 goals.
Ally Sentnor – Utah Royals
Sentnor was the captain of this U-20 squad. She’s currently in her rookie season with the Utah Royals, who drafted her first overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft. Sentnor is having a stellar first professional season for the Royals, having appeared in 19 games so far. She’s also scored three goals and tallied four assists.
Pietra Tordin – Princeton
The forward is a junior at Princeton, and she’s been their star through her first three seasons. In her first two seasons, she appeared in 35 matches and scored 20 goals while tallying nine assists. In four games during the 2024 season, she scored three goals and registered an assist.
Featured image via Getty Images
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