Courtesy of U.S. Soccer
CHICAGO – Twenty-three players have been named to the U.S. Under-23 Women’s Youth National Team roster for the Thorns Preseason Tournament which will feature three matches against NWSL teams over seven days from March 12-18. None other than Notre Dame women’s soccer defensive standout Eva Gaetino will once again don the Red, White and Blue. Gaetino was the 2022 ACC Defender of the Year, an All-American honoree and Mac Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
The USA opens against OL Reign on Sunday, March 12 at 2:30 p.m. PT followed by Portland Thorns FC taking on Racing Louisville at 5 p.m. PT. The tournament continues Wednesday, March 15 with the OL Reign facing Racing Louisville at 5 p.m. PT and the USA playing the Thorns at 7:30 p.m. PT. The friendly competition will finish on Saturday, March 18 as the USA faces Racing Louisville at 5 p.m. PT and the Thorns take on the OL Reign at 7:30 p.m. PT. None of the matches will be streamed.
The February trip to Paris for the U.S. U-23s during the FIFA international window included eight professional players but with the NWSL preseason well underway, this roster is made entirely of collegiate players. Seven college players who traveled to France and helped earn a 2-0 win and a 1-1 draw with the France U-23s will come to Portland.
The roster for this tournament includes players from 13 different colleges. Seven of those players come from the ACC, six are from the Pac-12, five are from the Big 12 and two are from the Big Ten (although UCLA and USC will play in the Big Ten this coming fall).
The U.S. team will be coached by Margueritte Aozasa, who led the UCLA Bruins to the 2022 NCAA title in her first year as head coach. The assistant coaches will be U.S. U-15 WYNT head coach Katie Schoepfer, Wake Forest assistant Courtney Drummond and University of Virginia goalkeeper coach Sam Raper.
Tickets for the tournament are included in Thorns FC Annual Memberships. Individual tickets for the preseason tournament are on sale online at www.thornsfc.com.
U.S. U-23 WYNT Roster – 2023 Thorns Preseason Tournament:
Goalkeepers (2): Mia Justus (Texas; Lakewood, Ohio), Cayla White (Virginia; Arlington, Va.)
Defenders (8): Lauren Flynn (Florida State; Arlington, Va.), Eva Gaetino (Notre Dame; Dexter, Mich.), Quincy McMahon (UCLA; Highland Ranch, Colo.), Ayo Oke (California; Lawrenceville, Ga.), Lilly Reale (UCLA; Hingham, Mass.), Talia Staude (Virginia; Atlanta, Ga.), Ellie Wheeler (Penn State; Fairfax, Va.), Kate Wiesner (Penn State; Monrovia, Calif.)
Midfielders (7): Talia DellaPeruta (UNC; Cumming, Ga.), Sunshine Fontes (UCLA; Wahiawa, Hawaii), Annie Karich (Santa Clara; Surfside, Calif.), Felicia Knox (Alabama; Shawnee, Kan.), Lexi Missimo (Texas; Southlake, Texas), Jillian Shimkin (Texas; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Sarah Weber (Nebraska; Gretna, Neb.)
Forwards (6): Trinity Byars (Texas; Richardson, Texas), Taylor Huff (Florida State; Mansfield, Ohio), Simone Jackson (USC; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Avery Patterson (UNC; Jacksonville, Fla.), Brittany Raphino (Brown; Randolph, Mass.), Reilyn Turner (UCLA; Aliso Viejo, Calif.)
— ND —