Five Players to Know on US U17 WNT

The U.S. U17 Women’s National Team heads to Florida this week for the final training camp before World Cup qualifiers start in the Dominican Republic on April 23. Head coach Natalia Astrain named the 20-player roster for the event on Monday. “We have a talented group of players and good depth on this roster,” Astrain said in a press release announcing the roster. “Our coaching staff is excited to help guide these young players through this valuable experience in international competition as they navigate the format of these World Cup qualifying tournaments. We’ll prepare for each game one at a time as we progress toward our goals and I know we are all going to learn a lot during our time in the Dominican Republic.” One of the key points from a state of the Youth National Program perspective for this event is that U.S. Soccer’s top talent in this age group, Olivia Moultrie, was a key piece for the U20 Women’s National Team earlier this year. Astrain still selected a relatively young roster with four players from the 2006 age group and one player from the 2007 age group, [player_tooltip player_id="33313" first="Melanie" last="Barcenas"], playing up against the 2005s. The U17 Concacaf Championship has the same format as the U20 event, which allows three teams from each group to advance to the knock-out round. USA should have no issue getting out of group play. Astrain’s squad has a lot of players with similar traits to the group that Tracey Kevins coached at the U20 level to the championship earlier this year. Will the U17s produce similar results? Time will tell, but here are five key players for the success of the team during the Concacaf Championship. [player_tooltip player_id="19044" first="Alyssa" last="Gonzalez"], San Diego Surf - The left center back from San Diego Surf is a player to watch at this event. With the type of attacking talent in the outside back position on this roster, there is a lot of pressure on the two center backs to be organized, defend, and not give away possession. Gonzalez checks all of those boxes. She was outstanding during the ECNL National Event in Phoenix. She links up with her club teammate [player_tooltip player_id="33313" first="Melanie" last="Barcenas"] on this squad. [player_tooltip player_id="21915" first="Riley" last="Jackson"], Concorde Fire - Jackson could be either a No. 6 or a No. 8 for this team. She is a deep playmaker, which is a key role with this group. She can run into the attacking channels with ease, but her accurate passing into space will be crucial in the makeup of this team given how teams tend to play compact against the favorites from the region. [player_tooltip player_id="18947" first="Onyeka" last="Gamero"], Beach FC - Gamero is another player who impressed at the recent ECNL National Event. She will be one of the true wingers to feature with this group. She likes to play on the wide right and have a long runway to the goal so she can either cut inside or take the defender to the endline for a cross. Gamero has game-breaking speed, which will make her a favorite for one of the key spots on this roster. [caption id="attachment_42405" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/CharlotteKohler-MVLA05-scaled-crop-1342x882-1649699472.jpg"><img class="wp-image-42405 size-medium" src="https://prepsoccer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2022/04/CharlotteKohler-MVLA05-scaled-crop-1342x882-1649699472-300x197.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="197" /></a> [player_tooltip player_id="33296" first="Charlotte" last="Kohler"][/caption] [player_tooltip player_id="33296" first="Charlotte" last="Kohler"], MVLA - Kohler is an interesting prospect on this team. She is a wide player but listed among the midfielders. She could viewed as a No. 10 as she is technically very clean on the ball and able to play in tight spaces. The versatility she brings to either fill in as a winger or a midfielder is one of the reasons she is on the roster. [player_tooltip player_id="25297" first="Victoria" last="Safradin"], Internationals - Safradin has the player profile to be a goalkeeper within the U.S. national team system for a long time. Size, athleticism, intelligence, and drive are all there for the goalkeeper from Ohio. The benefit for Astrain and her staff is that Abby Gundry has a similar profile. This team has two very talented goalkeepers heading into qualifying. 2022 CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-17 CHAMPIONSHIP ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB; HOMETOWN) GOALKEEPERS (2): Abigail Gundry (NC Courage; Wake Forest, N.C.), [player_tooltip player_id="25297" first="Victoria" last="Safradin"] (Internationals SC; Eastlake, Ohio) DEFENDERS (6): Nicola Fraser (Real Colorado National; Highlands Ranch, Colo.), [player_tooltip player_id="19044" first="Alyssa" last="Gonzalez"] (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.), [player_tooltip player_id="20163" first="Savannah" last="King"] (LAFC SoCal Youth; West Hills, Calif.), Cameron Roller (Solar SC; Sherman, Texas), Keegan Schmeiser (Chicago FC United; Bolingbrook, Ill.), [player_tooltip player_id="33286" first="Gisele" last="Thompson"] (Total Futbol Academy; Studio City, Calif.) MIDFIELDERS (6): Mia Bhuta (Internationals SC; Pittsburgh, Pa.), [player_tooltip player_id="18953" first="Shae" last="Harvey"] (Slammers FC HB Koge; Hermosa Beach, Calif.), Claire Hutton (World Class FC; Bethlehem, N.Y.), [player_tooltip player_id="21915" first="Riley" last="Jackson"] (Concorde Fire; Roswell, Ga.), [player_tooltip player_id="33296" first="Charlotte" last="Kohler"] (Mountain View Los Altos; Woodside, Calif.), Lauren Martinho (NC Courage; Cary, N.C.) FORWARDS (6): [player_tooltip player_id="33313" first="Melanie" last="Barcenas"] (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.), [player_tooltip player_id="18947" first="Onyeka" last="Gamero"] (Beach FC; Cerritos, Calif.), Nicollette Kiorpes (NEFC; Worcester, Mass.), Mia Oliaro (NC Courage; Chapel Hill, N.C.), Melina Rebimbas (PDA; Warren, N.J.), Amalia Villarreal (Michigan Jaguars FC; Lansing, Mich.)