W-League Feature
Friday, February 21, 2014
TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. Women’s U23 squad that will head to Europe next week for the Six Nations tournament in La Manga, Spain was announced by Coach Steve Swanson on Friday, with a number of W-League standouts set to compete. Of the 20 players selected, 12 are W-League alumni, including a number of players who featured at last season’s W-League Championships.
The LA Blues are strongly represented with defenders Abby Dahlkember and Kassey Kallman, midfielders Caprice Dydasco and Jenna Richmond, and forwards Chioma Ubogagu and Katie Stengel all members of the side that earned the W-League Championship last season. Dahlkemper and Dydasco went on to claim the NCAA Championship in December with UCLA, the first in the Bruins’ history, with Dahlkemper being selected as a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.
Aubrey Bledsoe, a teammate of Stengel at Wake Forest, is also set to join the Blues this summer and is one of two goalkeepers named to the squad. Others set to feature are former Bradenton Athletics midfielder Erika Tymrak, who last season was named the NWSL Rookie of the Year for FC Kansas City and made her first appearance for the U.S. National Team.
Former New Jersey Wildcats standout Maya Hayes was also selected to join Stengel and Ubogagu in attack. The former Penn State forward, who was selected in January by Sky Blue FC in the NWSL Draft, had six goals for the Wildcats in 2012 and will likely play a key role in Spain.
Also named to the squad are Seattle Sounders Women defender Jaelene Hinkle and former Vermont Voltage Women midfielder Frances Silva, who was selected in the NWSL Draft in January by FC Kansas City .
The United States opens the tournament on March 1 against Japan and will also face Sweden on March 3 and Norway on March 5.