ATLANTA (May 16, 2025) – The 21 players who will represent the USA at the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in Costa Rica in a quest for a berth to the 2025 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup have been named.
The roster is made up of players born in 2006 and 2007, and current U.S. U-19 head coach Carrie Kveton will lead the squad before new U.S. U-20 WNT head coach Vicky Jepson takes over after the qualifying tournament.
The USA will take aim at one of four berths to the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland and a record eighth Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship after dominant runs to the confederation crown in 2020 and 2022. Mexico won the title in 2023.
The USA will face Guyana on May 30 (1 p.m. ET / 11a.m. local), Puerto Rico on June 1 (1 p.m. ET / 11a.m. local) and host Costa Rica on June 3 (4 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. local) in Group A play at the tournament, which will run from May 29-June 8 in Alajuela, Costa Rica. The top four finishers in the tournament will advance to represent the region in Poland in the fall of next year.
Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2006, are age-eligible for the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship. The roster is almost evenly divided between birth years with 10 born in 2006 and 11 in 2007.
Before heading to Costa Rica, the team will train in Florida for a week, beginning on May 22.
2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship Roster by Position (College or Club; Hometown)
Goalkeepers (3): Caroline Birkel (Stanford; St. Louis, Mo.), Sonoma Kasica (Notre Dame; St. Petersburg, Fla.), Kealey Titmuss (Penn State; Grand Blanc, Mich.)
Defenders (7): Aven Alvarez (UNC; New Hill, N.C.), Bella Ayscue (Penn State; Apex, N.C.), Edra Bello (San Diego Surf SC; San Diego, Calif.), Emma Johnson (Lexington Sporting Club – USL Super League; Greenfield, Ind.), Abby Mills (Notre Dame; Southlake, Texas), Leena Powell (Tudela FC; Culver City, Calif.), Katie Scott (Kansas City Current - NWSL; Fairview, Pa.)
Midfielders (6): Kennedy Fuller (Angel City FC - NWSL; Southlake, Texas), Peyton McGovern (Florida State; Bristow, Va.), Ashlyn Puerta (Unattached; Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), Grace Restovich (Notre Dame; St. Louis, Mo.), Kennedy Ring (World Class FC; East Greenbush, N.Y.) Linda Ullmark (UNC; Buffalo, N.Y.)
Forwards (5): Izzy Engle (Notre Dame; Edina, Minn.), Mary Long (Kansas City Current - NWSL; Mission Hills, Kan.), Chloe Ricketts (Washington Spirit - NWSL; Dexter, Mich.), Sealey Strawn (Dallas Trinity FC – USL Women’s Super League; Prosper, Texas), Mya Townes (Georgia; Aldie, Va.)
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The eight-team 2025 Concacaf Women's U-20 Championship will feature round-robin play within two groups of four teams each. After group play, the group winners and runners-up will advance to the semifinals and qualify for next year’s World Cup. For the first time, the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will feature 24 nations, up from 16 in the previous eight editions of the tournament. Twelve nations contested the title in 2002 and 2004, when it was held as a U-19 event. The semifinals will be played on June 6 followed by the final on June 8. All matches will take place at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
Additional Notes:
- This is the first time a U-20 Concacaf qualifying roster for the United States has had more than one professional player, so the sixpros on this roster arefar and away ateam record for a Concacaf Championship. The 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team that finished third in Colombia had eight professionals on the roster, showing how quickly the women’s youth international environment is changing.
- The four NWSL professionals are Chloe Ricketts from the Washington Spirit, Mary Long and Katie Scott from the Kansas City Currentand Kennedy Fuller from Angel City FC.
- Long, Scott and Fuller all played for the USA at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, where the USA finished third, its best finish since the inaugural tournament in 2008 when the USA finished second. Fullerwas the leading scorer for the USA at the 2024 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship, which the Americans won handily. Forward Leena Powell was also on both of those U-17 teams in the last cycle. Forward Mya Townes was also on the U-17 Concacaf qualifying team last cycle and scored five goals in the tournament.
- Fuller has seen the most action of her NWSL peers this season, playing 671 minutes in eight matches while scoring once with three assists. Ricketts has seenaction in seven matches, with two starts, while Long has played in four matches as a sub. Scott has yet to appear in a regular season match this season.
- The two USL Super League players on the roster are Sealey Strawn of Dallas Trinity FC and Emma Johnson of Lexington Sporting Club. Strawn has appeared in 18 games for Dallas Trinity and has four goals, tied for second best on a squad battling for a playoff spot in the inaugural season of the new pro league. Johnson has seen action in one match this season.
- Of the 11 college players on the roster, four come from Notre Dame, including the 2024 ACC Freshman of the Year Izzy Ingle, who found the net a remarkable 19 times in 2024. Grace Restovich added five goals and 11 assists.
- Penn State has two players on the roster with goalkeeper Kealey Titmussand defender Bella Ayscue.
- Sonoma Kasica (Notre Dame) and Caroline Birkel, who will be entering her first season at Stanford in the fall, are the other two GKs on the roster. Birkel was one of the back-up ‘keepers on the USA’s 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team and is the only player on this qualifying team from that squad.
- Two players from 2024 NCAA Champion University of North Carolina made the squad in defender Aven Alvarez and midfielder Linda Ullmark, who finished fourth on the Tar Heels in scoring with six goals and five assists.
- Two of the three youth club players are from Southern California in Powell, who plays for Tudela FC in Los Angeles, and defender Edra Bello from the San Diego Surf.Midfielder Kennedy Ring plays for World Class FC and hails from New York.
- The only player on the roster who currently holds U-20 WNT international caps is Alvarez, with two from the last cycle.
- Two players from the last U.S. team that played at the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in 2023 have earned full U.S. Women’s National Team caps: forward Ally Sentnor and defender Gisele Thompson.
- There are numerousplayers in the U-20 WNT pool currently playing in the National Women’s Soccer League who are age-eligible for this roster but were not available for this event. Those include Jordyn Bugg (Seattle Reign FC), Ainsley McCammon (Seattle Reign FC), Emeri Adames (Seattle Reign FC), Claire Hutton (Kansas City Current), Melanie Barcenas (San Diego Wave) and Trinity Armstrong (San Diego Wave). All of them have World Cup experience for the USA at the U-17 or U-20 levels or both.
- Four players on the roster helped the USA take the bronze medal at the 2023 Pan American Games in Chile where an Under-19 American team squared off against senior Women’s National Teams, gaining valuable international experience. Those players were Kasica and Titmuss, Alvarez and Restovich.
- Two training players will join the U.S. camp for just the Florida portion: Defender Kiara Gilmore and midfielder Riley Cross.
