Three Gators in California for U.S. U-23 National Soccer Team Training Camp
Sunday, January 13, 2008 | Soccer
Three members of the 2007 University of Florida soccer team reported this weekend to the U.S. Under-23 National Team Camp at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. Junior Ameera Abdullah, senior Stacy Bishop and sophomore Ashlee Elliott are among the 24-players called into camp by head coach Bill Irwin.
The U.S. Under-23s will partake in the Nordic Cup this summer, and will look to earn their 10th title at the prestigious tournament.
This is the first ever camp at this age group on the women's national team side. Formerly the U-21 WNT, the age group changed to U-23 as a result of the Nordic Cup becoming a U-23 competition. As a result, the U.S. U-21s, who dominated the Nordic Cup for the past decade, will become a U-23 squad with no overage players for the summer tournament that brings the USA together with Europe's top youth teams.
The U-23s serve a valuable purpose giving players on the fringe of the full WNT player pool, some of whom have finished their college soccer, a chance to keep training at a high level in National Team camps and international matches.
During the weeklong camp, the U-23s will play a number of scrimmages against local club teams.
As a senior in 2007, Bishop earned SoccerBuzz.com All-America fourth-team honors. She led the Gators in goals (10), assists (10) and points (30) in 2007. Bishop made her second consecutive appearance on the All-SEC first team in 2007 and was named the most valuable player of the SEC Tournament. She was a semifinalist for the 2007 Missouri Athletics Club's Hermann Trophy, an award for the nation's player of the year.
Elliott earned her first All-SEC honors in 2007, appearing on the first team. She turned in four goals and four assists, which includes scoring a goal in each of Florida's final three regular-season matches. Abdullah made her second consecutive appearance on an All-SEC team in 2007, earning second team honors. She turned in four goals and 13 points as a junior, including sharing second on the team with five assists. Abdullah also was named to the SEC All-Tournament team after turning in two goals and an assist in the championship match.
| US National Team U-23 Camp Roster GOALKEEPERS (4): Cori Alexander (Portland), Joanna Haig (Louisville), Valerie Henderson (UCLA), Jaimel Johnson (Tennessee) |
| DEFENDERS (7): Marisa Abegg (Stanford), Rachel Buehler (Stanford), Carrie Drew (Notre Dame), Nikki Krzysik (Virginia), Kasey Moore (Texas), Brittany Taylor (Connecticut), Elise Weber |
| MIDFIELDERS (8): Ameera Abdullah (Florida), Yael Averbuch (North Carolina), Stacy Bishop (Florida), Kiki Bosio (Santa Clara), Brittany Klein (Santa Clara), Lindsey Ozimek (UNC-Charlotte), Ashley Nick (USC), Meghan Schnur (Connecticut) |
| FORWARDS (5): Danesha Adams (UCLA), Ashlee Elliott (Florida), Elizabeth Eng (Connecticut), Kerri Hanks (Notre Dame), Michelle Weissenhofer (Notre Dame) |
