PREVIEW: U.S. U-17 WNT KICKS OFF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

PREVIEW: U.S. U-17 WNT KICKS OFF WORLD CUP QUALIFYING IN TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team

Final Round of the 2025 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Qualifiers

Ato Boldon Stadium; Couva, Trinidad & Tobago

March 31-April 5, 2025

U-17 WNT KICKS OFF FINAL ROUND OF CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-17 QUALIFIERS: The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team will kick off its World Cup qualifying campaign in the Final Round of the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-17 Qualifiers on Monday, March 31, vs. host Trinidad & Tobago (7 p.m. ET; on FS2). The USA will then take on Honduras on Wednesday, April 2 (4 p.m. ET; FS2) and El Salvador on Saturday, April 5 (4 p.m. ET; on Tubi). All three Group C matches will take place at Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva, Trinidad & Tobago.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2008, are age-eligible for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. All 21 players selected by head coach Katie Schoepfer were born in 2008.

Four players on this roster played for the USA at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic, helping the USA to a third-place finish, its best since the inaugural tournament in 2008 when the Americans took second. Those players are midfielders Kimmi Ascanio, Scottie Antonucci and Jaiden Rodriguez and goalkeeper Evan O’Steen. Ascanio, who plays for the San Diego Wave in the National Women’s Soccer League, is the only player on the roster who played in the last Concacaf U-17 World Cup qualifying tournament in 2024.

Follow the U-17 WYNT throughout the tournament on ussoccer.com as well as U.S. Soccer Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Final Round of the 2025 Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Qualifiers by Position (Club; Hometown)  

Goalkeepers (3): Josie Biehl (San Diego Surf SC; Carlsbad, Calif.), Evan O'Steen (Solar SC; Grapevine, Texas), Peyton Trayer (Slammers FC HB Koge; Aliso Viejo, Calif.) 

Defenders (7): Pearl Cecil (San Diego Surf SC; Encinitas, Calif.), Natalie Chudowsky (New York SC; Westport, Conn.), Lauren Hemann (Bethesda SC; Potomac, Md.), Rhiannon Mahon (Solar SC; Celina, Texas), Gracie Milam (Lou Fusz Athletic; Saint Charles, Mo.), Cali O'Neill (North Carolina Courage Academy; Durham, N.C.), Sydney Schmidt (Jacksonville FC; St. Johns, Fla.) 

Midfielders (6): Scottie Antonucci (Legends FC; Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Kimmi Ascanio (San Diego Wave; Doral, Fla.), Riley Kennedy (North Carolina Courage Academy; Holly Springs, N.C.), Jaiden Rodriguez (San Diego Surf SC; San Diego, Calif.), Chloe Sadler (La Roca FC; Hyde Park, Utah), Charlee Siria (Ohio Elite SA; Lexington, Ky.) 

Forwards (5): Ashlyn Anderson (Indy Premier SC; Carmel, Ind.), Maggie Currie (Mountain View Los Altos SC; San Jose, Calif.), Micayla Johnson (Chicago Stars; Troy, Mich.), Audrey McKeen (Virginia Development Academy; Vienna, Va.), Nyanya Touray (Bethesda SC; Silver Spring, Md.).  

FINAL FOURND OF 2025 CONCACAF WOMEN’S U-17 QUALIFIERS – TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

GROUP C SCHEDULE – USA

TOURNAMENT FORMAT: Concacaf has once again changed the qualifying format for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which starting this year will be staged annually and has been expanded from 16 to 24 nations. Instead of a tournament in which the top three Concacaf finishers qualify for the Women’s U-17 World Cup, 12 teams were drawn into three groups of four teams each with the winner of each group and the best second place team qualifying for the World Cup, set for Oct. 17-Nov. 8 in Morocco. The next five editions of the tournament will be held in Morocco.

With the start of the expanded annual U-17 Women’s World Cup this year, the Concacaf region has been allocated a fourth berth. Since the tournament’s inception in 2008, North America, Central America and the Caribbean have received three berths. Unlike in previous editions of the qualification tournament, there will not be a champion crowned.

CONCACAF U-17 HISTORY: The U.S. has successfully qualified for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup six times (2008, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024). In the new qualification format, the U.S. will qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 WWC if they finish first in the group or end the tournament as the best second-place finisher among the three groups.

In previous editions of the tournament where a champion was crowned, the U.S. won the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship six times (2008, 2012, 2016, 2018, 2022, and 2024). The two Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championships at which the USA finished third – 2010 and 2014, with the USA falling in penalty kicks in the semifinal both times – were both years in which the World Cup was held in Concacaf countries and thus only two berths from the region were up for grabs.

GROWTH OF THE WOMEN’S GAME: This is the second U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying squad to include professional players. In 2024, midfielder Melanie Barcenas from San Diego Wave FC and forward Alex Pfeiffer from the Kansas City Current were the pros on the roster. This time around, San Diego Wave midfielder Kimmi Ascanio – who is the only holdover from that 2024 World Cup qualifying roster but was not yet a pro -- and forward Micayla Johnson from the Chicago Stars represent the National Women’s Soccer League. Ascanio is in her second pro season while Johnson is a rookie this year and made her pro debut on March 14 against the Orlando Pride.

THE CONSISTENT FOUR: Only four different teams have qualified out of Concacaf for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: The USA (six times), Mexico (seven times), Canada (seven times) and Costa Rica (one time). Trinidad & Tobago hosted the World Cup in 2010, Costa Rica hosted in 2014, and the Dominican Republic hosted in 2024, thus earning automatic berths to those tournaments.

A TRIO OF HOSTS: The 2025 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers will take places in three different countries: Mexico, Nicaragua, and Trinidad & Tobago. All three countries have hosted the tournament in the past. Trinidad & Tobago in 2008, Nicaragua in 2018, and Mexico in 2024.

HISTORY OF SUCCESS: The USA has compiled a 40W-0L-2D all-time record at this tournament and has outscored its opponents 249-12, but despite the big goal difference, the young Americans have had plenty of close matches, including one-goal wins over Mexico and Canada, a draw with Mexico, and 3-2 wins over Haiti and Mexico in 2018. In 2022, the USA defeated Mexico, 2-1, in the championship game on goals from Lauren Martinho and Melina Rebimbas. Five of the 10 goals the USA has allowed in this tournament all-time have been to Mexico. In last year’s tournament, the U.S. beat Puerto Rico 3-1 in the group stage and beat host Mexico 4-0 in the title game.

CLIMBING THE LADDER: The U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team had been a launching pad for numerous players who have moved up through the National Team programs to eventually represent the senior USWNT. From 2008-2022, an average of almost three players per U.S. U-17 qualifying squad have gone on to represent the full USWNT.

In fact, a total of 21 players who have played for the USA in the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship have gone on to earn caps at the senior level, including six who won World Cups in either 2015 or 2019. Morgan Brian, Samantha Mewis, Crystal Dunn and Kristie Mewis played for the team that advanced to the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Final in New Zealand.

2025 U-17 WWC QUALIFIED TEAMS SO FAR: Seven countries have already qualified for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. In addition to host Morocco, China PR, Japan, Korea DPR and Korea Republic have qualified from Asia via nominations by the Asian Football Confederation based on results of the last three editions of AFC U-17 Women's Asian Cup in Thailand in 2017 and 2019 and in Indonesia in 2024. New Zealand and Samoa have qualified from Oceania via the 2024 OFC U-16 Women’s Championship.

JUST GETTING STARTED: This group of U.S. U-17s comes into World Cup qualifying having had three training camps together – one in September of 2024 in Atlanta, one in January of 2025 in Mesa, Ariz., and one in February of 2025 in West Palm Beach, Fla. These Concacaf qualifiers will be the first international matches together for this group of players.

U-17 WNT Roster Notes:

• Midfielder Kimmi Ascanio played in six league matches last year for the San Diego Wave totaling 145 minutes. She played two more matches in the NWSL x La Liga Summer Cup, totaling 27 minutes. So far this NWSL season, she has played 32 minutes.

• At the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Ascanio started all six games, scored the clinching goal against Nigeria in the quarterfinals and had an assist in group play against Korea Republic.

• Midfielders Jaiden Rodriguez and Scottie Antonucci spent most of 2024 with the U.S. U-16 GNT, but both made late runs to make the World Cup squad. Antonucci played in three games off the bench at the World Cup while Rodriguez played in five matches in DR as a reserve.

• Goalkeeper Evan O’Steen sat out the first match at the U-17 World Cup but then played every minute of the next five, allowing just one goal and winning the Golden Glove as the tournament’s top netminder.

• Two pro clubs and 14 different youth clubs from 12 different states are represented on the roster, with five players from Southern California, three from Texas and two each from Maryland and North Carolina.

• Before heading to Trinidad & Tobago, the U-17s trained in Miami for a week. During camp, forward Elayna Kocher was injured and was replaced by Audrey McKeen, one of the five alternates who were training with the squad. 

USA U-17s vs. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO:

• The USA and Trinidad & Tobago have met three times at the Concacaf Women’s U-17 Championship (2008, 2012, and 2013). In 2008, the U.S. won 9-1 with braces from former U.S. Women’s National Team players and sisters Kristi and Sam Mewis. In 2012, the USA won 5-0 with a goal from current USWNT pool player Andi Sullivan. And in 2013, the U.S. shut out the Women Soca Warriors again in an 8-0 win with a goal from current USWNT player Mallory Swanson (then Mallory Pugh).

• Trinidad & Tobago qualified for the final round of qualification by being one of the two highest ranking second place teams in the qualification stage. Trinidad & Tobago finished second in Group B with two wins and one loss. The Women Soca Warriors beat the U.S. Virgin Islands 5-0 and shutout Belize 2-0 before falling to Honduras 1-0 in their final group-stage match.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:

• Each team will be allowed to make a maximum of five substitutions.

• If teams are tied on points at the conclusion of the group stage, the following tiebreakers will be used:

  • Goal difference in all group matches

  • Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches

• If teams are still tied, the following tiebreakers will be used:

  • Greater number of points in matches between the tied teams (head-to-head)

  • Greater goal difference in matches between the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points)

  • Greater number of goals scored in matches among the tied teams (if more than two teams finish equal on points)

  • Lower number of points based on yellow and red cards in all group matches (First yellow = 1 point, second yellow/indirect red = 3 points, direct red = 4 points, yellow and direct red = 5 points)

  • Drawing of lots

• Two yellows received in different games during the competition will result in automatic suspension for the next game. Single yellow cards will be eliminated at the end of the group stage. 

HEAD COACH KATIE SCHOEPFER: U.S. U-17 WYNT head coach Katie Schoepfer is the first-ever U.S. head coach for this age group to have played in a women’s professional league in the United States. In fact, she played in two. Schoepfer started her career in WPS (Women’s Professional Soccer), the USA’s second pro league that ran from 2009-2011, where she played for Sky Blue FC and the Boston Breakers. The powerful target forward also played at the start of the National Women’s Soccer League, playing 82 matches for the Boston Breakers from 2013-2016. Schoepfer was a two-time All-American at Penn State where she helped lead the Nittany Lions to four straight Big 10 titles. Schoepfer played for the USA at the U-23 and U-17 levels. Prior to taking over the help of the U-17s, she coached the U.S. U-15s, leading them to title at the 2022 Concacaf Girls’ U-15 Championship. She helmed the USA to the title at the 2024 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Championship and then to a third-place finish at the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, losing 1-0 to eventual champion North Korea in the semifinal and then defeating England, 3-0, to win the bronze. The USA’s third-place finish was the best in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 2008, when the Americans finished second, losing to North Korea in the final.