Feb. 23, 2016
US Soccer U-20 Release | US Soccer U-18 Release
CHICAGO - Six members of the Penn State women's soccer team will travel to La Manga, Spain, for the 2016 La Manga Tournament. Five Nittany Lions will represent the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team, while one Penn Stater will play for the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team. The tournament runs from Feb. 27-March 7.
Rose Chandler (Atlanta, Ga.), Maddie Elliston (Omaha, Neb.), Ellie Jean (Coventry, Conn.), Emily Ogle (Strongsville, Ohio) and Kaleigh Riehl (Fairfax Station, Va.) will don the Red, White and Blue for the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team, while Amanda Dennis (Palmetto, Fla.) joins the U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team.
Penn State leads the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team contingent with five representatives followed by Stanford (four).
Last year at the 10 Nations U-19 International Tournament in La Manga, Spain, a trio of Nittany Lions helped the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team to a three-match sweep.
Ogle and Elliston started in all of the matches and Riehl started against Sweden and Norway, playing in the midfield or in the United States' third en route to the clean sheets. All three played full-time against Norway, and Ogle and Elliston went the distance against Sweden. Additionally, Ogle assisted on the match-winning goal against the Netherlands when her free kick rolled directly to Mikaela Harvey, who finished for the 1-0 score.
Chandler was a member of the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team that captured its fourth-straight CONCACAF Under-20 Women's Championship title in early December 2015.
In the championship match, against Canada, Chandler tallied a pair of saves to preserve a 1-0 victory for the Red, White and Blue.
After allowing a pair of goals in a 2-2 tie against Mexico in the tournament opener on Dec. 4, Chandler found her stride in net as she only conceded one goal over the final four matches of the tournament.
For her performance in net, Chandler was awarded the Golden Glove award, which is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Dennis joined the Nittany Lions in the spring semester as she enrolled early at Penn State. She played varsity soccer during her freshman year for Murrieta Valley High School. She also played for the Cal South Olympic Development Program (ODP) and won two national championships (2013-14) with the '98 age group.
Last September, Dennis trained with the U-20 U.S. Women's National Team in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. She was also named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NCSAA) All-American in 2015.
Elliston, a sophomore, missed the early part of the 2015 Penn State season due to an injury, but started seven of the last 18 matches on the Nittany Lion backline. Elliston played in 11 of the 15 Nittany Lion shutouts this past season.
In 2015, Jean, a freshman, played in 26 matches, which included 21 starts and she dished out six assists. Jean was also named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI Second Team.
Ogle started all 27 matches for the Nittany Lions during her sophomore season in 2015 and recorded seven goals, four of which were scored in the NCAA Tournament. During the 2015 season, Ogle received TopDrawerSoccer Third Team Best XI honors, NSCAA All-Great Lakes First Team honors, All-Big Ten Second Team honors, Academic All-Big Ten plaudits and was named to the Women's College Cup All-Tournament Team.
Riehl started every match on the Nittany Lion backline as a freshman and recorded the second-most minutes on the team (2,360). During her freshman year, Riehl scored one goal and recorded two assists. Her first goal as a Nittany Lion came in the 79th minute of the College Cup semifinal against No. 9 Rutgers. Riehl was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI First Team, Women's College Cup All-Tournament Team, All-Big Ten Second Team and the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
The U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team will compete against U-23 national teams from England, Norway and Sweden. The USA will face Sweden on March 2, England on March 4 and finish with Norway on March 6.
The U.S. Under-18 Women's National Team will be playing against older teams from Denmark (March 3), England (March 5) and Norway (March 7).
The Nittany Lions begin their 2016 spring schedule Saturday inside Holuba Hall against Pittsburgh at 3:30 p.m.
U.S. U-20 WNT La Manga Tournament Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Rose Chandler (Penn State; Atlanta, Ga.), Casey Murphy (Rutgers; Bridgewater, N.J.)
DEFENDERS (9): Alana Cook (Stanford; Far Hills, N.J.), Maddie Elliston (Penn State; Omaha, Neb.), Emily Fox (FC Virginia; Ashburn, Va.), Natalie Jacobs (Notre Dame; Coto de Caza, Calif.), Ellie Jean (Penn State; Coventry, Conn.), Tegan McGrady (Stanford; San Jose, Calif.), Taylor Otto (North Carolina; Apex, N.C.), Kaleigh Riehl (Penn State; Fairfax Station, Va.), Michelle Xiao (Stanford; Omaha, Neb.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Savannah DeMelo (Beach FC; Bellflower, Calif.), Jordan Dibiasi (Stanford; Littleton, Colo.), Kelcie Hedge (Washington; Post Falls, Idaho), Emily Ogle (Penn State; Strongsville, Ohio), Courtney Petersen (Virginia; Canton, Mich.), Parker Roberts (Kansas; Leawood, Kan.), Mikaela Harvey (Texas A&M; Liberty Hill, Texas)
FORWARDS (4): Mimi Asom (Princeton; Fairview, Texas), Taylor Racioppi (Duke; Ocean Township, N.J.), Jessie Scarpa (North Carolina; Lakeland, Fla.), Ally Watt (Texas A&M; Colorado Springs, Colo.)
U.S. U-18 WNT La Manga Tournament Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Amanda Dennis (Penn State; Palmetto, Fla.), Brooke Heinsohn (New England FC; Norfolk; Mass.)
DEFENDERS (7): Malia Berkely (Fairfield Optimist SC; Liberty Township, Ohio), Holly Daugirda (Utah Avalanche; Salt Lake City, Utah), Julie Doyle (San Diego Surf; Murrieta, Calif.), Samantha Hiatt (Crossfire FC; Newcastle, Wash.), Julie Mackin (Real Colorado; Castle Rock, Colo.), Kaiya McCullough (San Diego Surf; Mission Viejo, Calif.), Taylor Mitchell (Real So Cal; Tarzana, Calif.)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Olivia Athens (PSV Union FC; Atherton, Calif.), Marley Canales (San Diego Surf; Temecula, Calif.), Arlie Jones (San Diego Surf, Las Vegas, Nev.), Taylor Kornieck (San Diego Surf, Henderson, Nev.), Zoe Morse (Michigan Hawks; East Lansing, Mich.), Natalie Winters (Michigan Hawks; Plymouth, Mich.)
FORWARDS (7): Jenna Bike (Connecticut FC; Trumbull, Conn.), Marissa Bosco (Eclipse Select; St. Charles, Ill.), Sunny Dunphy (San Diego Surf; Carlsbad, Calif.), Cecilia Gee (Lamorinda United; Orinda, Calif.), Kennedy Goins (TSC Hurricane; Broken Arrow, Okla.), Alissa Gorzak (Eclipse Select; Naperville, Ill.), Abigail Kim (Pacific NW SC; Vashon, Wash.)