CHICAGO, Ill. – Penn State women's soccer sends two athletes, Kate Wiesner and Ellie Wheeler, to Oregon to compete for the U.S. U-23 Women's Youth National Team for the Thorns Preseason Tournament in Portland, Oregon. The competition consists of three matches against NWSL teams from March 12-18.
The roster is comprised entirely of collegiate players, including Wiesner, who traveled to France last month. The team earned a 2-0 win and a 1-1 draw against the France U-23s.
The U.S. will face the OL Reign, Portland Thorns FC and Racing Louisville in the tournament.
Tournament Schedule:
- USA vs. OL Reign on Sunday, March 12 at 2:30 p.m. PT
- Portland Thorns FC vs. Racing Louisville on Sunday, March 12 at 5 p.m. PT.
- OL Reign vs. Racing Louisville on Wednesday, March 15 at 5 p.m. PT
- USA vs. Thorns on Wednesday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. PT.
- USA vs. Racing Louisville on Saturday, March 18 at 5 p.m. PT
- Thorns vs. OL Reign on Saturday, March 18 at 7:30 p.m. PT. None of the matches will be streamed.
Wiesner has played at the U-15, U-17, U-19 and U-23 levels for the Youth U.S. National Teams. Most recently, she traveled to France on the U-23 roster and helped the team to a win and a draw against France's U-23 team. She was a member of the 2016 U-17 Women's World Cup Team in Jordan and has been on the roster for the last several CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers at the U-17 level.
Wheeler rostered with the U-17. U-19 and U-20 USWNT teams in 2022.
Both Weisner and Wheeler had dominant seasons at Penn State this season. Wiesner started in 22 games, led the Big Ten in assists (11) and scored two goals including a game-winner. Wheeler started all 23 games, playing almost 2,000 minutes and notched three assists.
Tickets for the tournament are included in Thorns FC Annual Memberships. Individual tickets for the preseason tournament are on sale online at www.thornsfc.com.