University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Villacorta, Sanchez Named to U.S. U-20 WWC Squad
July 17, 2018 | Women's Soccer
UCLA sophomores Ashley Sanchez and Viviana Villacorta have been named to the 21-player U.S. roster for the 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup, which will be held Aug. 5-24 in France.
Sanchez, a forward from Monrovia, Calif., will be making her second Under-20 World Cup appearance. In 2016, Sanchez became the first U.S. player ever to score in a U-17 and U-20 Women's World Cup in the same year. She was later named the U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year. Sanchez is one of the most capped players on the squad, totaling 33 caps and 11 goals with the U-20s. As a freshman at UCLA, Sanchez earned first-team All-West Region and All-Pac-12 honors and ranked third on the team in scoring with 24 points on six goals and a UCLA freshman-record 12 assists.
Villacorta, a midfielder from Lawndale, Calif., will make her first World Cup appearance. She has 23 caps and one goal in U-20 play. She played in all 25 games for the Bruins last season as a freshman and started 15, including all six NCAA Tournament games. Villacorta recorded four assists
The 2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup features 16 nations divided into four groups of four teams. The top two finishers in each group advance to the knockout round quarterfinals. All 32 matches of the tournament will take place in four venues across France's Brittany region.
The U.S. opens the tournament on Monday, Aug. 6 against Japan, faces Paraguay on Thursday, Aug. 9 and closes out the group stage against Spain on Monday, Aug. 13. All of the USA's matches will be broadcast on FS2.
2018 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Roster by Position (College or Club; Hometown; U-20 Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (3): Hillary Beall (Michigan; Laguna Beach, Calif.; 0/0), Laurel Ivory (Virginia; Surfside, Fla.; 12/0), Amanda McGlynn (Virginia Tech; Jacksonville, Fla.; 10/0)
DEFENDERS (7): Emily Fox (UNC; Chapel Hill, N.C., 32/3), Naomi Girma (California Thorns FC; San Jose, Calif.; 17/0), Samantha Hiatt (Stanford; Newcastle, Wash.; 11/1), Tara McKeown (USC; Newbury Park, Calif.; 22/0), Zoe Morse (Virginia; East Lansing, Mich.; 19/0), Kiara Pickett (Stanford; Santa Barbara, Calif.; 16/0), Isabel Rodriguez (Ohio State; Canton, Mich.; 19/0)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Savannah DeMelo (USC; Bellflower, Calif.; 36/5), Jaelin Howell (Real Colorado; Windsor, Colo.; 26/2), Brianna Pinto (NTH Tophat; Durham, N.C.; 22/3), Taryn Torres (Virginia; Frisco, Texas; 12/2), Viviana Villacorta (UCLA; Lawndale, Calif.; 23/1)
FORWARDS (6): Erin Gilroy (Tennessee; Bellmore, N.Y.; 4/2), Penelope Hocking (So Cal Blues; Anaheim, Calif.; 9/3), Abigail Kim (California; Vashon, Wash.; 24/6), Ashley Sanchez (UCLA; Monrovia, Calif.; 33/11), Alexa Spaanstra (Virginia; Brighton, Mich.; 3/0), Sophia Smith (Real Colorado; Windsor, Colo.; 25/21)
