Sunshine Fontes rmakes her return to the U.S. Youth National Team.
Photo by: Percy Anderson
Aozasa to Coach Four U.S. U23 Bruins at Thorns Preseason Tournament
March 02, 2023 | Women's Soccer
UCLA women's soccer head coach Margueritte Aozasa has been tabbed to be the head coach for the U.S. Under-23 Women's Youth National Team for the Thorns Preseason Tournament March 12-18. She will be joined by four Bruin players – defenders Lilly Reale and Quincy McMahon, midfielder Sunshine Fontes and forward Reilyn Turner.
The U.S. will face three NWSL teams in the tournament, opening against OL Reign on Sunday, March 12 at 2:30pm PT. On Wednesday, March 15, the U.S. team will play Portland Thorns FC at 7:30pm before wrapping up the tournament on Saturday, March 18 against Racing Louisville at 5pm. None of the matches will be streamed.
Aozasa and Reale recently returned from a February trip to France, during which the U.S. U-23s earned a 2-0 win an 1-1 draw against France's U-23 squad.
Reale has been a mainstay on the U.S. Youth National Teams since 2017 and played in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Concacaf U-20 Championship and Sud Ladies Cup in 2022. McMahon has been with the U-18, U-19 and U-20 teams. Fontes holds the record for most goals in a calendar year for a U.S. Women's Youth National Team player after scoring 22 international goals with the U.S. U-17 WNT in 2018. This will mark her first time back with the YNT since the 2018 U-17 Women's World Cup, as she suffered an ACL injury during her senior season in high school in 2019. Turner has seen playing time with the U-17, U-19 and U-20s. In 2018, she scored two goals at the Concacaf U-17 Championship, including the game-winner against Canada in the quarterfinals. She also played in the 2020 La Manga Tournament with the U-19s.
The Bruin quintet is coming off a national championship season in 2022. All four players earned All-Pac-12 honors and started over 20 games for a UCLA squad that finished 22-2-1. Fontes led the Bruins in scoring with 30 points and tied for the team lead in goals scored with Turner, each recording 11. Turner led the nation with seven game-winning goals. Reale, the 2022 Honda Sport Award winner for women's soccer, and McMahon led a Bruin defense that ranked first in the Pac-12 with 14 shutouts.
Individual tickets for the preseason tournament are on sale online at www.thornsfc.com.
U.S. U-23 WYNT Roster – 2023 Thorns Preseason Tournament
Goalkeepers (2): Mia Justus (Texas; Lakewood, Ohio), Cayla White (Virginia; Arlington, Va.)
Defenders (8): Lauren Flynn (Florida State; Arlington, Va.), Eva Gaetino (Notre Dame; Dexter, Mich.), Quincy McMahon (UCLA; Highland Ranch, Colo.), Ayo Oke (California; Lawrenceville, Ga.), Lilly Reale (UCLA; Hingham, Mass.), Talia Staude (Virginia; Atlanta, Ga.), Ellie Wheeler (Penn State; Fairfax, Va.), Kate Wiesner (Penn State; Monrovia, Calif.)
Midfielders (7): Talia DellaPeruta (UNC; Cumming, Ga.), Sunshine Fontes (UCLA; Wahiawa, Hawaii), Annie Karich (Santa Clara; Surfside, Calif.), Felicia Knox (Alabama; Shawnee, Kan.), Lexi Missimo (Texas; Southlake, Texas), Jillian Shimkin (Texas; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Sarah Weber (Nebraska; Gretna, Neb.)
Forwards (6): Trinity Byars (Texas; Richardson, Texas), Taylor Huff (Florida State; Mansfield, Ohio), Simone Jackson (USC; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Avery Patterson (UNC; Jacksonville, Fla.), Brittany Raphino (Brown; Randolph, Mass.), Reilyn Turner (UCLA; Aliso Viejo, Calif.)
The U.S. will face three NWSL teams in the tournament, opening against OL Reign on Sunday, March 12 at 2:30pm PT. On Wednesday, March 15, the U.S. team will play Portland Thorns FC at 7:30pm before wrapping up the tournament on Saturday, March 18 against Racing Louisville at 5pm. None of the matches will be streamed.
Aozasa and Reale recently returned from a February trip to France, during which the U.S. U-23s earned a 2-0 win an 1-1 draw against France's U-23 squad.
Reale has been a mainstay on the U.S. Youth National Teams since 2017 and played in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup, Concacaf U-20 Championship and Sud Ladies Cup in 2022. McMahon has been with the U-18, U-19 and U-20 teams. Fontes holds the record for most goals in a calendar year for a U.S. Women's Youth National Team player after scoring 22 international goals with the U.S. U-17 WNT in 2018. This will mark her first time back with the YNT since the 2018 U-17 Women's World Cup, as she suffered an ACL injury during her senior season in high school in 2019. Turner has seen playing time with the U-17, U-19 and U-20s. In 2018, she scored two goals at the Concacaf U-17 Championship, including the game-winner against Canada in the quarterfinals. She also played in the 2020 La Manga Tournament with the U-19s.
The Bruin quintet is coming off a national championship season in 2022. All four players earned All-Pac-12 honors and started over 20 games for a UCLA squad that finished 22-2-1. Fontes led the Bruins in scoring with 30 points and tied for the team lead in goals scored with Turner, each recording 11. Turner led the nation with seven game-winning goals. Reale, the 2022 Honda Sport Award winner for women's soccer, and McMahon led a Bruin defense that ranked first in the Pac-12 with 14 shutouts.
Individual tickets for the preseason tournament are on sale online at www.thornsfc.com.
U.S. U-23 WYNT Roster – 2023 Thorns Preseason Tournament
Goalkeepers (2): Mia Justus (Texas; Lakewood, Ohio), Cayla White (Virginia; Arlington, Va.)
Defenders (8): Lauren Flynn (Florida State; Arlington, Va.), Eva Gaetino (Notre Dame; Dexter, Mich.), Quincy McMahon (UCLA; Highland Ranch, Colo.), Ayo Oke (California; Lawrenceville, Ga.), Lilly Reale (UCLA; Hingham, Mass.), Talia Staude (Virginia; Atlanta, Ga.), Ellie Wheeler (Penn State; Fairfax, Va.), Kate Wiesner (Penn State; Monrovia, Calif.)
Midfielders (7): Talia DellaPeruta (UNC; Cumming, Ga.), Sunshine Fontes (UCLA; Wahiawa, Hawaii), Annie Karich (Santa Clara; Surfside, Calif.), Felicia Knox (Alabama; Shawnee, Kan.), Lexi Missimo (Texas; Southlake, Texas), Jillian Shimkin (Texas; Rockville Centre, N.Y.), Sarah Weber (Nebraska; Gretna, Neb.)
Forwards (6): Trinity Byars (Texas; Richardson, Texas), Taylor Huff (Florida State; Mansfield, Ohio), Simone Jackson (USC; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Avery Patterson (UNC; Jacksonville, Fla.), Brittany Raphino (Brown; Randolph, Mass.), Reilyn Turner (UCLA; Aliso Viejo, Calif.)
Players Mentioned
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