Aug. 17, 2006
U.S. Under-20 National Team in Russia
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The United States Under-20 Women's National Team, featuring Santa Clara standouts Jordan Angeli and Amanda Poach, will open up first-round play in the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship Friday at 5 a.m. PT from Moscow, Russia against the Democratic Republic of Congo. The U.S. will continue Group D play against Argentina on Aug. 21 before concluding the opening round with an Aug. 24 date with France.
The World Championship will be held from Aug. 17-Sept. 4. All the first-round matches will be played in Moscow and fans can follow them live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker. The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship will take place at four stadiums in Moscow (Dynamo, Podmoskovie, Lokomotiv and Torpedo) and at one in St. Petersburg (Petrovsky).
Heading into Friday's opener, the Under-20 women have compiled a 15-4-3 record in 2006, including a perfect 5-0-0 mark in international play. Those five victories all came in the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in late January, where the U.S. finished first to qualify for the Worlds.
Angeli and Poach, Santa Clara's two representatives on the U-20 squad, have made their presences felt in the midfield, as Angeli has started eight of 11 matches while Poach has been in the starting XI for six of her 11 appearances. Each Bronco has notched a goal and three assists so far in 2006, while during the qualifying tournament Poach found the net once and assisted on another goal, while Angeli registered a pair of assists over the five victories.
U.S. Under-20 First-Round Match Schedule
Aug. 17 - vs. DR Congo - 5 a.m. PT
Aug 21 - vs. Argentina - 5 a.m. PT
Aug. 24 - vs. France - 8 a.m. PT