U20 WNT Squad for U20 Nations Cup Final

The coaches made three changes to the starting team that beat Canada. Coco Carey and Alycia Washington come into the forwards and Kiki McKnight comes into the backs. Five players will start their fourth game of the tour, Jen Sandifer, Amee Svatos, Katie Johnson, Bui Baravilala and Meya Bizer.

USA U20 WNT v England U20’s.

1. Colleen Carey U of Colorado
2. Jennifer Sandifer Navy
3. Dorothy Mittow Princeton
4. Kathryn Humphreys Central Washington
5. Alycia Washington U of Connecticut
6. Mackenzie Lewis Mesa State College
7. Amee Svatos Canby, OR
8. Kathryn Johnson U of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
9. Haley Anderson Summit, CO
10. Allyson Day Portland, ME
11. Kyandrea Mcknight U of Central Florida
12. Akalaini Baravilala Aliamanu Blues
13. Amelia Bizer Woodlands, TX
14. Jacie Vonada South Dakota State
15. Alexandra Brown Radcliffe

16. Monica Jackson Cougar Women’s Rugby
17. Grace Hovde U of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
18. Kimberly La Mons Fallbrook, CA
19. Chloe Harper U of North Georgia
20. Joanne Fa'avesi Sacramento Amazons, CA
21. Amy Naber U of Arizona
22. Ashley Okonta Notre Dame

USA U20 WNT beat Canada 15-5

Hard to explain what this result meant to the team. Losing twice to Canada last year by a total of four points was such a disappointment after the solid win against Canada in the 2009 Nations Cup. We made a lot of mistakes but still came way with a win that earns us a second consecutive trip to the final of the U20 Nations Cup.

Here is the game report from USA Rugby.

Canada vs. USA
The USA was able to defeat Canada 15-5 and earn a spot in the final on Saturday July 23. The victory was a big one for the U.S. team who is making big strides in reaching the U20 Women’s Nations Cup Final.
The first half of play was characterized by solid defensive play from both teams. It wasn’t until the 30th minute when Amelia Bizer was able to make a penalty kick to give the U.S. a 3-0 lead in a tight match.
The first score of the match didn’t necessarily open the floodgates, but it did provide a spark for Canada, who played the ball nicely to loose forward, Cindy Nelles in the 34th minute for a try. The failed conversion attempt made the score 5-3 in favor of Canada at half time.
The two teams match up very will against each other, proven in the minimal scoring throughout the second half as well.
Neither team was able to make gains significant enough to cross the try line until Amelia Bizer did so in the 62nd minute after great ball movement that set her up for the strong run and score. Bizer, who will be playing football on scholarship at the University of St. Mary’s, Leavenworth, Kansas in the fall, made the conversion to give the U.S. a one try cushion heading into the crucial final 15 minutes of play.
The young women from the U.S. showed strong poise in the waning minutes of the match when the inside center, Akalaini Baravilala, touched down for a try and sealed the U.S.’s fate.
The hard-fought match was a valuable learning experience for the U.S. team who is facing and England team that beat them 37-0 just a few days ago. If England is to be defeated, the U.S. must play extremely physical and good fundamental rugby while limiting mistakes that will be capitalized on by England.
That match will be webcast live on USA Rugby’s UStream channel on Saturday July 23 at 4 P.M. PDT.
USA - 15
Tries: Bizer, Baravilala
Conversions: Bizer
Penalty Kicks: Bizer

Canada - 5
Tries: Nelles

USA U20 WNT v Canada U20’s.

1. Dorothy Mittow Princeton
2. Jennifer Sandifer Navy
3. Monica Jackson Cougar Women’s Rugby
4. Kathryn Humphreys Central Washington
5. Grace Hovde U of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
6. Mackenzie Lewis Mesa State College
7. Amee Svatos Canby, OR
8. Kathryn Johnson U of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
9. Haley Anderson Summit, CO
10. Allyson Day Portland, ME
11. Jacie Vonada South Dakota State
12. Akalaini Baravilala Aliamanu Blues
13. Amelia Bizer Woodlands, TX
14. Ashley Okonta Notre Dame
15. Alexandra Brown Radcliffe

16. Alycia Washington U of Connecticut
17. Colleen Carey U of Colorado
18. Kimberly La Mons Fallbrook, CA
19. Chloe Harper U of North Georgia
20. Miranda Wakimoto Boston University
21. Kayla Vlachos Jupiter, FL
22. Joanne Fa'avesi Sacramento Amazons, CA

All Fall Down

A snippet of video of the U20 WNT having fun before practice.

Pictures from the Game against South Africa.

Here is a link to some pictures of the U20 WNT game against South Africa that were taken by Xanni Brown's mom.

http://ls3.smugmug.com/2011Nat​ionsCup/USA-v-South-Africa-714​2011/18110008_8BnrFs#138958192​4_RD8FLhz

U20 Nations Cup Day 8

Free day #2.

Post game day recovery and free time. Day started with breakfast and a pool session with Mel and a yoga session with Miller. The players then split into two groups for the rest of the day.

Group #1 was made up of players who were going to spend the afternoon and evening with family. This group spent the morning teaching Rookie Rugby at a United Way day camp. Around 3 pm they left to spend the afternoon and evening with family.

Grace Hovde - In the morning, half our team went to a United Way day camp called Fun in the Sun and spent time playing games and teaching the campers a little something about the wonderful game of rugby! We demonstrated line-outs, scrums, and tackles. The line-out with our new friend Benito was a crowd favorite. We ate lunch with the kids and got to learn a little about their activities and interest. This also gave the campers a chance to ask us some questions about ourselves and about rugby. After lunch, we went over to the field and spent some time passing, scrumming, drop-kicking, and lifting the kids in line-outs, which they particularly enjoyed. There are definitely some budding rugby stars among them! Then, Kurt handed out posters to the campers for us to autograph and we took some individual and group pictures. We all had a great time and agreed that it was an extremely rewarding and really fun experience! We were able to spend some free time that afternoon with our families, which was nice and relaxing. We had a great day!"

Group #2 had free time in the morning and used it to go shopping and get some lunch that was not cafeteria food. In the afternoon they attend a sports camp on the UCSB Campus and taught some basic rugby skills to eighty young children.

Alycia Washington. - About half of the team that did not have family in the area got a chance to teach rookie rugby to a camp in Santa Barbara. When we arrived at the camp, some of the campers looked bewildered at the look of the larger, oblong football. But, soon they were passing in small groups and getting a feel for the ball. We informally taught them how to catch and pass backwards; a few of them even learned how to stiff arm. Next, we had them get in lines behind an Eagle for relay races. These races taught them how to run and pass at the same time. The campers were also taught how to do a very enthusiastic “Try Dance” by Captain Jennifer Sandifer. Once the kids were warmed up, they were awed by a lineout jump. To give them a more hands on feel for the game, they were lifted by Eagles and had a chance to throw the ball into a lineout.. Every child was invited to the Nations Cup Championship and got a Nations Cup poster that was later signed by the
Eagles. We had a great time teaching the campers about rugby. All the girls felt good about having a chance to give back the sport that has given us all so much. The session was topped off by a few campers promising that they would play rugby when they were old enough.

This group spent the evening at the movies with Harry Potter 7.2 and Horrible Bosses being the choices. It was a 75/25 split in favor of the young wizard. Afterwards they ate dinner at Chili’s and this was chance for everyone to get some red meat (see note below about the cafeteria) and sing happy birthday to Katie Humphreys.

Cafeteria - The food in the cafeteria was fine for the first couple of days but it feels like it’s been the same menu every day for a week. The lack of meat that is not in a sauce has left the players needing a change. We’ve had to start making runs to the grocery store for things like cold cuts, cheese, peanut butter, etc, for lunch.

Back to practice tomorrow.

U20 WNT Lose to England

The USA U20 WNT played England today and lost 37-0. It was a bit of a one sided battering with the U20's getting very little opportunity to play offense. Despite the lop sided nature of the game there were players who had solid performances. Kayla Vlachos and Jacie Vonada both played well in their first intentional starts and both made some try saving tackles.

A full report of the game can be found on the USA Rugby Website.

http://www.usarugby.org/#cc%3D%5BApplication%5D%5C%5CStructure%5C%5CContent%5C%5CBrand%20Resource%20Center%5C%5CContent%5C%5CHome%5C%5CNewsArchive%5C%5C21125036-1296-B9B4-9772-0A9E51660CED%5C%5C23181D59-12DD-E426-75C6-A4229374EBEF%5C%5C23181D59-1313-E6DA-7B51-6FBAFF508738%7B%7BTab%3AView%7D%7D

U20 Nations Cup - Day 6

The team had a good morning practice as we worked through some issues from Thursday’s game. The afternoon session seemed to get bogged down for both the forwards and the backs as some new combinations and ideas seemed to slow the process. The coaches felt better at the end of the session and I think we’ve selected a very good side for the game against England.

Coaches had some talks with players ahead of the team meeting and Jersey Ceremony. It’s a tough situation when you have twenty-six talented players and only twenty-two jerseys. It’s hard to tell four players that they won’t play in an international against England. Only six players retain their starting spot from the game against South Africa as the coaches try some new combinations.

USA U20 WNT v England U20’s.

1. Colleen Carey U of Colorado
2. Jennifer Sandifer Navy
3. Kimberly La Mons Fallbrook, CA
4. Grace Hovde U of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
5. Kiana Saluni Oregon State
6. Chloe Harper U of North Georgia
7. Amee Svatos Canby, OR
8. Kathryn Johnson U of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
9. Joanne Fa'avesi Sacramento Amazons, CA
10. Allyson Day Portland, ME
11. Kayla Vlachos Jupiter, FL
12. Akalaini Baravilala Aliamanu Blues
13. Kyandrea Mcknight U of Central Florida
14. Jacie Vonada South Dakota State
15. Amelia Bizer Woodlands, TX

16. Dorothy Mittow Princeton
17. Alycia Washington U of Connecticut
18. Brittany Larson Kent, WA
19. Kathryn Humphreys Central Washington
20. Haley Anderson Summit, CO
21. Amy Naber U of Arizona
22. Alexandra Brown Radcliffe

Chloe Harper fishing

U20 WNT flanker Chloe Harper goes fishing in Santa Barbara.

U20 Nations Cup. Day 5

This was the first free day for the players. The players got an extra hour and a half before wake up call and then it was off to breakfast. The morning activity was a pool recovery session with Mel and a yoga session with Miller. Players from last years Bahamas tour warned the new players about Millers “gentle workouts” so they were prepared for the yoga session only a boot camp drill sergeant would enjoy. All reports were that Miller is getting soft in her old age as the session was very enjoyable.

Afternoon was spent in different ways. Miller took a small group to the beach while all the other players caught the bus into Santa Barbara. Jeff, Austin, Mel and myself all chaperoned small groups of players and player’s families as we wandered around downtown Santa Barbara. Here are some reports from the players.

Jacie Vonada – “Day after our victorious game against South Africa we got to venture out and explore Santa Barbara, CA. Jen, Alycia, Kiana, Monica, Dot, Amee and I led by Jeff Noe decided to go to the Ty Warner Sea Center. We took the bus to State Street and walked up the board walk to the Sea Center where we were able to pet small sharks, rays, starfish and sea cucumbers. Watching Jeff puppeteer a shark puppet and eating some great frozen yogurt at Pinkberry topped off our excellent day”.

Xanni Brown – “Today a group of us went with Coach Bryn and Mel to downtown Santa Barbara to explore and check out Stearns Wharf. After a long wait at the bus stop, we finally got on the 24x bus. It was a little crowded because the whole England team was on there too, but we all fit without incident. When we got downtown we walked along State Street for a few blocks, window shopping at all the cool stores until we got to the wharf. We saw a couple seals and some pelicans and even got ice cream, so it was a really fun day!”

Quote of the day came from Dot Mitow. “I was tasered once. They really shouldn’t do that to 6th graders”.

This evening the South African women were dancing and singing in one of their rooms and some of the U20’s joined in around the edge. Was an interesting sight to see Grace Hovde, our big Scandinavian lock from Wisconsin, in a group of much smaller South African women. The evening ended with a video session where we watched the first half of yesterday’s game. All agred that there is a lot we need to tighten up before the game against England on Sunday.

Back to practice tomorrow.

USA U20 WNT Wins U20 Nations Cup Opener.

Nations Cup day 4, game day 1.

First game and we started with s solid 27 – 3 win against the South Africa U20’s.

We had a gentle run through this morning and while there were some problems still to resolve the team looked ready for this evenings game. The great upside to a half pace, non-contact run through was that the couple of players with injuries were able to rejoin their teammates in practice. It was good to have all twenty-six back on the field together.

Middle of the day involved lunch, nap, taping, snack and pre game ritual.

Game – We knew that the South Africans would contest the breakdown in a way that was unfamiliar to most American players and this difference turned out to be a contributing factor in the outcome of the game. Early in the first half South Africa gave away penalties for hands in the ruck and were let off as Meya Bizer pushed both just wide. South Africa got on the score sheet first with a penalty by their very talented fullback Marithy Pienaar but this would be their only score of the day. Meya Bizer kicked a penalty to tie the game at 3-3 after repeated infractions at the break down by South Africa resulted in one of many yellow cards on the day. The USA forwards began to dominate all phases of play and this resulted in tries for Haley Anderson and Alycia Washington. Half time score USA 13 South Africa 3.
Early in the second half a South African player picked up a second yellow card that then brought out a red card from the referee. The USA got two tries from Amy Naber and Brittany Larson with both converted by Meya Bizer. Final score USA 27 South Africa 3.

USA U20 WNT v South Africa U20’s.

1. Dorothy Mittow Princeton
2. Jennifer Sandifer Navy
3. Monica Jackson Cougar Women’s Rugby
4. Alycia Washington U of Connecticut
5. Grace Hovde U of Wisconsin – Oshkosh
6. Mackenzie Lewis Mesa State College
7. Amee Svatos Canby, OR
8. Kathryn Johnson U of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (C)
9. Haley Anderson Summit, CO
10. Miranda Wakimoto Boston University
11. Alexandra Brown Radcliffe
12. Akalaini Baravilala Aliamanu Blues
13. Amy Naber U of Arizona
14. Ashley Okonta Notre Dame
15. Amelia Bizer Woodlands, TX

16. Colleen Carey U of Colorado
17. Brittany Larson Kent, WA
18. Kathryn Humphreys Central Washington
19. Kimberly La Mons Fallbrook, CA
20. Kyandrea Mcknight U of Central Florida
21. Joanne Fa'avesi Sacramento Amazons, CA
22. Jacie Vonada South Dakota State

U20 Nations Cup Day 1-2

Sorry this is a recap of the first two days but there has been little time and I confess that I've chosen sleep over writing the blog. It's 1:30 am California time and this is the first chance I've had to get you all caught up.

Monday. Travel days are always tough. Kayla got bumped from her flight and instead of getting into LAX in the morning she didn't arrive until Midnight. This meant Jeff had to make another trip back to Los Angeles and they got back to SB around 2am. We had another wayward player who missed the evening practice because of bad planning and this resulted in a chat from the Captains. Evening practice was good. Shook off the cobwebs and worked on integrating the players who missed the Pittsburgh camp into the new players. Squad feels very cohesive.

Tuesday. Injury day. Lost three players to injury on the first day. One ankle sprain, one hand stepped on and a freak cut knee that needed stitches. Nothing that has ended anyone's tour and they should all be good to go by the game against England on Sunday.

U20 WNT Video

Players from the U20 Women's National Team Player Pool in a promo video for the upcoming U20 Nations Cup.

Posters for the U20 Nations Cup