Gilroy Named to U.S. U-20 World Cup Team

CHICAGO — Tennessee sophomore forward Erin Gilroy has been selected for the U.S. national team to compete in next month's 2018 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup.

The championships will be held Aug. 5-24 in the Brittany region of northwestern France.

Gilroy had joined the U-20 national team in June for the Tournoi Mauric Revello Sud Ladies Cup in France, scoring her first two international goals. The Bellmore, New York, native was then invited to the final training camp in Portland, Oregon.

The training camp group was narrowed down to the final 21 players to make the World Cup roster.

"Honestly, these were some of the toughest decisions I've had to make in my coaching career," U-20 national team head coach Jitka Klimkova said. "The overall pool was so competitive and we needed every training session and game before we selected the final 21. We are confident that the group we picked is the best team. We looked at many factors over the past year from their influence and decision making in games to their training mentality and versatility, to the intangibles, and of course their performances in international matches. The credit goes to the players for their work ethic and mental toughness throughout the process."

In her first season of competition for Tennessee, Gilroy earned SEC All-Freshman Team honors. She played in 18 games and started 15, recording four goals and leading the team with nine assists.

Before this summer, her previous national team experience came at the U.S. U-18 National Team Training Camp in 2015 and 2016.

Four Lady Vols have been named to their respective national rosters in the last five FIFA U-20 Women's World Cups: Gilroy (2018, USA), redshirt junior Katie Cousins (2016, USA), Carlyn Baldwin (2014, USA) and Hannah Wilkinson (2010, 2012, New Zealand).

2018 U.S. U-20 NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER
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)

2018 U-20 WORLD CUP
USA, Group C Schedule
(All times Eastern)
Aug. 6 - USA vs. Japan, 1:30 p.m.
Aug. 9 - USA vs. Paraguay, 1:30 p.m.
Aug. 13 - USA vs. Spain, 7:30 a.m.

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Katie Cousins

Erin Gilroy

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