Freshmen to represent Broncos on national team

By Bruce Martinez

Both freshman defender Jessica Ballweg and freshman forward Leslie Osborne will represent the United States on the Under-19 National Team that will compete in Trinidad and Tobago at the CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament held May 7-11, 2002.

The team will feature 18 of the nation's finest women's soccer players under the age of 19, and the winner of each of the groups competing in Trinidad and Tobago will advance to the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women's World Championship, which will be held in Canada this summer from Aug. 17 through Sept. 1.

The squad will be guided by Tracey Leone, who 11 years ago was a member of the United States national team that qualified for the 1991 Women's World Cup. She narrowed the team down to 18 from a field of 54 players who she had watched over the past year.

Of the 18 members of the team, there are five college freshmen, eight high school seniors, three high school juniors, and two high school sophomores. In their two-year history, the United States U-19 team has never lost in international competition, compiling an 8-0-1 record while outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 44-2.

The U.S. will play in Group B, which will also have Suriname, Haiti and Costa Rica, and they will play on the island of Tobago. Group A will play in Trinidad, and will feature the U-19 teams of Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Jamaica and Panama.