Laura Harvey will lead U.S. U-23 team in March

U.S. Soccer on Friday announced the U.S. U-23 women’s national team roster for upcoming matches against Japan, England, and Norway in La Manga, Spain. In addition to Seattle Reign FC players getting selected, the club’s general manager and head coach, Laura Harvey, will be coaching the U-23s for the upcoming matches. This comes on the heels of Harvey overseeing the U-23 camp in January.

According to a U.S. Soccer press release, there is no acting head coach for the U-23 age group — indicating that Harvey’s assignment is temporary ... for now.

Reign FC 2017 draft pick Kristen McNabb and newly signed goalkeeper Madalyn Schiffel are among the 22 players selected for the March competitions. While Schiffel was called into the U-23 camp this January, McNabb was not, though she has featured for the U-23s before.

McNabb was a defender with the University of Virginia, a college side that focuses on possession and build-up play from the back. In addition to holding down the backline, McNabb scored 13 goals at Virginia.

Schiffel comes to Seattle after playing a year with Avaldsnes IL in the Norwegian Toppserien — helping the club finish second in the league and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

Notably absent from the U-23 roster is Maddie Bauer, who reported to the January camp and was Seattle’s 6th overall pick in the 2017 draft. Arielle Shipp, Reign FC’s 26th pick, will also represent the U.S. in the U-23 competition. Shipp was recently traded to the Washington Spirit in exchange for Canadian midfielder Diana Matheson.

The U-23s will face Japan on March 2, England on March 4, and Norway on March 7. These are the first international matches of the year for the U-23 WNT. The team will also head to Portland at the end of March for the Thorns Spring Invitational — a preseason warm-up for the NWSL. There, the U-23 squad will compete against the Portland Thorns, Chicago Red Stars, and Houston Dash.

B.J. Snow, who was previously the U-17 WNT head coach, will join Harvey as assistant coach in Spain. Snow is now head of U.S. Women’s National Team Talent Identification, a newly created position.

U-23 Women’s National Team Roster by Position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Casey Murphy (Rutgers; Bridgewater, N.J.), Madalyn Schiffel (Seattle Reign; Citrus Heights, Calif.)

DEFENDERS (7): Mandy Freeman (Sky Blue FC; West Covina, Calif.), Adrienne Jordan (IBV; Colorado Springs, Colo.), Kristen McNabb (Seattle Reign; Montville, N.J.), Kayla Mills (Sky Blue FC; West Covina, Calif.), Katie Naughton (Chicago Red Stars; Elgin, Ill.), Erica Skroski (Sky Blue FC; New Brunswick, N.J.), Samantha Witteman (NC Courage; Redondo Beach, Calif.)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Morgan Andrews (Boston Breakers; Milford, N.H.), Tierna Davidson (Stanford; Menlo Park, Calif.), Christina Gibbons (FC Kansas City, Raleigh, N.C.), Tyler Lussi (Portland Thorns; Lutherville, Md.), Emily Ogle (Penn State; Strongsville, Ohio), Margaret Purce (Boston Breakers; Silver Spring, Md.), Ashley Sanchez (SoCal Blues; Monrovia, Calif.), Dani Weatherholt (Orlando Pride; San Clemente, Calif.)

FORWARDS (5): Celeste Boureille (Portland Thorns; San Francisco, Calif.), Makenzy Doniak (NC Courage; Chino Hills, Calif.), Ashley Hatch (NC Courage; Gilbert, Ariz.), Savannah McCaskill (South Carolina; Chapin, S.C.), Arielle Shipp (Washington Spirit; Westlake Village, Calif.)