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Monday Roundup: Utah Royals FC add Scott Parkinson to staff

Also in today’s roundup, U.S. Soccer takes step towards gender equality with social media changes, the U.S. U-20s coast past Finland, Equal Playing Field eyes new world record, and U-17s to close out 2017 with camp and friendlies.

The newest NWSL crest

Utah Royals FC have added Scott Parkinson as assistant coach. The Liverpool, England native spent the last two years as the head coach at Rogers State University in Oklahoma where he was named Heartland Conference Coach of the Year in 2017. He and Royals head coach Laura Harvey met at a coaching license course several years ago.

“We have always kept in touch and I have followed his career closely,” Harvey said. “Scott sees the game in a similar way to me, he is knowledgeable about the women’s game, and knows what I’m looking for in teams I coach. He is a hard worker who will give everything to make this Club the best it can be and I’m excited to have Scott on our staff.”

Parkinson said receiving a job offer from Harvey plus seeing the excitement around the new franchise made it impossible to turn down. “I think when Laura Harvey calls you and makes you a job offer to work alongside her, it’s something that anybody in the game would not turn down. Seeing the excitement from Dell Loy Hansenand Craig Waibel and the growth of Real Salt Lake, this represents a dream opportunity for me. It was a no-brainer; it’s absolutely brilliant. I cannot wait to get started.”

The Royals acquired FC Kansas City’s roster, draft choices, and international slots and will debut in NWSL in 2018.

U.S. Soccer takes step towards equality with social media changes

U.S. Soccer announced Monday morning that it had made a number of changes to its Twitter accounts. The general U.S. Soccer account (@ussoccer) would be gender-inclusive, while the men’s national team had been given its own account (@ussoccer_mnt). The women’s national team account (@ussoccer_wnt) remains unchanged.

Although the changes may seem minor or insignificant, they are a step in the direction of equality between the men’s and women’s team, something fans of the USWNT have been requesting for some time. In the past, the general U.S. Soccer account was designated for news and information regarding the men’s team, while the women were relegated to a gender-specific account.

Now, each team has their own separate account with the U.S. Soccer account presenting news and information for all teams including both senior national teams, youth national teams, development academy, and more.

U.S. U-20s coasts past Finland, 10-1, in Nike Friendlies

The U.S. U-20 women’s national team defeated Finland, 10-1, in the team’s second match in the Nike International Friendlies series held in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. The blowout came just two days after the U.S. drew England, 3-3, in a match that ended in a practice penalty kick shootout in their opening match of the friendly tournament.

The U.S. U-20s were led in scoring by Civana Kuhlmann, who won a national championship with Stanford less than a week before scoring four goals in the first 45 minutes against Finland, three of which were scored in the last six minutes of the first half.

USC’s Savannah DeMelo bagged a brace on the night, while Taryn Torres, Samantha Coffey and Viviana Villacorta all contributed singles, their first goals at the U-20 level. The 10th goal was an own goal scored by Finland.

The win sets the U.S. at the top of the tournament table, tied with England with 4 points but in first thanks to goal differential. The team closes out the tournament on Monday against Brazil. A win against Brazil will give the host nation the win as long as it can maintain its goal difference over England.

Equal Playing Field eyes second world record

Equal Playing Field (EPF), a campaign meant to raise awareness regarding the inequalities women face in soccer and other professional sports, has announced their goal to set the world record for lowest elevation soccer match played in the world.

The initiative’s latest endeavor, which will take place 400 meters below sea level at the Dead Sea, has been planned to help promote the Asian Football Conference’s Women’s Asian Cup. That tournament will also be played in Jordan and will be played from April 4-20.

The group first made headlines this summer when it was announced that players and coaches from all around the world, including former USWNT and Washington Spirit midfielder Lori Lindsey and USWNT fitness guru Dawn Scott, would be hiking Mount Kilimanjaro in order to symbolize the mountains female athletes must climb daily in their sporting lives.

Once atop the world’s largest free-standing mountain, the group played a full 90-minute FIFA-regulated match that, despite ending in a scoreless draw, broke set a new Guinness World Record for highest elevation soccer match ever played.

U-17s open camp, will face Haiti Wednesday and Friday

The United States U-17 national team opened its final camp of the calendar year on Monday in Lakewood Ranch, Florida and will play Haiti on Wednesday and Friday. The camp concludes on Sunday.

“It’s exciting to finish out the 2017 with two games against Haiti,” head coach Mark Carr said. “As always, we will compete to win both games while working to continue to develop as individuals and as a team. Haiti is a team we could potentially face in qualifying so, once again, we’ll get a valuable snapshot of how we need to improve.”

The entire 26-player roster is eligible for next year’s U-117 World Cup. Four players were born in 2002 with the rest in 2001, the cutoff birth year for next year’s event in Uruguay. Featured in the team is Jordan Cannif who leads the side with 6 goals in 2017. Canniff, from California, Maryland, plays for the Washington Spirit’s Baltimore Armour Academy. Maya Doms from Davis, California is next with 4 goals and is also in camp.

The matches against Haiti will be Wednesday at 3 p.m. EST and Friday at 7:30 p.m. EST at The Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch. Both matches are open to the public free of charge.

The full U-17 roster is:

Goalkeepers (3): Angelina Anderson (Mustang SC; Danville, Calif.), Halle Mackiewicz (Real Colorado; Broomfield, Colo.), Lindsey Romig (Richmond United; Midlothian, Va.)
Defenders (7): Michela Agresti (FC Stars of Mass; Swampscott, Mass), Tori Hansen (NC Courage Academy; Raleigh, N.C.), Smith Hunter (Seattle Reign Academy; Seattle, Wash.), Makenna Morris (Bethesda SC; Germantown, Md.), Bria Schrotenboer (Midwest United; Holland, Mich.), Natalia Staude (Tophat SC; Atlanta, Ga.), Kate Wiesner (Slammers FC; Monrovia, Calif.)
Midfielders (9): Croix Bethune (Concord Fire SC; Alpharetta, Ga.), Talia DellaPeruta (NTH Tophat; Cumming, Ga.), Maya Doms (Davis Legacy; Davis, Calif.), Mia Fishel (San Diego Surf; San Diego, Calif.), Sophia Jones (San Jose Earthquakes; Menlo Park, Calif.), Samantha Kroeger (World Class FC; West Milford, N.J.), Ariella Pitty (Ohio Premier; Midlothian, Va.), MacKenzee Vance (United Soccer Alliance; Bluffton, S.C.), Astrid Wheeler (Concord Fire SC; Atlanta, Ga.)
Forwards (7): Enzi Broussard (IMG Academy; Bradenton, Fla.), Jordan Canniff (Washington Spirit – Baltimor Armour; California, Md.), Isabella D’Aquila (So Cal Blues; Mission Viejo, Calif), Sunshine Fontes (Hawaii Rush; Wahiawa, Hawaii), Payton Linnehan (FC Stars of Mass; Douglas, Mass.), Samantha Meza (Solar; Dallas, Texas), Kalyssa Van Zanten (Eclipse Select; Buffalo Grove, Ill.)

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