Kuehl (l) and Lovelace (r) take the pitch against England Academy / Photo: Jackie Finlan
LONDON – The USA Women’s Selects (15s) have been named for a developmental game with England Academy Tuesday, Nov 13 at 2:30 PM ET at Newbury RFC in England.
The Selects will be led by Senior Women’s Eagles Head Coach Rob Cain in a game designed to boost preparation ahead of the Women’s National Team’s test match with Ireland Sunday, Nov. 18.
USA players for the developmental game have been selected from the Eagles’ traveling roster for the Autumn Internationals 2018. Veteran Women’s Eagle Katy Augustyn will serve as Captain for the group, which includes several newly capped athletes and four players who have yet to debut for the senior national team.
Among the newcomers are starters Darian Lovelace and Cortney Kuehl, as well as reserves Tiana A’au and Frankie Sands. While all four take the pitch for the first time this November, A’au recently competed against an England side with the Women’s Junior All-Americans’ at the U20 Tri-Nations Cup this summer.
Similarly, 13 players from the match-day 23 suited up last weekend in the USA’s test match against the Red Roses, giving the United States women a good depth of knowledge heading into Wednesday.
The England Academy match will undoubtedly be another challenge for the growing women’s program to overcome, with the value of playing a highly competitive side immeasurable.
Head Coach Rob Cain said: “This is a great opportunity for our players to use this game as a platform for their inclusion in our final test against Ireland this Sunday. The tour has been set at a ferocious pace and it has been great to have the players for 12 days now. Their work rate and attitude have been first class and we are all excited to see them continue to raise the bar from our last match. We know how talented England A will be and it’s a great opportunity to continue to measure our daily improvements as a squad.”
Though the match will not be broadcast live, updates will be available by following @USARugby on Twitter.
USA SELECTS VS ENGLAND ACADEMY
Nov. 13 @ 2 p.m. Eastern
1. Nick James – Houston Athletic
2. Katy Augustyn (c) – Berkeley
3. Melissa Finkelstein – Glendale
4. McKenna Strong – Lindenwood Univ.
5. Alycia Washington – New York
6. Joyce Taufa – Lindenwood Univ.
7. Kristine Sommer – Harlequins (Eng) / Seattle
8. Darian Lovelace – Atlanta
9. Carly Waters – New York
10. McKenzie Hawkins – Lindenwood Univ.
11. Sarah Levy – New York
12. Megan Foster – San Diego
13. Cortney Kuehl – Atlanta
14. Evan Hoese – Berkeley
15. Jennine Duncan – Seattle
RESERVES
16. Joanna Kitlinski – Glendale
17. Azniv Nalbandian – Penn State
18. Tiana A’au – Central Washington Univ.
19. AnnaKaren Pedraza – Lindenwood Univ.
20. Meya Bizer – USA 7s
21. Kimber Rozier – Beantown
22. Kelsi Stockert – USA 7s
23. Frankie Sands – Northumbria / Darlington (Eng)