Team Chicago Academy’s Elite Academy Director Phil Nielsen will lead the U19 National ODP team on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Germany for the Women’s World Cup June 29th through July 7th. You will be able to follow Phil’s experiences as he shares the daily highlights from the trip right here.

Below is a write-up from the US Youth Soccer Association’s website, as well as the team roster:

FRISCO, Texas (June 27, 2011) – With the world of women’s soccer converging in Germany this summer, the US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP) has named 17 Under-19 players to play friendly matches against German professional teams and to attend Women’s World Cup games in July. The team will play three games in Germany and take in three Women’s World Cup matches.

“This is such a unique opportunity for these young players to play against some of the best in the world and to watch the absolute best players in the world,” John Sutter, US Youth Soccer president. “These young women are quickly becoming valuable contributors to their college teams and will hopefully be making an impact on the national team in the coming years. This trip with fellow regional team players is certainly good preparation for that and this trip highlights the international experience offered from US Youth Soccer ODP.”

The team represents a balanced roster from all four regions, with three players from US Youth Soccer Region I, four each from Region II and Region III, and five from Region IV. Florida and California each send three players to Germany as members of the team. The journey to Germany began in December 2010, when 45 players were called into a training camp at the IMG academy in Bradenton, Fla. The 17 players named will field an All-Star team to take on professional German sides and take in highly anticipated matches in the Women’s World Cup.

The team will be coached by John Byford, head women’s soccer coach at Villanova University, and by Phil Nielsen, coach with Team Chicago Soccer Club. Both men bring years of coaching experience at various levels, including with state and regional US Youth Soccer ODP teams.

The US Youth Soccer ODP U-19 All-Stars will take on Bundesliga team Sporfreunde Siegen, and FC Magdeburger and FC Lubars of the Bundesliga second division.

Of the three games the All-Stars will attend in Germany, two will feature the US Women’s National Team. The first is the USA v Colombia in Sinsheim, July 2. The other US match the team will attend is the USA v Sweden match, July 6 in Wolfsburg. The All-Stars will also watch the Brazil v Sweden game from the stands at Wolfsburg on July 3.

Between time on the pitch and time in the stands, the All-Stars will benefit from guided tours of more than five German cities, including Frankfurt, Siegen and Berlin.

US Youth Soccer ODP is the original Olympic Development Program and the only elite player development program that can claim members of Major League Soccer and Women’s Professional Soccer as well as a majority of current and past national and youth team members, as alumni.

For more information, visit www.USYouthSoccer.org and follow US Youth Soccer ODP on Twitter @usysodp.

Under-19 Girls National ODP Team.

Brittany Anghel
East Meadow, NY
Syracuse

Sarah Voight
Middleburg, FL
Notre Dame

Kathryn Bennett
Bellevue, WA
Cal Berkeley

Elizabeth Eddy
Costa Mesa, CA
USC

Maddie Evans
Glenside, PA
Penn State University

Maegan Kelly
Kansas City, MO
Marqette

Christina Libke
Portland, OR
University of Oregon

Nicole Locandro
Kennesaw, GA
University of Georgia

Lauren Matheson
Mission Viejo, CA
Santa Clara

Alexandra Melin
Verona, WI
Univ of Iowa

Megan Oyster
Naperville, IL
UCLA

CJ Rhoades
Indianapolis, IN
Vanderbilt

Mallory Schaffer
Allison Park, PA
William & Mary

Elizabeth Tucker
Jacksonville, FL
Notre Dame

Nina Watkins
San Francisco, CA
Stanford

Laura Weinberg
Boca Raton, FL
Duke