Wisconsin Soccer Central

After finishing up her first semester as a college student earlier this month, University of Wisconsin freshman Rose Lavelle has some serious work scheduled during winter break.

The midfielder from Cincinnati was one of 20 players named to the U.S. Under-20 women's national team roster for the CONCACAF Women's Under-20 Championship, which is Jan. 9 to 19 in George Town, Cayman Islands.

Lavelle, who had six goals and six assists for the Badgers in the fall and was named the Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year, has been a regular in coach Michelle French's Under-20 national team camps throughout 2013.

The U.S. opens Group A play on Jan. 9 against Costa Rica, then faces Jamaica on Jan. 11 and Guatemala on Jan. 13 - all three matches kick off at 6:30 p.m.

The top two finishers in each four-team group qualify for the Jan. 17 semifinals, with the two finalists earning berths in next summer's FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Canada along with the winner of the third-place finisher. The final and third-place match will be played Jan. 19.

• Midfielder Heather Handwork of Plainfield, Ill., who has verbally committed to play for Marquette next fall, and the U.S. Under-18 girls national team dropped a 2-1 decision to the San Diego Sea Lions in a friendly Friday as part of a week-long camp.
• When Sarah Hagen (Appleton North/UW-Milwaukee) was part of her first full U.S. women's national team camp earlier this month, she was one of three Bayern Munich players training with the team in Carson, Calif. The U.S. Soccer media team took the opportunity to see how the three are doing with their German lessons: