Midfielder is Katie Scott’s official position for the United States’ appearance in this week’s Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football Girls’ Under-15 Championships.
Versatility, though, is why the Fairview student made the roster.
Scott is one of 18 Americans who will be involved in the 32-team tournament at the Hillsborough County Sportsplex in Tampa, Florida. Action starts Sunday and runs through Aug. 7.
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Scott and her teammates are scheduled to face Puerto Rico on Monday in the first of three preliminary pool matches. They’re scheduled to face Jamaica on Tuesday and Canada on Thursday.
Scott survived various roster cuts since the start of this year to secure her spot. She’s one of five midfielders who can be called upon by U.S. coach Katie Schoepfer.
It was during those tryouts that Scott proved to Schoepfer and her staff that she was adept at every position other than goalkeeper.
“I’m the only one on the team who was listed as a defender for the first camp, a forward for the second camp, a defender for the third camp and a midfielder for the fourth camp,” she said. “It definitely was a plus. They could only bring so many players (to the tournament), so the more versatility you have, the better.”
Scott, whose natural position is forward, improved as a midfielder and defender over late May and early June. That’s when the Americans flew to western Europe for a series of exhibition matches. The Netherlands and Germany were among their stops.
“That was definitely one of my best experiences ever,” Scott said. “We trained every day, but we still got to see other countries. We weren’t able to go out as (long as) I’d hoped, but it was still really cool to see how those people live.”
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Many miles to Tampa
Scott was used to traveling before her flight to Europe.
She was one of 36 players invited to try out for U.S. Girls under-15 team starting in January in the San Diego suburb of Chula Vista.
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Before then, Scott was active with the Internationals Soccer Club of Medina, Ohio. She competed with them last fall rather than as a freshman for Fairview’s girls soccer team.
The Internationals Soccer Club is considered among the nation’s best youth travel programs. Scott recorded 26 goals and 18 assists and was voted the player of the year for the Ohio Valley Conference.
Ella Raimondi, who just graduated from Villa Maria Academy, was an on-again, off-again teammate of Scott’s with the Internationals.
Unlike Scott, Raimondi did play varsity soccer in last fall. The Dayton recruit helped the Victors advance to the PIAA Class 2A quarterfinals.
Raimondi wasn’t shocked when she learned of Scott’s inclusion on the U.S. roster.
“She was younger than I was when she made the same (long-term) commitment with her family to play soccer,” Raimondi said. “I played with her here and there with the (Erie) Admirals since I was 13 and she was 10. She’s always had that special ability and that drive and passion for the game.
“She’s going to do incredible things, and I couldn’t be happier for her.”
The U.S. won the 2016 and 2018 Concacaf Girls’ U-15 tournaments. The biannual event, which began in 2014, wasn’t held two years ago because of COVID-19 precautions.
Scott, though, said there’s even more external initiative for her team to finish first when play concludes next weekend.
“The United States has won every Concacaf championship (awarded) this year,” she said. “We hope to continue to do that.”
Contact Mike Copper atmcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
