Two University of Dayton women’s soccer players will earn their first-ever international cap when the U-20 Canadian National team takes on Norway July 31.
Ashley Campbell and Nicole Waters are among 19 prospective players for next year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 who were selected for a 12-day Women's National Excel camp in Copenhagen, Denmark. While overseas, they will play in three matches against a local professional team, and national teams from Norway and Denmark.
Both will be sophomores at Dayton this fall. They have already made big contributions in their collegiate careers, and the international experience will only make them stronger. They each played significant roles on the field in their freshman seasons for the Flyers and were both voted to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
“Without the experience I gained my freshman year at UD I don't think I would have been given this chance to play in Denmark this summer,” said Waters. “I am so thankful for all of my coaches at Dayton and the confidence they had in me to be a starting freshman. The minutes they gave me on the pitch helped me build confidence to know I am good enough to make the U-20 National team.”
This summer the pair was selected to play for the Toronto Lady Lynx of the Central Conference of the W-League. They have played games all over North America. Campbell noted that they even came to Dayton in May for a tournament.
Playing for the Lady Lynx gives Campbell and Waters a chance to compete at the highest level to help prepare them for their goal of one day playing for the Canadian Senior Women’s National Team.
“This is definitely a step towards being named to the (Canadian) Senior National Team. In the W-League you are playing with or against women that have played on the Senior National Team or the youth national teams,” said Waters. “Playing at this level helps you prepare for the next step and gives you the opportunity to be seen by National team coaches. To represent my country at the highest level would be incredible.”
The 12-day camp in Denmark is intended to prepare the team for the 2014 U-20 World Cup which will be held in Canada. The camp is helping the players improve on a national level, which translates to them improving at the collegiate level as well.
“I am becoming a more skilled, mentally-strong and smarter player from competing at such a high level and being within a high-performance environment,” said Campbell.
“The coaches at UD know how important it was to me to get an opportunity with the U-20 National team this summer,” added Waters. “All of the hard work will finally pay off, but I am nowhere close to the end.”
The national-level experience gained by these two young talents will help the Flyers continue their winning tradition this upcoming season – Dayton has won 10 Atlantic 10 regular season titles and eight A-10 tournament championships, including three of the last four.
Written by Nicole Maher, Athletics Communication Intern
