May 20, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M soccer players Kristen Arnold and Bri Young were in Northern Ireland last week playing for the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team (WNT).
Arnold (Centennial, Colo.) and Young (Castle Pines North, Colo.) were two of 18 players that accompanied WNT head coach Bill Irwin to his homeland of Northern Ireland.
This was the second international trip in 2009 for the freshman Young, who played two matches with the U-20 WNT last February in La Manga, Spain. Both Aggie soccer players also participated in a U-23 WNT camp in April.
In Northern Ireland, Arnold and Young played three matches with the U-23 WNT in Dublin and Belfast and flew back to the U.S. unbeaten. In their first game, the team piled up a 15-3 shot advantage and played to a scoreless tie with Northern Ireland's WNT. The U.S. was supposed to play the full National Team of Ireland, but the match was cancelled and the U-23s instead faced an Irish women's select side and defeated them 6-0. The final game of the tour ended in a 1-0 shutout of a U-15 boys team in Ireland.
In addition to Arnold and Young, freshman Beth West and signee Kim Castleberry took part in a U-20 WNT camp in late April. Sophomore forward Alyssa Mautz was another Aggie soccer player that joined the U.S. at the 2008 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
For more information about Texas A&M soccer, please log on to AggieAthletics.com.