Sydney Collins Earns U.S. U23 Call-Up
CHICAGO – Cal fifth-year senior Sydney Collins earned a call-up to the U.S. U-23 team this week and will play for the team in the Thorns Preseason Tournament in Portland.
Collins is a two-time team captain for the Bears and was a Third-Team All-Pac-12 performer this past season. She started all 17 games she played and was fourth on the team in minutes. Collins led the Bears in assists with four while playing most of her time on defense. She's also a three-time All-Academic honoree by the Pac-12 and has twice been named to the CoSida Academic All-District Team. In her career, Collins has played in 64 games and logged 5691 minutes for the Bears.
"We are really excited for Sydney to have this opportunity to showcase her talent at the international level," Cal head Coach Neil McGuire said. "As a player, she prides herself on meticulous physical and technical preparation and a call-up is a great reward for her efforts. We believe she has a long professional career ahead of her."
Due to the global pandemic, these will be the first matches for the U.S. U-23s since early September of 2019. The U.S. roster will consist of 22 collegiate players and the squad will be coached by newly appointed USWNT assistant coach Twila Kilgore.
The U.S. Under-23s are taking part in Thorns Preseason Tournament for the fourth time and first since 2019. All the matches will take place at Providence Park, home of Portland Thorns FC.
This will be a homecoming for Collins as the Beaverton, Oregon native will return to her home state for the tournament. She also spent time in the Portland Thorns Developmental Academy before arriving at Cal.
The USA opens against the Chicago Red Stars on Saturday, March 5 at 2:30 p.m. PT followed by the Portland Thorns taking on OL Reign at 5 p.m. PT. The tournament continues on Tuesday, March 8 with the Red Stars facing OL Reign at 5 p.m. PT and the USA will play the Thorns at 7:30 p.m. PT. The friendly competition will finish on Friday, March 11 as the USA faces OL Reign at 5 p.m. PT and the Thorns take on the Red Stars at 7:30 p.m. PT.
Collins has been a part of the U.S. National Team setup before as she has attended U.S. camps at the U17 level. She joins fellow Bear, Ayo Oke, in earning a call-up to a U.S. Youth National Team this month. Oke will play for the U.S. U20 squad in the upcoming Concacaf U20 Championship.
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