DURHAM, N.C. – Duke University freshman Taylor Racioppi will travel to La Manga, Spain this weekend along with the U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team as they prepare for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.  The squad will compete in the Under-23 La Manga Tournament that runs March 2-6.  

The USA will compete against older teams in the six-team event that also features U-23 sides from England, Germany, Sweden, Japan and Norway. The USA will face Sweden March 2, England March 4 and finish with Norway March 6.

Racioppi, who hails from Ocean Township, N.J., earned TopDrawerSoccer.com All-Freshman Best XI, NSCAA All-Regional and All-ACC Freshman accolades as a rookie with the Blue Devils in 2015.  She notched a team-high 20 points to go along with seven goals and six assists, while also registering a team-best 86 shots.  Racioppi's six assists ranked tied sixth and her seven goals are tied 13th on the Duke freshman record books.  She led the squad with four game-winning goals.  

The USA earned a berth to the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup by winning its semifinal match of the CONCACAF Qualifying tournament against host Honduras last December and then defeated Canada for the regional title, 1-0. The eighth FIFA Women's World Cup for this age level (the first two were held as U-19 events) will take place from Nov. 13-Dec. 3 in Papua New Guinea.

The 16-team field for the tournament is set -- Canada, Mexico, the USA, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Ghana, Nigeria, Brazil, Venezuela, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden.

U.S. U-20 WNT La Manga Tournament Roster by Position:
GOALKEEPERS (2): Rose Chandler (Penn State; Atlanta, Ga.), Casey Murphy (Rutgers; Bridgewater, N.J.)    
DEFENDERS (9):  Alana Cook (Stanford; Far Hills, N.J.), Maddie Elliston (Penn State; Omaha, Neb.), Emily Fox (FC Virginia; Ashburn, Va.), Natalie Jacobs (Notre Dame; Coto de Caza, Calif.), Ellie Jean (Penn State; Coventry, Conn.), Tegan McGrady (Stanford; San Jose, Calif.), Taylor Otto (North Carolina; Apex, N.C.), Kaleigh Riehl (Penn State; Fairfax Station, Va.), Michelle Xiao (Stanford; Omaha, Neb.)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Savannah DeMelo (Beach FC; Bellflower, Calif.), Jordan Dibiasi (Stanford; Littleton, Colo.), Kelcie Hedge (Washington; Post Falls, Idaho), Emily Ogle (Penn State; Strongsville, Ohio), Courtney Petersen (Virginia; Canton, Mich.), Parker Roberts (Kansas; Leawood, Kan.), Mikaela Harvey (Texas A&M; Liberty Hill, Texas)
FORWARDS (4): Mimi Asom (Princeton; Fairview, Texas), Taylor Racioppi (Duke; Ocean Township, N.J.), Jessie Scarpa (North Carolina; Lakeland, Fla.), Ally Watt (Texas A&M; Colorado Springs, Colo.)

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