The U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team dominated host Costa Rica in a 4-0 win, taking first place in its third and final Group A match at the 2025 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship.

The USA qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup by winning its first two games in Group A, and this match was just for semifinal seeding. With the win, the USA takes the top spot in the group and will play Group B runner-up Canada on June 6 for a berth to the title game (11:30 a.m. ET on FS2). Group B winner Mexico will face Costa Rica in the other semifinal.

The match was played in steady rain on a somewhat sloppy field, but the young Americans still kept the pressure on Las Ticas for the entire match. U.S. head coach Carrie Kveton made eight changes to the starting XI from the USA’s 3-1 victory over Puerto Rico on June 1 in the second match of the tournament, after making nine changes between the first two matches. Forward Chloe Ricketts and defenders Abby Mills and team captain Katie Scott were the holdovers in today’s starting lineup from the second game.

It took the USA 23 minutes to breach the Costa Rica back line. The game-winning goal came when Angel City FC midfielder Kennedy Fuller played UNC midfielder Linda Ullmark behind the defense with a well-weighted pass into the penalty box. Ullmark held off her defender and slotted it home into the left corner from eight yards out for her second goal of the tournament. It marked Fuller’s fourth assist of the tournament, a team-high.

A physical Costa Rica side, playing in front of the home crowd, was definitely up for the fight, but the USA outshot the Central Americans, 19-4, for the match and 8-1 in shots on goal.

The USA doubled the lead in the 60th minute off a goal from halftime substitute Mary Long, her third of the tournament. Ullmark played a nice pass to Dallas Trinity midfielder Sealy Strawn into the right side of the box, drawing the goalkeeper and a defender. Strawn then dished an entirely unselfish pass across the goal mouth on the ground for an easy tap-in for Long. It was the Kansas City Current forward’s third goal of the tournament after scoring twice in the last game against Puerto Rico. 

The USA made it 3-0 in the 65th minute off a corner kick from the left side that was taken by Fuller. Long rose to head the ball on frame, but it was blocked on the goal line by Costa Rica’s Sheika Scott. Notre Dame midfielder Grace Restovitch then crashed the goal and blocked the attempted clearance with her midsection before smashing the ball into the net from the one-inch line for her first goal of the tournament.

Costa Rica just needed to avoid a 5-0 defeat to finish second in the group, qualify for the World Cup and advance to the semifinals, so the remainder of the game featured a home side content to not take too many chances in the attack while defending their hearts out.

Fuller surely drew cheers from the Puerto Rican team watching from their hotel when she scored a fourth in the 87th minute, blasting her shot off the hands of Costa Rica goalkeeper Alondra Iriarte and into the left side of the net from just outside the penalty area. It was Fuller’s second score of the tournament.

Fortunately for Las Ticas, who had to sweat out seven minutes of stoppage time, the game ended 4-0 and Costa Rica qualified for the World Cup by the slimmest of margins. Costa Rica tied Group A third-place finisher Puerto Rico on points (4) and goal difference (+5), while only slightly ahead on the next tie-breaker, goals scored, besting the islanders nine goals to eight. The final whistle sparked wild celebrations for the home team despite the loss.

The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be held from September 5–27 next year in Poland.

Additional Notes: 

• In group play, the USA outscored its three opponents 15-1.
• Every player on the U.S. roster earned their first U-20 cap or caps in this tournament, except for defender Avan Alvarez, who had two previous U-20 caps coming into the competition.
• Alverez, who got the start, earned her team-leading fifth U-20 international cap.
• The USA played three different goalkeepers in each group match with Notre Dame’s Sonoma Kasica handling the netminding duties in the first game, Penn State’s Kealy Titmuss in the second, and Stanford’s Caroline Birkel earning the shutout today.
• Kansas City Current defender Katie Scott, who hails from Pennsylvania, captained the U.S. U-20s for the second time in this tournament.
• Izzy Engle still leads the USA in scoring in this tournament after pounding in four goals in the first match against Guyana.

-U.S. UNDER-20 WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT-

Match: U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team vs. Costa Rica U-20 WNT

Date: June 3, 2025

Competition: Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship

Venue: Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto; Alajuela, Costa Rica 

Attendance: 369

Kickoff: 2 p.m. local (4 p.m. ET)

Weather: 72 degrees and raining

Lineups:

USA: 1-Caroline Birkel; 2-Katie Scott (15-Leena Powell, 64), 17-Edra Bello, 4-Abby Mills (5-Bella Ayscue, 46), 3-Aven Alvarez; 6-Grace Restovich, 8-Kennedy Fuller, 10-Linda Ullmark (16-Kennedy Ring, 64); 11-Sealey Strawn, 9-Izzy Engle (19-Mary Long, 46), 7-Chloe Ricketts (18-Ashlyn Puerta, 77)

Substitutes Not Used: 12-Kealey Titmuss, 13-Peyton McGovern, 14-Emma Johnson, 20-Mya Townes, 21-Sonoma Kasica

Head Coach: Carrie Kveton

CRC: 1-Valeria Fernandez; 2-Brittany Vasquez, 3-Josselyn Briceńo,14-Brittany Castrillo; 4-Fabiana Alfaro (5-Tiara Ruiz, 29), 8-Daniela Ocampo, 12-Alondra Gonzalez (16-Alisha Lindo, 79), 15-Jimena Jimenez (Capt.) , 20-Lucia Paniagua (7-Emma Azofeifa, 79); 10-Sheika Scott, 11-Stacy Thomas

Substitutes Not Used: 6-Valeria Vargas, 9-Keisy Taylor, 13-Genesis Cespedes, 17-Yeslim Alvarado, 18-Ashley Quesada, 19-Odette Pitty, 21-Raquel Recio

Head Coach: Patricia Aguilar

SDSU Sports Information

BROOKINGS — The South Dakota State soccer team has completed its 2025 schedule and will embark on its 26th season as a program this fall. The Jackrabbits make their return to the pitch after a 2024 season that saw SDSU earn its second consecutive Summit League tournament championship and its 15th overall conference title. 
 
SDSU’s first three team public showings take place in Brookings at Fishback Soccer Park. The Jackrabbits take part in their annual Blue vs. Yellow Scrimmage on July 31. They follow it with a pair of exhibition matches, starting with an Aug. 5 meeting against Nebraska that kicks off at 6 p.m. The Jacks’ last exhibition sees the Yellow and Blue host Iowa Lakes Community College at 7 p.m. on Aug. 8. 
 
The Jackrabbits officially begin their 2025 season with a two-match road trip to take on Missouri (Aug. 14) and Kansas (Aug. 17). 
 
SDSU’s home opener sees the Jacks host Southwest Minnesota State at Fishback Soccer Park on Aug. 22. 

 
The Jacks head to the Aloha State for the first time since 2021. South Dakota State is slated to play three contests in Hawaii at the Waipi’o Soccer Complex. The Jacks will play host Hawaii Pacific (Aug. 25) followed by matches against Cal Baptist (Aug. 28) and Northern Arizona (Aug. 31). 
 
South Dakota State opens September by playing six of its next seven contests at Fishback Soccer Park. 
 
The Jackrabbits host matches against Oregon State (Sept. 7), Northern Colorado (Sept. 14) and Wyoming (Sept. 18). SDSU’s lone away game sees the Jackrabbits travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Drake on Sept. 10. 
 

SDSU’s eight-match Summit League slate begins on Sept. 25 by facing St. Thomas in Brookings. The Jackrabbits host North Dakota (Oct. 2) and North Dakota State (Oct. 5) before traveling to Denver to play the Pioneers on Oct. 9. 
 
The Jackrabbits will host their Senior Day match versus Omaha on Oct. 12. 
 
State’s final three games of the regular season take place on the road. SDSU is scheduled to play South Dakota, as part of the Interstate Series presented by First Interstate Bank, on Oct. 18 in Vermillion. The Jackrabbits then travel further south to play at Kansas City (Oct. 23) and Oral Roberts (Oct. 26). 
 
The 2025 Summit League Championship tournament is slated to run from Nov. 1-9. Home sites for the three rounds of competition are to be determined based on regular season standings.

Link

Link

Remember that 2019 Super Bowl commercial celebrating the NFL’s 100th season?

For pro football fans, it was a two-minute fever dream of gridiron greatness.

The commercial featured:

• A tuxedo-clad Joe Montana firing a spiral to, who else, Jerry Rice.
• An aging Peyton Manning throwing out his arm.
• Tom Brady joining the fun — but not before handing a fistful of title rings to Baker Mayfield.
• Patrick Mahomes side-arming the ball to Odell Beckham Jr.
• And the patriarch of NFL football, the late Jim Brown, exclaiming: “Boy, this is a great party.”

But perhaps the commercial’s most memorable moment occurs when an errant football falls into the hands of a teenage girl dressed in her Sunday best.

“Can I have the ball, please?” All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman asks the girl.

“You want this? Come and get it,” she taunts, before spinning past Sherman and lateraling the ball to Saquon Barkley, this year’s NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

Football fans in Utah immediately recognized Sam Gordon — the tackle football-loving girl from Herriman whose viral videos of her juking the boys, dashing up sidelines and scoring Little League touchdown after touchdown after touchdown made her a YouTube sensation.

When the Super Bowl commercial aired, the pony-tailed tailback had already become a global advocate/ambassador for girls tackle football.

There was a “Good Morning America” appearance. Her image was featured on a one-of-a-kind Wheaties cereal box. And the NFL presented her with its inaugural “Game Changer” award.

And, perhaps most importantly, Gordon helped start the Utah Girls Tackle Football League — offering girls in the Beehive State an opportunity to play the same sport as their dads, granddads and brothers.

So what’s Sam Gordon up to today?

Gordon’s grown a few inches since those initial YouTube videos.

And she has an Ivy League diploma now sharing wall space with her football pictures. After graduating from high school, she moved to New York City to play DI college soccer at Columbia University and study film and psychology.

But now Gordon’s back in Utah, and back doing what she loves: Playing tackle football and, yes, scoring a lot of touchdowns.

Gordon is a two-way player — halfback and middle linebacker — for the Salt Lake Wildcats.

It’s a first-year squad competing in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) — a national organization that bills itself as “the largest, longest running, and most competitive women’s tackle football league in the world.”

One of Gordon’s longtime friends, Wildcats quarterback Laura Goetz, was pivotal in organizing the team, which is competing in the WFA’s Division 2 for its maiden season.

The pro-am Wildcats have yet to lose a game (5-0) — and they’re averaging over 60 points a match. So a promotion to the league’s premier division seems a logical move in the team’s future.

And it helps that the Wildcats boast a celebrated star such as Gordon who hasn’t forgotten how to slip tackles, find the end zone and draw media attention.

For Gordon, transitioning from college “fútbol” to tackle football, “has been so fun.”

“I had forgotten how much I missed playing football. There’s just nothing like putting those pads on and getting to hit again. … I loved playing soccer — but football is where my heart’s always been.”

Playing football once again is also a welcome surprise.

When Gordon graduated from Herriman High School and headed east to Columbia, she assumed her tackle football career belonged to YouTube and the past.

She admits battling butterflies when she pulled on shoulder pads and a helmet for the first time in years to train with the Wildcats.

“I was definitely shaking out those nerves,” she said. “I didn’t feel as aggressive on defense and was hesitating to make my cuts — but now I feel like I’ve gotten back into the swing of things.”

As a Wildcat, Gordon has emerged as one of the division’s leading scorers and remains a touchdown threat every time Goetz hands her the ball.

Becoming a YouTube pigskin hero

Anyone who has followed Sam Gordon’s tackle football adventures for more than a decade is familiar with her story.

She grew up in the southwest end of the Salt Lake Valley, passing the football with her family in the backyard and terrorizing recess pickup football games.

Nine-year-old Sam would tag along to her older brother’s youth league football practices and run wind sprints with the guys.

“And I’d beat most of the players on the team,” she said, still relishing the memory.

Soon Sam was a full-fledged team member of the boy’s tackle team — and soon her highlight videos began appearing online. It looked like she had hacked her games with cheat codes, dodging and dashing past players almost double her size — and then delivering big hits on defense.

“I just fell in love with it,” she said.

By the time she was 12, Gordon was playing in the newly organized Utah Girls Tackle Football League. She was already a household name for many football fans and a seasoned media personality in front of the camera.

“Looking back, I can’t believe that it happened,” she said. “It still feels a little surreal that I was able to meet so many people and have all those experiences. But it was a lot of fun.”

Her unique experiences paid dividends beyond football.

“It helped a lot with my public speaking ability and things that carried over into college, like having the confidence to speak up in classrooms,” said Gordon.

Her decision to study film in college was prompted by witnessing the reach and influence of today’s evolving communication platforms. “The power of the media to change my life — and the entire course of girls football in Utah — was incredible.”

Gordon’s media exposure allowed her to be more than an athlete. She became an advocate for something larger than herself: developing tackle football opportunities for females.

No surprise, advocacy triggers a few trolls.

Sandwiched between the wide support of Gordon’s athletic development were the mean-spirited comments.

“It was always funny to see grown men commenting on my 9-year-old’s post and telling me that I could never make it in the NFL. Or boys my age telling me that they would crush me on the field. Or the typical ‘Go get me a sandwich’ comments; that type of thing.”

At those moments, young Sam fell back on the support of her family and friends — and then kept scoring touchdowns.

And she adopted a strategy that is still serving her well: “When you’re trying to make a change, look for like-minded people — and don’t struggle against the people who think you’re wrong.”

Filming a classic Super Bowl commercial

People often ask Gordon if she was able to meet all of the “Who’s Who in the NFL” players featured in the 100th season Super Bowl commercial.

Actually, no.

Most of the folks captured in the Sam Gordon clip were background extras — but she was still able to work for several hours in Los Angeles with Richard Sherman and Saquon Barkley.

“That was super fun, and they were both really cool to talk with and were very supportive,” she said.

And here’s a few fun bits of Super Bowl commercial trivia: The directors had to put glue on Gordon’s hand because it was too small to palm an NFL-size football.

And early in the filming, Barkley split his pants jumping over a player — so they had to halt production for a few moments to deal with a wardrobe malfunction.

Most of Gordon’s friends and fans knew nothing about her Super Bowl commercial cameo prior to the Big Game. “So when it (aired), everyone freaked out. It was incredible.”

When Gordon moved to New York City, her new Columbia classmates were largely unaware of her former life scoring touchdowns and shooting commercials with NFL stars.

But whenever the Lions played a soccer game on TV, the commentators inevitably brought up Gordon’s exciting football past. And even students with no interest in sports realized something was different about Gordon when they would swap Instagram accounts and discover their new Utah friend had tens of thousands of followers.

What’s the future for female tackle football in Utah?

Goetz is a year younger than her Wildcat backfield mate, Sam Gordon.

The two were both rivals and good friends growing up. And, like Gordon, Goetz grew up loving tackle football and seizing any opportunity to play.

The West Jordan native played in the local girls tackle football league and, after high school graduation, eventually started playing women’s flag football.

Women’s flag football is a growing global sport that will be part of the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Goetz enjoys flag football. But the modified version of the sport, she added, can’t match the joy of playing tackle football.

“So I thought, ‘Let’s create a team and make something where these girls who are graduating (from high school) have an opportunity to continue their football careers.”

Forming a tackle football team such as the Salt Lake Wildcats is, well, a noseguard-sized endeavor. Besides curating a team roster, organizers have to secure facilities, equipment, coaches, trainers and media promotion.

But for Goetz and others associated with the upstart Wildcats, it’s been an exhausting labor of love.

The existing Utah Girls Tackle Football League has been a key resource to get started. “And we are intertwined with the girls league in every way,” said Goetz.

Goetz pauses for a moment when asked about the future of women’s tackle football in Utah. Like any good quarterback, she’s both hopeful and cautious.

Over the past several years, she said, women’s tackle football has grown — but not dramatically.

A few years ago, a lawsuit demanding that the Utah High School Activities Association sponsor girls tackle football was unsuccessful. And local high schools don’t offer girls football as a club sport.

Meanwhile, added Goetz, teams such as the Wildcats are classified as “semi-pro” — but it really functions as a club. Players pick up the tab for many of the expenses, including travel.

But despite obstacles, Goetz remains motivated to help create a future for local women’s tackle football “where players don’t have to decide whether they’re going to make their car payment or football payment.”

And, she added, Utah is a “football hotbed.” She is certain tackle football for females can work here.

“I want to see tackle football provided to these women with equal opportunity.”

So what’s next for No. 6: Sam Gordon?

Even as Sam Gordon relishes her return to tackle football, she knows that every athlete has a competition expiration date. But her desire to advocate for her sport won’t end when she plays her final game.

“I’m planning to go to law school somewhere on the West Coast,” said Gordon, the daughter of an attorney.

While the Title IX lawsuit pushing for girls tackle football in Utah high schools did not end as Gordon and others had hoped, the process sparked her interest in the legal profession.

Having skilled attorneys join the legal cause for girls tackle football in Utah added another level of legitimacy to the effort.

“That experience is something that I want to replicate going forward,” Gordon said. “I can be an advocate for others.”