The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Soccer’s Missimo & Byars named to U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team
02.15.2022 | Soccer
The Texas duo will represent the Red, White & Blue at the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s U20 Championship
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas freshman midfielder Lexi Missimo and freshman forward Trinity Byars have each been named to the 20-player U.S. Under-20 Women's National Team roster for the upcoming 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship over Feb. 25-March 12 in the Dominican Republic.
The Red, White & Blue will take aim at one of three berths to the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and a record seventh CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship after a dominant run to the confederation crown in 2020. The U-20s kick off the tournament on Fri., Feb. 25 vs. Nicaragua, take on Puerto Rico on Sun., Feb. 27 and wrap up the group stage vs. host Dominican Republic on Tues., March 1.
This marks Missimo's 28th domestic camp or international event call-up as part of the U.S. Women's National Team program since 2016, ranging from U-14 all the way up through U-20. Included during her previous stints wearing the Red, White & Blue were international event trips to 11 different countries, including Sweden and Portugal with the U-17's, and a championship run at the 15th-annual Delle Nazioni Women's U-17 Tournament in Italy.
The 2021 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and a United Soccer Coaches All-Region choice, Missimo made a lasting impression during her first full campaign in the Burnt Orange & White by scoring nine goals and dishing a league-high and Texas freshman record 14 assists for 32 total points (fourth in the Big 12). Included was a program-record-tying performance during Texas' 7-0 rout of UTRGV (Sept. 12) as Missimo became the first Longhorns player to score four goals in a match in 18 years. She also tied a program mark by dishing four assists during a 4-3 victory at Oklahoma on Sept. 2 and registered match-winning goals to down both SIUE (Sept. 19) and Iowa State (Oct. 8).
Byars has played on numerous U.S. Women's National Teams from the U-14 to U-20 levels. She was also the youngest player on the roster for the United States at the 2018 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Uruguay.
The 2021 All-Big 12 Conference and United Soccer Coaches All-Region selection exploded offensively this past fall to lead the Longhorns with 12 goals (third in the Big 12) to go with 10 assists for a squad-best 34 total points (tied for second in the Big 12). Along the way, Byars established a new program record by scoring in six consecutive matches from Sept. 12-30 and put up the second-longest point-scoring streak in school history by totaling at least one point in eight straight contests (Sept. 12-Oct. 8).
The U.S. U-20 Women's National Team roster consists of 17 collegiate players, two youth club players and one professional in Portland Thorns midfielder Olivia Moultrie, who is the lone 2005-born player on the roster.
2022 CONCACAF U.S. WOMEN'S U-20 ROSTER BY POSITION
GOALKEEPERS (2): Mia Justus (Florida State; Lakewood, Ohio), Neeku Purcell (OL Reign Academy; Seattle, Wash.)
DEFENDERS (8): Lauren Flynn (Florida State; Arlington, Va.), Samar Guidry (Virginia; McKinney, Texas), Emily Mason (Rutgers; Flemington, N.J.), Aidan McConnell (Wisconsin; Dexter, Mich.), Ayo Oke (California; Lawrenceville, Ga.), Avery Patterson (UNC; Jacksonville, Fla.), Lilly Reale (UCLA; Hingham, Mass.), Laney Rouse (Virginia, Cary, N.C.)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Emily Colton (UNC; Carlsbad, Calif.), Talia DellaPeruta (UNC; Cumming, Ga.), Sally Menti (Santa Clara; Seattle, Wash.), LEXI MISSIMO (Texas; Southlake, Texas), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns FC; Wilsonville, Ore.)
FORWARDS (5): TRINITY BYARS (Texas; Richardson, Texas), Michelle Cooper (Duke; Clarkston, Mich.), Simone Jackson (USC; Redondo Beach, Calif.), Andrea Kitahata (Stanford; Hillsborough, Calif.), Alyssa Thompson (Total Futbol Academy; Studio City, Calif.)
