UWS Players Represent National Teams During Europe Trips
Three UWS players have been called to international duty as the second tier women’s soccer league prepares for its second season on the national stage. Annelie Leitner is representing the Austrian Women’s National Team, while Natalie Winter and Viviana Villacorta travel to Spain with the U.S. U20 WNT.
UWS Soccer News: F.C. Indiana captain and Indiana University junior midfielder Annelie Leitner was named to the Austrian Women’s National Team squad for the 2017 Cyprus Cup that began play on March 1st. Austria will join South Korea, New Zealand and Scotland in Group B. Leitner is in her fifth season with the Lionesses and will take part in the newly-formed United Women’s Soccer (UWS) Midwest Conference this summer.
A native of Salzburg, Austria, Leitner has competed with the Austrian U17 and U19 squads, but this is Leitner’s first stint with the full national team. With the Hoosiers, Leitner has recorded three goals and played in 38 matches, while making 22 starts. In 2016, she scored in Indiana’s 1-1 draw with Louisville to open the season before suffering a year-ending injury.
Detroit Sun F.C. and University of Iowa freshman midfielder Natalie Winters and Santa Clarita Blue Heat and rising UCLA freshman midfielder Viviana Villacorta are currently in Spain as they play three games with the U.S. U20 Women’s National Team at the La Manga Tournament. The U20’s will face Norway (March 3 at 11:30 a.m. ET), Germany (March 5 at 9 a.m. ET) and France (March 7 at 10 a.m. ET).
This age group begins a new cycle with the goal of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in France. The 24-player roster is a mixture of collegiate and youth club players with 10 already enrolled in college.
Winters will be a sophomore for the Hawkeyes in Fall 2017 after earning Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors last year. The Michigan native started all 19 matches and scored two goals and three assists. Villacorta played in eight matches last summer for the defending UWS champion Blue Heat, scoring in the team’s season-opening win over Houston and starting the UWS Final versus New Jersey Copa F.C. The California native recently committed to play for the UCLA Bruins, starting next fall.
