25 Players Called In To U.S. Deaf Women’s National Camp In Champaign, Illinois

CHICAGO (July 18, 2023) – The U.S. Deaf Women’s National Team completed is final camp last week ahead of the 2023 World Championships, where the team will look to three-peat. Head coach Amy Griffin called in 25 players for the training camp that was held from July 7-14 at the University of Illinois women’s soccer facility in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.

The camp featured the return of veteran captain Kate Ward, who missed March's ADAPTandTHRIVE Invitational, but has won five world championship gold medals with this teams, as well as Sydney Andrews, who has helped the team win four titles. The roster included players from 14 different states and 17 players who were on the 2022 Deaflympic Gold Medal winning side.

During camp, the team hosted Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children at a training session and then scrimmaged Indy Premier in an exhibition match at Demirjian Park.

The final roster for Deaf World Championships - set for Sept. 20-Oct. 8 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - will be announced in the coming weeks.

U.S. DEAF WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM ROSTER – JULY TRAINING CAMP
*on roster for 2022 Deaflympic Gold Medal Winning Team

GOALKEEPERS (2): Payton DeGraw (Salt Lake City, Utah), *Taegan Frandsen (Centerville, Utah)

DEFENDERS (6): *Sydney Andrews (Wichita, Kan.), *Beth Barbiers (Atlanta, Ga.), *Paige Beaudry (Riverview, Mich.), *McCall Madriago (Sacramento, Calif.), Mia McMurry (Asheville, NC), *Mia White (Littleton, Colo.)

MIDFIELDERS (9): *Erin Cembrale (Oyster Bay, NY), *Ashley Derrington (Alpharetta, Ga.), *Gracie Fitzgerald (Georgetown, Ind.), Holly Hunter (Temecula, Calif.), *Ani Khachadourian (Cary, N.C.), Emma Neff (Oakwood, Ohio), *Paris Price (Fall City, Wash.), Sabina Shysh (Tucson, Ariz.), *Kate Ward (Atlanta, Ga.)

FORWARDS (7): *Anessa Campos (Grand Terrance/Riverside, Calif.), *Emily Cressy (Fountain Valley, Calif.), Alexis Jones (Las Vegas, Nev.), Casey King (Bexley, Ohio), *Nikki Koehn (Fremont, Calif.), *Sophie Post (Murray, Utah), *Faith Wylie (Decatur, Texas)

The Women’s Deaf NT is undefeated in international play since its inception in 2005, having won all six world championship events it has entered, including four Deaflympics and two World Championships.

The USA did not field a team in the inaugural 5-team World Championship in 2008 in Greece, however they competed and won the two most recent World titles in 2012 (Turkey) and 2016 (Italy). The 2020 World Championships were postponed to 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The team has also won the Deaflympics in 2009 (Taiwan), 2013 (Bulgaria), 2017 (Turkey), and 2022 (Brazil).

Deaf soccer is contested by Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing athletes. Under international criteria, players must have a hearing loss of at least 55 decibels in their better ear. Hearing loss below this level has been shown to negatively impact hearing. All players competing in Deaf matches must remove all hearing aids before playing.

For more information on the sport or to inquire about athlete eligibility, please contact U.S. Soccer's Extended National Teams Department via email at extendednt@ussoccer.org.