Katie Cousins called into U.S. Under-18 national team camp

Katie Cousins of the Richmond Kickers Elite Under-17s has been selected to the initial roster for the upcoming U.S. Soccer U-18 women’s national team training camp at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. from Oct. 21-28.

A true U-16 player, who currently plays an age group up with the Kickers U-17 Girls Elite, Cousins among the top ranked players in the country.

This is what her coach, Rob Ukrop, told soccerwire.com earlier this year:

“She has the ability to change the tempo of a game, dictates whether we go forward or whether we’re going to play back,” Ukrop said. “She thinks like a professional player in terms of her decision-making. She’s built like a professional player. She’s small, but she plays big.”

Ukrop compared her to Claudio Reyna in that she has a sense of when and whether to attack. He doesn’t believe the senior U.S. women’s national team has ever had such a player.

“We are thrilled with Katie’s selection into the U-18 National training camp,” Ukrop said in a press release. “This is a tremendous honor for a young player who has worked hard over the last several years to develop her game. Katie has a unique skill set that allows her to blend in with her teammates and make our team better in training and in games.

“She has the ability to change the tempo of a game and she thinks like a professional player in terms of her decision-making,” added Ukrop. “Katie has the potential to be a future game-changer with the U.S. women’s national team.”

The midfielder caught the eye of the U.S. technical staff, having previously attended several U.S. Girls National Team camps at the U-15 level last year and traveling with her Virginia Olympic Development Program team to Texas last March for the U.S. Youth Soccer ODP championships.

The high school sophomore plays basketball and soccer at Jefferson Forest High School in Lynchburg, Va. and recently verbally committed to attend the University of Tennessee upon graduation.

The Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California will host the selected players for seven days of training and evaluation.