LAFC Slammers academy players called up to U.S. youth national team camp

History of sorts has been made in the Los Angeles Football Club academy program, as two players from the LAFC Slammers program have been called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team U-17 and U-18 sides for a joint training camp in Chula Vista.

The camp, taking place at the Olympic Training Center from Oct. 21-28, will give players called up some time with the WNT staff and other elite players from around the country, and in the case of the U-17s, a chance to train together ahead of 2018 U-17 World Cup qualifying and should they qualify, the tournament itself.

The two LAFC Slammers players called up are defender Kate Wiesner to the U-17 team and midfielder Jenna Nighswonger to the U-18 team. Wiesner recently played with the USWNT U-19s, so she seems to be highly touted, and Nighswonger has been consistently ranked one of the top prospects in her age group for some time. The national team call-ups aren’t new for either player.

Their call-ups come on the heels of a third LAFC Slammers Player, Tatiana Fung, being called up to the USWNT U-16 side in September for a European trip. Fung played in one of two games for the USWNT against the German WNT U-16s during the trip. The midfielder is on LAFC Slammers’ U-15 team, although she’s been playing for the U-16/17s.

Of course, we can’t exactly give LAFC full credit for producing these players, since they are nearing the end of their academy careers, but as players playing for LAFC Slammers and representing the first-year partnership between the MLS expansion side and long-standing local academy, they’re helping to make history for the program.

So congrats to Wiesner, Nighswonger and Fung for the call-ups.

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