LANCASTER, Pa. -- Kealsie Robles of Old Dominion Field Hockey was named to the U.S. U21 Women's National Team and Danielle Grega earned a spot on the National Development Squad, as announced by USA Field Hockey on Wednesday.
The selections come after four days of intense training and practice sessions between 67 athletes at the U-21 Junior and Development Squad National Camp and also the 2017 Young Women's National Championship, which featured more than 130 of the most elite female collegiate and post-collegiate athletes from around the country.
Robles, a junior goalkeeper from Yorktown, started every minute in the cage for the Lady Monarchs in 2016. A VaSID Second Team All-State selection, Robles made 75 saves on the year and turned in a 1.96 goals-against average. She was also named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad.
Grega, a senior forward from Pennsylvania, led ODU in scoring in 2016 with 15 points off seven goals and one assist. Grega was named First Team All-Big East and Second Team NFHCA All-South Region. Grega, who previously played on the U21 team, is now a member of the National Development Squad due to age restriction.
To account for the transitional phase from the U21 USWNT to the Senior USWNT, the U.S. Women's National Development Squad was introduced in November 2016 to nurture the talent of college students who no longer are permitted to be on the junior team due to age restrictions.
"I was pleased with the level of play at last week's Young Women's National Championship and the Junior National Camp only built on that,” said Phil Edwards, the head coach of the U21 USWNT. “The athletes in both groups worked hard throughout and showed an ability to adapt and learn which is critical to our success moving forward. We were able to name a group with a good mix of experience and new faces which bodes well for the year to come. A huge thank you must be extended to the coaches, selectors and officials who created an excellent training environment for the group.”
The 2018 U21 USWNT training and competition schedule is yet to be determined and will be announced at a later date. For more information on the U21 USWNT and USA Field Hockey, view the complete press release here.