Canada Names Samantha Chang to U20 CONCACAF Roster
COLUMBIA, S.C. – University of South Carolina women’s soccer redshirt sophomore Samantha Chang has been named to Canada’s U-20 Concacaf roster, Canada soccer announced today. Canada’s U-20 head coach Rhian Wilkinson called in the group players for the tournament that will begin group play on Feb. 22 in the Dominican Republic.
Canada will play El Salvador on Feb. 22 at 3 p.m. ET in the first match of Group E play. At this time there is no announced television coverage. Canada will also take on group members Jamaica and Guatemala.
“I’m extremely grateful and happy to be selected to represent Canada at the U-20 Concacaf tournament. I’ve represented Canada before at the U-17 level, but It’s been my goal the last few years to get back into the national team system, so to work so hard towards that and to be recognized for my work by being selected means a lot to me. I’m so proud of the work I’ve done so far and can’t wait to get back with the team and start preparing. Since only two countries from North America can qualify for the U20 world cup we’re definitely going to be giving everything we have with that on the line. I’m just very happy and excited for everything that’s to come.”
After missing the entire 2018 season with a torn ACL, Chang started her redshirt freshman campaign off with a bang in 2019. The midfielder finished with two goals and three assists and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. She sprinted out of the gates with five points in her first three matches with the Gamecocks. She notched two assists in the 2-1 win over No. 21 NC State in the season opener and then scored a goal and added an assist in the 6-0 win over Jacksonville. She later scored her first NCAA Tournament goal against Samford, aiding the Gamecocks in reaching their third NCAA quarterfinal appearance in four seasons.
Chang joins South Carolina great Sabrina D’Angelo and as Gamecocks to be named to various levels of the Canadian National team. Chang had success with the Canadian youth programs before she arrived at South Carolina. She represented Canada and participated in the U17 FIFA World Cup in Jordan in 2016 and won medals at the 2016 Concacaf U-17 championship and the 2014 Concacaf U-15 Championship.
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