Kai named to U.S.
Nordic Cup teamThe Kahuku alum who plays
for UH is the team’s top scorer
Natasha Kai is going to Iceland as one of 18 players on the United States Women's Under-21 soccer team that will defend its Nordic Cup title at the 14th annual event.
U-21 coach Chris Petrucelli made the announcement yesterday.
"Her performance over the past seven months made (Kai's selection) an easy decision," said Petrucelli. "There really was no question that Natasha was going."
Everyone knew Kai was a shoo-in to make the squad. Everyone except Kai.
"There are always doubts," Kai, a Kahuku alumna, said. "I was just happy to be picked."
The final camp for the U-21 players ended Wednesday with Petrucelli having to cut four players from the 22 in attendance. The full U-21 roster will be released next week.
During the camp, the team played one match, defeating the Southern California Blues 4-0.
Kai, a striker who will be a junior for the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine this fall, scored twice against the Blues and is the team's leading scorer with nine goals. She also has two assists in the U-21's 11 matches (7-2-2).
Petrucelli has two other strikers, Manya Makoski of Arizona State and Kelly Wilson of Texas, on the roster and midfielder Carli Lloyd of Rutgers is also used as a striker.
The team will assemble in New Jersey on July 16 for training and to get everyone on the same time clock. They will play a match against the U.S. Under-19 women's team July 17, then depart for Iceland the next day.
The Americans are in Group B, a tough group that includes Finland, Norway and Germany. The Group A teams are Sweden, Iceland, Denmark and England.
This is Petrucelli's second year coaching the U-21 women. He is also the head women's coach of the Texas Longhorns.
The Americans won last year with a 2-1 victory over Sweden with Johanna Lohman scoring both goals.
"We have a pretty dynamic team going forward this year," Petrucelli said. "Last year, I thought the strength of the team was our back four, but this year we have a group that has the potential to score a lot of goals."
The first U.S. match is July 23 vs. Finland. The U-21s play Norway on July 25 and Germany on July 27. The top teams in each group meet for the championship July 29 at Akureyrarvollur, Iceland.
The United States has won six of the past seven Nordic Cups, including five consecutive titles since 1999. The Cup is the top competition in the world for U-21 women and the focus of the USA's oldest youth national team during its seven-month run-up to the prestigious competition.