Brownsville’s Tessa Dellarose selected to USWNT CONCACAF U-20 Championship roster

Photo courtesy University of North Carolina Athletics / Women's Soccer

Following up her impressive freshman season at the University of North Carolina, where she earned ACC All-Freshman Team honors and helped lead her team to the NCAA Women’s College Cup, Brownsville High School alum Tessa Dellarose was selected to the 21-player roster to represent the USA at the 2023 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, set for May 24-June 3 in the Dominican Republic. 

The squad consists of 13 collegiate players and eight players from youth clubs. Dahlien and Dellarose are two of six ACC All-Freshman Team players on the roster. 

Dellarose, from Grindstone, in Fayette County, who played at Brownsville High School until she did forgo her senior season after committing to UNC, where she helped lead the Tar Heels to the College Cup Final, where they lost, 2-1, to UCLA.  The 2022 Brownsville High valedictorian was on the United States 2020 Under-16 Girls’ National Team roster and was part of the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team Training Camp in October 2021.

The rising sophomore at UNC also played with the Riverhounds Development Academy.

Players born on or after Jan. 1, 2004, are age-eligible for the 2023 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship.

The USA will aim at one of three berths in the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and a record eighth Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship after dominant runs to the confederation crown in 2020 and 2022 during tournaments also played in the DR.

The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals, and the winners of those two matches will advance to the Championship Match and qualify for the World Cup. The winner of the Third-Place Match will earn Concacaf’s third and final berth in the World Cup. 

The U-20s kick off Group A play against Panama on Wednesday, May 24 (7 p.m. ET on FS1), face Jamaica on Friday, May 26 (6 p.m. ET on FS2), and finish the group stage vs. Canada on Sunday, May 28 (6 p.m. ET on FS2). 

Before heading to the Dominican Republic, the team will train in Florida for a week, beginning May 14.