Lopez Invited to Mexico Under-20 Camp
5/27/2010 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
May 27, 2010
Columbia, Mo. - University of Missouri women's soccer player Edith Lopez arrived in Mexico yesterday for the first of five days with the Mexican Under-20 Women's National Team as they build up to July's FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Germany.
"We're very excited for Edith to have this opportunity to represent her country," Missouri head coach Bryan Blitz said. "She's got a promising future ahead and this is a great indicator of her ability."
Lopez, 18, is making her first appearance in the national team system and was called up for participation in the training camp by under-20 manager Leonardo Cuellar, whose squad finished runners-up at the CONCACAF Under-20 Women's Championship in Guatemala last January.
That performance, the best in team history in the competition, qualified Mexico for their third straight Under-20 World Cup and fourth overall appearance in the 16-team, 32-game tournament. Mexico, England, Nigeria, and Japan were drawn into Group C in April and will play three matches against one another in the German host cities of Augsburg and Bochum this summer.
Lopez, 18, has four years of eligibility remaining at Missouri after redshirting the 2009 season. She appeared in all five games for the Tigers this spring, showing her versatility as both a midfielder and striker option.
The Columbia, Mo. native transitioned to Missouri from a successful prep and club career that included participation in the Missouri Olympic Development Program in 2005 and 2006, as well as 2009 Class 3 All-Region Team honors following her senior season at Hickman High School.
Lopez is the latest of four Missouri players to be selected for national team duty in recent months, joining senior Alysha Bonnick (Canada National Team), junior Krista Kruse (United States Under-23 National Team), and incoming freshman Dominique Richardson (United States Under-18 National Team).
