Chicago Stars Micayla Johnson Shines for the U-17s
The U-17 US Women's National Team qualified for the World Cup after winning their group in Trinidad & Tobago
On January 24th, 2025, the Chicago Stars signed 17-year-old Micayla Johnson to a three-year contract. MJ became the first under-18 player the Chicago Stars had signed in club history. MJ plays well beyond her 17 years of age. In the two games she has played for Chicago, you could see the skill that she possesses as well as the confidence. I was immediately impressed by the way she held her own on the field and had no fear taking on players. Getting thrown into your first professional game against a club as talented as the Orlando Pride and showing off tremendous skill while doing so shows what a fantastic signing she is.
This past week, MJ was invited to play in the U-17 CONCACAF World Cup qualifying games that were held in Trinidad & Tobago. The U-17 World Cup is an annual tournament and Johnson played in the 2024 World Cup that was in the Dominican Republic. The team ended up finishing with a bronze medal in that tournament. All players born in 2008 will be eligible for the 2025 World Cup that will take place on October 17th through November 8th in Morocco. All 21 players on the CONCACAF qualifying team will be eligible for the tournament later this year.
Opening Group Stage Match
The U.S. opened the group stage of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying with a match against the host country of Trinidad & Tobago. The US completely dominated this game from start to finish with a staggering 83% possession. The U.S. struggled to get past the low block of T&T in the first half and did not score. The U.S. had a total of 45 shots but only 13 of them ended up on target because of blocks and deflections from the pesky T&T defense. Ashlyn Anderson ended up breaking the stalemate in the 63rd minute. In the 78th minute MJ finally opened up her campaign with a goal.
The body control that MJ showed to receive the header from Pearl Cecil and wrap her foot around the ball not facing the goal and put it in the upper corner was impressive. Chloe Sadler finished the game with a goal in the 90th minute and the U.S. won 3-0. I can’t say enough about the composure that MJ showed in this game and her willingness to try to break down the low block of T&T. The entire team remained patient and unselfish trying to find paths through the low block. This is a tall task for most senior level national teams and I was amazed at how composed the team was, especially during the first half.
Honduras
Once again, the U.S. couldn’t seem to find a way to put the ball in the back of the net until the end of the first half against Honduras. They continued to dominate possession this time with 83% and 88% pass accuracy. The U.S. also took 38 total shots with 14 of them on target compared to Honduras who only took 1 total shot and it was also on target. The U.S. remained patient in this game and continued to make runs to try to open up spaces in the low block.
Kimmie Ascanio, of the San Diego Wave, opened up the scoring in this game with a goal in the 45th minute.
Two minutes later MJ got on the board with a beautifully slotted shot past the keeper in the 47th minute. MJ received a pass from Riley Kennedy and had a fantastic touch with her right foot that allowed her to get in on goal. MJ has shown a wonderful ability to position herself to receive the ball in dangerous spaces. I’m so excited to see this translate to the professional level with Chicago. Johnson has already shown such great composure in the limited minutes so far for the Chicago Stars and you would assume with more minutes would come more confidence and success.
Johnson also assisted on the next goal of the game scored by Ashyln Anderson. The flood gates had officially opened then, Pearl Cecil scored in the 56th minute followed by Riley Kennedy in the 60th minute. Jaiden Rodriguez and Ashlyn Anderson rounded out the scoring in the match in the 65th and 74th minutes. The US won the game 7-0 and put themselves in a wonderful position to qualify for the World Cup later this year. All the team needed to do was get a win or draw against El Salvador in the final group stage game.
Final Group Stage Game
The United States didn’t wait long to get a goal in this one. In the 11th minute, MJ used some crafty footwork to navigate her way through the El Salvador defenders and then rocketed a shot near post past the goalkeeper. Johnson has shown flashes of her foot skills in her short time in Chicago and I’m sure we will see her make a few defenders look silly as the season progresses. Johnson also scored a PK in this game in the 55th minute. MJ took the PK with complete confidence even though she had missed a PK in a prior game this tournament.
To recap the rest of the scoring in the game: Scottie Antonucci scored in the 30th minute (assist Nyanya Touray), Ashlyn Anderson in the 47th minute (assist Kimmi Ascanio), Jaiden Rodriguez in the 49th minute (assist Ascanio), Nyana Touray in the 58th (assist Johnson), and Gracie Milam in the 74th minute. Johnson’s pass to Touray in the 58th minute was perfectly placed and weighted for Touray to run onto the ball. I’ve been impressed not only with MJ’s scoring but also her passing to her teammates. She shows a great ability of knowing when to pass or when to rip a shot.
Qualified For Morocco
The US U-17 women’s team is now qualified for the World Cup later this year in Morocco. This will be the 5th consecutive time the U-17 team has qualified for the tournament and 7th overall. It is important to note that players like Micayla Johnson and Kimmie Ascanio, if selected for the World Cup squad, will miss the end of the NWSL season.
Johnson will now return to Chicago and continue her rookie season. Micayla scored 4 times this tournament. Hopefully she will bring back that offensive confidence to Chicago who has struggled to score this season with only 1 goal so far. MJ brings so much energy for club and country and I hope we can see some goal celebrations from her in a Chicago Stars FC kit.
The Chicago Stars return to action on April 13th against Bay FC. The game will be at 6pm on ESPN 2.
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