U.S. under-19 women's national team star Kia McNeill played in the back and up front for the East in the opener of the third McDonald's High School All-America doubleheader Sunday in Carson, Calif., scoring one goal and earning the girls MVP award following a 2-2 tie with a shorthanded West side.
Peter Lowery was selected the boys MVP after leading the West to a 5-2 victory in the second match at the Home Depot Center.
McNeill (Avon, Conn.), the Boston College-bound NSCAA High School Player of the Year, scored from a Jasmine Johnson (Clearwater, Fla., headed to Florida) feed in the 62nd minute to give the East a 2-1 advantage. Dana Johnson (San Jose, Calif., headed to Washington) forged the 2-2 tie on an 81st-minute rebound.
Lizzy George (Alamo, Calif., headed to Stanford) scored on a 30-yard drive to give the West a 19th-minute lead, and U.S. U-19 standout Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J., headed to Penn State) scored for the East nine minutes later.
The West was without its two best forwards, U.S. U-19 stars Kerri Hanks and Megan Rapinoe. Hanks (Allen, Texas, headed to Notre Dame) tore a meniscus in training on Saturday, and Rapinoe (Redding, Calif., headed to Portland) is recovering from a sprained ankle suffered June 1 at the CONCACAF U-19 tournament in Canada.
Hometown hero Richard Flores (Lennox, Calif., headed to UCLA) scored two goals to pace the West's 5-2 boys win, and Kamani Hill (Berkeley, Calif., headed to UCLA), Ely Allen (Kent, Wash., headed to Washington) and Brandon McDonald (Glendale, Ariz., headed to San Francisco) also tallied.
Charlie Davies (Manchester, N.H., headed to Boston College) converted a second-half penalty kick and U.S. U-17 boys national-teamer Rodrigo Hidalgo (Atlantis, Fla., headed to South Florida) added an 85th-minute goal for the East.