Stengel Selected For U.S. Under-20 WNT Camp

Before becoming the head women’s coach at N.C. State Tim Santoro was the assistant women’s coach at Wake Forest.

There he coached Katie Stengel, who would set all of WFU’s scoring records before her Demon Deacon playing days were over.

As the Wolfpack coach he is now coaching another Stengel, Jackie, Katie’s younger sister.

Don’t confuse the two. Jackie Stengel is more than just a little sister in her big sister’s shadow.

Jackie was selected to the U-20 Training camp in late November, and was one of 26 invited to remain with the team for a second week as it prepares for the upcoming U-20 CONCACAF Women’s Championship.

“I’m thrilled for Jackie,” said Santoro. “This is something she’s earned through her performance at the U-20 camp last month, as well as her performance at N.C. State and in the ACC this past fall.”

The regional championship is set for Jan. 9-19 in the Cayman Islands. The top three finishers will qualify for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup next Aug. 5-24 in Canada.

Stengel is coming off an outstanding season for the Wolfpack, leading the team in goals (9), points (11), shots (45) and shots on goal (23). The Melbourne, Fla., native tied for team high with two game-winning goals.

Her first collegiate season was rewarded by her third team All-ACC and ACC All-Freshman Team selections.

N.C. State’s season came to a close with the Wolfpack beating #23 Wake Forest 2-1 on Senior Night for their first win against a nationally ranked opponent in four seasons.

Neither Stengels figured in the scoring. Jackie did not score for the Wolfpack, and Katie, who sat out the last nine games of her collegiate career with blood clots in her leg, did not play.

While the two sisters differ in many ways, Santoro saw a positive comparison as he was recruiting Jackie.

“I’ve never seen a female player with the approach to the game like Katie has,” Santoro told Graham Hayes for a ESPNW article about the sisters earlier in the fall.

He told of Katie scaling the fence to get into the locked soccer complex to do extra training. Eventually, she “secured” a key and simply walked through the gate and turned on the lights.

“Jackie is going to be just like that.”, continued Santoro. “You don’t have to poke and prod them to become better. Everything they have, they earned.”

While Jackie has her sister’s accomplishments as a guide to be the player she wants to be, by going to N.C. State, a program that has struggled at the bottom of the ACC standings for a number of years, she chose the challenge to help make the Wolfpack consistently competitive with the rest of the ACC.

Stengel’s shot at a roster spot for the U.S. U-20 team ended when U.S. coach Michelle French submitted her 20-player CONCACAF championship roster, which did not include Stengel.

But she is still in the U-20 player pool, and was invited for the extra week of training.

Chances are that only stoked the competitive fires stronger for the budding Wolfpack standout. Ready for that next opportunity to get better!