USA U18 Girls Set for Youth Olympics in Dakar | Goff Rugby Report

10.26.2026Eagles

USA U18s girls trained in the summer for the Youth Olympics in Dakar.

USA U18s girls trained in the summer for the Youth Olympics in Dakar.

Author: GRR Staff

USA Rugby is sending their Girls U18s to the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar.

Rugby Sevens will be one of the 12 sports and the tournament will be played on November 1-2. Matches will be streamed on Olympics.com and NBC Olympics Network.

On October 31, Dakar 2026 will welcome 2,700 of the world’s top young athletes competing across 151 events. The Games mark the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games and the first since Buenos Aires 2018. USA Rugby Women’s Sevens side joins a 29-athlete USOPC delegation competing across 12 sports.

"The Youth Olympic Games are an important milestone in the development of young athletes, giving them the opportunity to represent Team USA and gain valuable experience competing on the international stage," said Daniel Smith, Director of Summer Games at the USOPC and Team USA Chef de Mission.

Co-Captained by Abbey McGettigan and Luisa Moala, the squad will get action underway this Sunday, November 1. On October 30 will be the opening ceremonies and Moala has been selected to be Team USA's flagbearer.

Recent US Rugby Hall of Fame inductee Irene Gardner, a former Eagle, will be Head Coach, and former USA 7s team captain Kelly Griffin, Olympian in 2016, will be the assistant coach.

Also of special interest in this squad, Moala and Eseta Moala are from a Division 2 program, Nova Rugby, in Utah. You don't see that very often, but you do see it. Young Ella Moynihan makes the team. Moynihan was profiled by Goff Rugby Report earlier this year as she discussed her experience with the Leinster School of Excellent. She, Mallory Crawford, and Amy Russer are all on this USA U18 team and all helped TOA win the U16 girls bracket at the NAI 7s.

The schedule and draw have not been finalized, but teams in the Girls U18 bracket include: USA, Australia, Kenya, Madagascar, Czechia, Senegal, and China.

Related Topics

International Rugby, Tournaments, USA U18s, Youth Olympics

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