WPSL International Combine Day One in the Books

 

By WPSL Communications Staff

 

PINEVILLE, N.C. — The WPSL International Combine presented by Capelli Sports kicked off Monday at the OrthoCarolina Sportsplex in Pineville, N.C. outside of Charlotte. 

 

This year’s combine, hosted by Sports Performance International, features 36 players from across the U.S. looking to impress European and domestic scouts. Scouting is led by combine scouting partner FUTLAB PRO, with an extensive European scouting network, and Malaga FC coach, Maria Flores Tome, who played collegiately in the U.S. before returning to her native Spain and began her coaching career. 

The combine kicked off Monday morning with a training session led my Tome and Jacopo Leandri, former coach of Italy’s U-23 Women’s National Team, which allowed the combine’s coaching staff to familiarize themselves with the individual talents of the players in their charge as they work to build scouting profiles. 

 

In the afternoon, the group was divided into two teams: Blue and Red, for the first of three 90-minute matches attendees will play during the combine, which will be recorded and analyzed before being distributed to a network of scouts across Europe. 

 

Natalie Mangayi tallied the opening goal of the combine with a supurb individual effort. The 23-year-old from Denver out-paced her defender down the right flank before slotting her shot to the far post to put the Red Team up 1-0 in just the third minute. 

 

WPSL alumnae, Miranda Carrasco, put the Red Team up by two in the 14th minute. The defender’s looping a first-time shot from the middle of the park. 

 

The Blue team’s best opportunity in the first half came in the 30th minute when Leila Smith, who as a 14-year-old made two starts in four appearances for WPSL side TLH Reckoning in 2025, was fouled on the edge of the penalty area. Smith put the resulting free kick just over the bar. 

 

With both team making wholesale changes at halftime, the Red side was unable to maintain the momentum it enjoyed for much of the first 45 minutes. 

 

Natalie Zibinskas, with seven WPSL starts in eight appearances for RI Rogues in 2025, pulled the Blue team a goal back in the 59th minute of the second half, slotting the ball to the far post from inside the penalty area. 

 

Kira Gelles, a 17-year-old from Fairfax, Va., puled the Blue side level at two with a looping shot over the goalkeeper in the 71st minute. Gelles benefited from the hard work of connecting with WPSL alumnae, Makinna Winterton, who found Gelles open 25-yards from goal. 

 

“It was a very good, a very full day to get to know the players. Before we see them play we know their profiles,” Flores Tome said. 

 

The combine continues tomorrow, with a training session in the morning and a game in the afternoon. 

 

“Today we saw players in some situations. Tomorrow we will get to see how they react to more situations as we continue to evaluate,” Flores Tome said.

 

Red: Hyleigh Lewis, Lailah Benz, Samantha Holsenbeck, Jasmin Salinas, Miranda Carrasco, Brianna Morris, Jennifer Xiong, Maya Askew, Katie Reyes, I’Mani Dawkins, Natalie Mangayi.
Subs: Autumn Scanlon, Celina Pinelli, Ginna Camuso, Mijara Robinson, Sophia Barrientos, Bianca Torres, Sedina Dancu, Abygail Giles


Blue: Laia Roch Font, Natalie Aibinskas, Bailie Dull, Mazzy Cirinelli, Evan Whitaker, Soraya Puerto-Khalil, Shannon Studer, Cameron Taylor, Leila Smith, Ryan Jergovich, Makinna Winterton.
Subs: Mikayla Kendall, Kira Gelles, Sophia Cucchetti, Mystique Ortega, Brianna Morris, Gabriella Capra