Samarzich Called Up to Mexican Olympic Qualifying Roster

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky women’s soccer player Tanya Samarzich has been called up by the Mexican National Team to compete in the 2016 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament, as the Mexican team looks to solidify a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil this summer.

Samarzich, who started in six of 15 games this season after recovering from a serious foot injury, scored three goals and had one assist in her first season with the Blue and White. She had 22 shots, with 10 of them coming on goal and played over 830 minutes on the pitch for Kentucky this season as a sophomore transfer.

The 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship will be held on Feb. 10 through the 21 in two sites, BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, as well as Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas. 

Mexico was drawn into Group A with the World Cup champion and World No. 1 United States, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. After a round robin of group play beginning on Feb. 10, the top two finishers of group A will qualify for the knockout stage of the tournament, with the two semifinal winners punching a ticket to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio this summer.

Television Coverage

There will be a championship game played on Feb. 21 of the two CONCACAF representing teams in Houston live on the NBC Sports Network at 4 p.m. ET.

All 15 matches of the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament will be streamed live on NBC Live Extra, in addition to up to four matches airing on NBCSN. 

Mexico’s group stage match vs. the United States on Feb. 13 will be aired on delay at 9:30 p.m. ET, and the tournament final on Feb. 21 will air at 11 p.m. ET.

Mexican National Team Olympic Qualification Schedule

Group Stage

Feb. 10 – Mexico vs. Puerto Rico, 7:30 p.m. ET (Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas)

Feb. 13 – Mexico vs. USA, 3 p.m. ET (Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas) [NBCSN, Tape Delay, 9:30 p.m. ET]

Feb. 15 – Mexico vs. Costa Rica, 5 p.m. ET (Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas)

Knockout Stage

*Feb. 19 – Winner Group B vs. Runner-Up Group A, 4:30 p.m. ET (BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston)

*Feb. 19 – Winner Group A vs. Runner-Up Group B, 7:30 p.m. ET (BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston)

*Winners qualify as the two CONCACAF representatives for 2016 Olympic Games

Championship Match

Feb. 21 – Winner Semifinal 1 vs. Winner Semifinal 2, 4 p.m. ET (BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston)

For the latest on the Kentucky women’s soccer team, follow @UKWomensSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.