USA wins 15U girls gold at Junior International Cup in Los Angeles

Myla Ramos powered the United States to 15U girls gold with a 23-of-29, 273-yard, six-touchdown performance in a 42-35 win over Panama at the Junior International Cup in Los Angeles. The U.S. needed every bit of that production to hold off a Panama side that kept the final within one score and turned the championship into a live test rather than a coronation.

The American run to the title was built on a pair of high-pressure results. The U.S. rolled South Korea 54-0 in the quarterfinals, then survived a 22-21 overtime battle with Team Azteca in pool play, a result that forced the bracket’s top contenders to recover quickly against one of the field’s toughest opponents. In the final, Ramos found Ava Irwin for three touchdown receptions and 66 receiving yards, Brielle Harden for five catches and 78 yards, and Cassiah Banks for three catches, 38 yards and a score. Kaitlyn Richards was named division MVP after catching all five of her targets for 56 yards and two touchdowns while also recording four flag pulls.

Defense mattered just as much in the championship game. Brooke Wright logged a sack, six flag pulls and an interception, while Charlotte Traa added another sack as the U.S. held Panama in check just long enough to preserve the gold. The result gave the Americans another headline result in the 15U division, even as the final margin reflected how much stronger the international field has become.

USA Football wrapped its fifth annual Junior International Cup at Dignity Health Sports Park from June 19-21 as part of its Summer Series, presented by Under Armour. The event brought together elite 15U and 17U girls’ and boys’ teams from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Panama, South Korea, Azteca from Mexico and the United States, with all Junior International Cup games streamed on HomeTeam Network. USA Football said the broader Summer Series drew more than 1,000 athletes, coaches and team personnel to Los Angeles, while Dignity Health Sports Park said more than 750 athletes representing 10 countries competed across the week.

The Cup has become more than a youth title chase. LA28 says flag football will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with six-team men’s and women’s tournaments on the program after the sport was formally added in March 2025. USA Football introduced the Junior Flag International Cup in 2022 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, when the field included the United States, Canada, Japan and Panama. The event has since widened into a deeper international measuring stick, and Football Canada has said it gives its junior athletes valuable international experience as they move through the national-team pathway.