Next Generation of U.S. Women to Face Italy on July 7 in Islip, N.Y.; Long Island Products Whalen and Welsh Headline Roster
CHICAGO (Thursday, June 29, 2000) - The U.S. Women's National Team will bring a preview of the 2003 Women's World Cup Team and the 2004 Olympic Team to its meeting with Italy on July 7 at EAB Park in Central Islip, N.Y. Sara Whalen and Christie Pearce, both veterans of the 1999 Women's Wor
June 29, 2000
The young players in the national team pool will be 1) looking to work their way into the picture for one of the final spots on the U.S. Olympic Team, 2) looking to gain valuable experience in the build-up for the next Women's World Cup and 3) continue preparations for the Under-21 Nordic Cup this summer in Germany. The Nordic Cup serves as the top competition in the world for Under-21 women. The USA has advanced to the final of the last three Nordic Cups, winning two. U.S. U-21 head coach Jillian Ellis will serve as April Heinrichs' assistant for the match.
The roster features 13 players from the USA's Olympic Residency Camp, including budding stars Aleisha Cramer (18 years old today), Christie Welsh (19), Nandi Pryce (18), Susan Bush (19), Aly Wagner (19) and Alyssa Ramsey (17), who despite their youth have already accrued 52 caps and 17 goals among them. The roster will also feature defender Michelle French, a three-year captain of the U-21 team and a member of the Olympic residency camp. Of the 18 players, just Whalen, Pearce and French are out of college, with 10 players currently at universities and five players recently graduated from high school that will be attending college next fall.
The match will be a stern test for the young U.S. team which faces an Italian side that participated in the 1999 Women's World Cup and features two of Europe's top strikers in Rita Guarino and Patrizia Panico. The USA-Italy match will kick off at 7 p.m. ET as part of a doubleheader featuring the A-League's Long Island Rough Riders vs. the Montreal Impact (9:15 p.m. ET). Tickets can be purchased only at EAB Park and range from $17-$35.
| United States Women's National Team Roster Friendly vs. Italy, July 7 | |||||||
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Birthdate | Hometown | College/Club | Caps/Goals |
| 1 | Branam, Jen | GK | 5-7 | 10/08/80 | Placentia, Calif. | North Carolina | 3/0 |
| 2 | Pryce, Nandi | D | 5-10 | 5/30/82 | Casselberry, Fla. | UCLA | 7/0 |
| 3 | Pearce, Christie | D | 5-6 | 6/24/75 | Point Pleasant, N.J. | Monmouth | 69/4 |
| 4 | Kraus, Anna | D | 5-4 | 7/29/80 | Sunnyvale, Calif. | Santa Clara | 0/0 |
| 5 | Putz, Caroline | M | 5-7 | 7/12/80 | Bountiful, Utah | Washington | 0/0 |
| 6 | Monroe, Mary Francis | M | 5-0 | 2/07/80 | Tariffville, Conn. | Connecticut | 1/0 |
| 7 | Whalen, Sara | M | 5-5 | 4/28/76 | Greenlawn, N.Y. | UConn | 55/6 |
| 8 | Reddick, Catherine | D | 5-5 | 2/10/82 | Birmingham, Ala. | North Carolina | 0/0 |
| 9 | Ramsey, Alyssa | F | 5-8 | 9/21/82 | Charlotte, N.C. | North Carolina | 2/0 |
| 10 | Cramer, Aleisha | M | 5-10 | 7/29/82 | Lakewood, Colo. | Brigham Young | 6/0 |
| 11 | French, Michelle | D | 5-4 | 1/27/77 | Kent, Wash. | Portland | 8/0 |
| 12 | Wallis, Marcia | F | 5-6 | 3/31/81 | Los Gatos, Calif. | Stanford | 0/0 |
| 13 | Bush, Susan | F | 5-4 | 11/10/80 | Houston, Texas | North Carolina | 8/2 |
| 14 | Kluegel, Jena | M | 5-3 | 11/02/79 | Mahtomedi, Minn. | North Carolina | 2/0 |
| 15 | Wagner, Aly | M | 5-5 | 8/10/80 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara | 15/4 |
| 16 | Zepeda, Veronica | M | 5-0 | 6/11/82 | Riverside, Calif. | Santa Clara | 4/1 |
| 18 | Solo, Hope | GK | 5-10 | 7/30/81 | Richland, Wash. | Washington | 2/0 |
| 22 | Welsh, Christie | F | 5-10 | 2/27/81 | Massapequa Park, N.Y. | Penn State | 14/11 |
