CHICAGO (November 9, 2006) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Greg Ryan has named the 20-player roster that will attempt to qualify the U.S. Women’s National Team for the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup during the 2006 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup, being held on Nov. 22 and 26 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
The USA will take on the winner of the Mexico-Trinidad & Tobago quarterfinal on Wednesday, Nov. 22, in one of the Women’s Gold Cup semifinals at The HDC. The match kicks off 7 p.m. PT and fans can follow the action live on ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker. The winner of that game will qualify directly to the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup being held Sept. 10-30 in five Chinese cities: Chengdu, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan.
From the 20 players named to the roster, Ryan will have to choose 18 eligible players for the match against Mexico or T&T. Should the USA win its semifinal, the Americans will move on to the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup championship game on Sunday, Nov. 26, to crown the regional champion. The other semifinal on Nov. 22 will feature Canada against Panama or Jamaica (4:30 p.m. PT) with the winner of that match also qualifying for China. The quarterfinal matches are both taking place on Nov. 19 in Miami, Fla.
Heading into the Women’s Gold Cup, the U.S. women have gone 30 consecutive matches without losing in regulation time, tying an all-time record set from February 10, 1996, through Oct. 9, 1997. During the current streak of 30 matches, the USA is 25-0-5. Twenty-nine of those matches have been under Ryan, with the match that started the streak -- a 5-0 win against Mexico at The HDC on Dec. 8, 2004, (also the final game for Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett) -- the only one coming under former head coach April Heinrichs.
Should the USA win or tie its CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup semifinal, it will mark the longest unbeaten streak in the 21-year history of the U.S. Women’s National Team.
The USA is coming off a highly successful run to the 2006 Peace Queen Cup championship in South Korea where the USA tied Denmark and then defeated Australia, the Netherlands and Canada to win the title. The USA is 16-0-4 in 2006 heading into the Women’s Gold Cup where it will play its last two matches of the year. The U.S. team will begin training on Nov. 15 at The HDC.
Only nine of the 20 players on the U.S. roster have previously participated in Women’s World Cup qualifying matches, led by team captain Kristine Lilly who has played in all three previous qualifying campaigns. Lilly scored three times at the Peace Queen Cup, upping her career total to 116 goals in her world-record 317 games while winning the Golden Ball as the tournament MVP.
The USA qualified for the 1991 Women’s World Cup at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Haiti. In 1994, the Americans earned a berth to the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Sweden via a CONCACAF tournament in Canada. As host, the USA did not have to qualify for the 1999 Women’s World Cup, but qualified for the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup by winning the CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup at the end of 2002. The USA has defeated Canada in all three CONCACAF championship games over the years, 5-0 in 1991, 6-0 in 1994 and 2-1 in overtime in 2002.
The 20-player roster consists of the core of the U.S squad that participated in the six-month Residency Training Camp from April-September of 2006 at The HDC. For the Women’s Gold Cup, Ryan chose two goalkeepers, seven defenders, five midfielders and six forwards. Seventeen of the players were on the Peace Queen Cup championship team with Ryan adding three collegians to the roster in forwards Heather O’Reilly and Danesha Adams, and defender Stephanie Lopez.
O’Reilly is a veteran of the U.S. team despite being just 21 years old. The 2004 Olympic gold medalist has played 50 times for the USA, scoring eight goals, and this fall has helped the UNC Tar Heels to a 21-1-0 record, an undefeated conference record, the ACC tournament championship and a top-seed in the NCAA tournament.
At 20 years old, Adams is the youngest and least-capped player on the roster, making her lone appearance for the U.S. senior side on Oct. 1 vs. Chinese Taipei. She scored seven goals in 14 games for the UCLA Bruins after returning from the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championship, where she earned the Bronze Ball as the third best player in the tournament. She helped UCLA to a 17-3-0 record, a Pac-10 title and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. Lopez, who captained the U.S. U-20s in Russia, has eight caps for the full Women’s National Team and helped the defending NCAA champion Portland Pilots to a 14-3-3 record and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
U.S. forward Abby Wambach will lead the U.S. attack into qualifying, having scored 15 goals with eight assists in 2006. Lilly is second on the team with 12 goals and six assists, while forward Natasha Kai has scored six times. Forward Lindsay Tarpley has five goals, as does defender Cat Whitehill, who has tied Brandi Chastain for the most prolific scoring year for a defender in U.S. women’s history. The U.S. defense has limited opponents to just nine goals in 20 matches so far this year, an average of less than half a goal allowed per game.
For complete coverage of the competition, including results, exclusive player features and all_access videos, visit ussoccer.com's 2006 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup page.
2006 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup Schedule
The Home Depot Center - Carson, Calif.
(All matches live on FSC)
Semifinals
November 22, 2006
Canada vs. Panama/Jamaica 4:30 p.m. PT
USA vs. Mexico/Trinidad & Tobago 7:00 p.m. PT
Finals
November 26, 2006
Third Place (Semifinal losers) 3:00 p.m. PT
Championship (Semifinal winners) 5:30 p.m. PT
UNITED STATES WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
2006 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup
Nov. 15-26, 2006
Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.
UNITED STATES WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
2006 CONCACAF Women’s Gold Cup
Nov. 15-26, 2006
Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.
| No. | Player | Pos. | Ht. | DOB | Hometown | College | Caps/Goals |
| 1 | Scurry, Briana | GK | 5-8 | 09/07/71 | Dayton, Minn. | UMass | 158 |
| 2 | Mitts, Heather | D | 5-5 | 06/09/78 | Cincinnati, Ohio | Florida | 61/2 |
| 3 | Rampone, Christie | D | 5-6 | 06/24/75 | Point Pleasant, N.J. | Monmouth | 154/4 |
| 4 | Whitehill, Cat | D | 5-5 | 02/10/82 | Birmingham, Ala. | UNC | 97/11 |
| 5 | Tarpley, Lindsay | F | 5-6 | 09/22/83 | Kalamazoo, Mich. | UNC | 57/13 |
| 6 | Kai, Natasha | F | 5-8 | 05/22/83 | Kahuku, Hawaii | Hawaii | 15/6 |
| 7 | Miller, Marci | M | 5-7 | 12/04/75 | St. Charles, Ill. | SMU | 12/0 |
| 8 | Frimpong, Tina | D | 5-9 | 05/20/82 | Vancouver, Wash. | Washington | 17/0 |
| 9 | O’Reilly, Heather | F | 5-5 | 01/02/85 | East Brunswick, N.J. | UNC | 50/8 |
| 10 | Wagner, Aly | M | 5-5 | 08/10/80 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara | 107/21 |
| 11 | Lloyd, Carli | M | 5-8 | 07/16/82 | Delran, N.J. | Rutgers | 19/1 |
| 12 | Osborne, Leslie | M | 5-8 | 05/27/83 | Brookfield, Wis. | Santa Clara | 28/1 |
| 13 | Lilly, Kristine | F | 5-4 | 07/22/71 | Wilton, Conn. | UNC | 317/116 |
| 14 | Lopez, Stephanie | D | 5-6 | 04/03/86 | Elk Grove, Calif. | Portland | 8/0 |
| 15 | Markgraf, Kate | D | 5-7 | 08/23/76 | Bloomfield Hills, Mich. | Notre Dame | 152/0 |
| 16 | Hucles, Angela | M | 5-7 | 07/05/78 | Virginia Beach, Va. | Virginia | 58/5 |
| 17 | Chalupny, Lori | D | 5-4 | 01/29/84 | St. Louis, Mo. | UNC | 28/2 |
| 18 | Solo, Hope | GK | 5-9 | 07/30/81 | Richland, Wash. | Washington | 35 |
| 19 | Adams, Danesha | F | 5-6 | 06/06/86 | Shaker Heights, Ohio | UCLA | 1/0 |
| 20 | Wambach, Abby | F | 5-11 | 06/02/80 | Rochester, N.Y. | Florida | 82/64 |
| | | | | | | | |
U.S. Women's National Team - Roster By PositionGOALKEEPERS (2): Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS (7): Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tina Frimpong (Vancouver, Wash.), Stephanie Lopez (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala);
MIDFIELDERS (5): Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Marci Miller (St. Charles, Ill.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.);
FORWARDS (6): Danesha Adams (Shaker Heights, Ohio), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Kristine Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).
U.S. Women’s National Team
All-Time Women’s World Cup Qualifying Appearances Player Caps Goals Year Kristine Lilly 12 9 1991, 2004, 2002
Briana Scurry 8 0 1994, 2002
Cat Whitehill 5 0 2002
Aly Wagner 5 1 2002
Kate Markgraf 4 0 2002
Angela Hucles 3 1 2002
Heather O’Reilly 1 0 2002
Abby Wambach 1 1 2002
Team Staff: Head Coach: Greg Ryan Colorado (Springs, Colo.)
Asst. Coach: Bret Hall (St. Charles, Ill.)
GK Coach: Phil Wheddon (Monroe, Conn.)
General Manager: Nils Krumins (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Team Physician: Dr. Scott Powell (Pacific Palisades, Calif.)
Medical Trainer: Greg Banks (Charleston, S.C.)
Medical Trainer: Julie O’Connell (Chicago, Ill.)
Massage Therapist: Scott Street (Atlanta, Ga.)
Massage Therapist: Kara Mirarchi (Long Beach, Calif.)
Massage Therapist: Kym Frederickson (Milwaukee, Wisc.)
Equipment Manager: Jeanine Avila (West Covina, Calif.)
Team Security: Ben Payne (Atlanta, Ga.)
Team Security: Mark Pharris (Atlanta, Ga.)
Videographer: Noelle Jouglet (San Diego, Calif.)
Press Officer: Aaron Heifetz (Long Beach, Calif.)
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