CHICAGO (December 4, 2007) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will hold its last training camp of 2007, and first under new head coach Pia Sundhage, from Dec. 8-12 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Sundhage will bring in 24 players for the mini-camp designed to give her a quick look at the core of the U.S. team, plus a handful of young players just coming off the college season, before the squad regroups in early January to prepare for the Four Nations Tournament in China.

The camp is basically the beginning of the run to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, with the USA preparing for the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Final Round qualifying tournament, being held April 2-13 in Chihuahua, Mexico. Two countries from the six-team tournament will advance to China.

“It’s a short camp, but it will be valuable time spent together as a team and a unique moment for me to have a chance to work with the best players in the United States for the first time,” said Sundhage. “It will give us the chance to get to know them as players a little bit more, they’ll get the chance to learn my style and I’ll also get the chance to get to know them off the field. It will be a good start to something new.”

The mini-camp roster features 16 players from the 2007 U.S. Womens’ World Cup Team, along with seven players who recently finished their collegiate seasons. Defender Heather Mitts has regained her fitness and makes a return to the squad after suffering an ACL tear on May 12, 2007, which required surgery and caused her to miss out on the Women’s World Cup in China.

Of the seven players coming in from the college ranks, all have considerable youth National Team experience, with five (Yael Averbuch, Rachel Buehler, Tobin Heath, Casey Nogueira and Angie Woznuk) having represented the USA at a FIFA youth world championship while the other two (Michelle Enyeart and Nikki Washington) are in the running for a spot on the U.S. U-20 team that will attempt to qualify for the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Of the seven collegians, four come from the University of North Carolina, two from the University of Portland and one from Stanford. Buehler and Woznuk, both of whom have trained with the full National Team during Residency Training Camps, are the only two seniors, having finished their college eligibility with their school’s runs in the NCAA playoffs.

UNITED STATES WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
December 8-12, 2007
The Home Depot Center - Carson, Calif. 

Players	Pos.	Ht.	DOB	Hometown	College	Caps/Goals
Averbuch, Yael	M	5-10	11/03/86	Upper Montclair, N.J.	UNC	2/0
Barnhart, Nicole	GK	5-10	10/10/81	Gilbertsville, Pa.	Stanford	4
Boxx, Shannon	M	5-8	06/29/77	Redondo Beach, Calif.	Notre Dame	77/17
Buehler, Rachel	D	5-5	08/26/85	Del Mar, Calif.	Stanford	0/0
Chalupny, Lori	M	5-4	01/29/84	St. Louis, Mo.	UNC	53/6
Dalmy, Marian	D	5-10	11/25/84	Lakewood, Colo.	Santa Clara	5/0
Enyeart, Michelle	F	5-6	07/26/88	Hemet, Calif.	Portland	0/0
Heath, Tobin	M	5-6	05/29/88	Basking Ridge, N.J.	UNC	0/0
Kai, Natasha	F	5-8	05/22/83	Kahuku, Hawaii	Hawaii	35/8
Lloyd, Carli	M	5-8	07/16/82	Delran, N.J.	Rutgers	44/10
Markgraf, Kate	D	5-7	08/23/76	Bloomfield Hills, Mich.	Notre Dame	168/0
Mitts, Heather	D	5-5	06/09/78	Cincinatti, Ohio	Florida	71/2
Nogueira, Casey	F	5-6	02/23/89	Raleigh, N.C.	UNC	1/0
O’Reilly, Heather	F	5-5	01/02/85	East Brunswick, N.J.	UNC	72/15
Osborne, Leslie	M	5-8	05/27/83	Brookfield, Wis.	Santa Clara	52/2
Rampone, Christie	D	5-6	06/24/75	Point Pleasant, N.J.	Monmouth	177/4
Scurry, Briana	GK	5-8	09/07/71	Dayton, Minn.	UMass	167
Solo, Hope	GK	5-9	07/30/81	Richland, Wash.	Washington	52
Tarpley, Lindsay	F	5-6	09/22/83	Kalamazoo, Mich.	UNC	79/17
Wagner, Aly	M	5-5	08/10/80	San Jose, Calif.	Santa Clara	117/21
Wambach, Abby	F	5-11	06/02/80	Rochester, N.Y.	Florida	105/86
Washington, Nikki	M	5-5	08/01/88	Mesquite, Texas	UNC	0/0
Whitehill, Cat	D	5-7	02/10/82	Birmingham, Ala.	UNC	123/11
Woznuk, Angie	M	5-5	03/29/85	El Cajon, Calif.	Portland	1/0

GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS (6): Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Marian Dalmy (Lakewood, Colo.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
MIDFIELDERS (9): Yael Averbuch (Upper Montclair, N.J.), Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.), Nikki Washington (Mesquite, Texas), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.);
FORWARDS (6): Michelle Enyeart (Hemet, Calif.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Casey Nogueira (Raleigh, N.C.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Team Staff:
Head Coach: Pia Sundhage Stockholm, Sweden
Asst. Coach: Mark Krikorian Tallahassee, Fla.
Asst. Coach: Erica Walsh State College, Pa.
GK Coach: Phil Wheddon Monroe, Conn.
General Manager: Cheryl Bailey Redondo Beach, Calif.
Medical Trainer: Gigi Garcia Miami, Florida
Massage Therapist: Jenny Pishko Chicago, Ill.
Massage Therapist: Mark Higgins Chicago, Ill
Equipment Manager: Angie Garza San Diego, Calif.
Videographer: Noelle Jouglet San Diego, Calif.
Press Officer: Aaron Heifetz Cypress, Calif.
Team Security: Ben Payne Atlanta, Ga.