The U.S. Under-17 Women‘s National Team will hold its first training camp of 2008, and the first as U-17s for this age group, in Sunrise, Florida, from Jan. 2-7 as head coach Kazbek Tambi kicks off preparations for the 2008 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, to be held Oct. 30-Nov. 16 in New Zealand.

The USA will have to qualify for the first-ever Women’s World Cup for this age group, but CONCACAF qualifying dates and venues have yet to be set.

The age cutoff for the 2008 U-17 WWC is for players born on or after January 1, 1991, and the majority of Tambi’s roster will likely consist of 1991s with a few talented 1992s sprinkled in.

This camp will help set a roster for the U-17s trip to Auckland, New Zealand in late January where they will play three international matches in the country of the 2008 U-17 Women’s World Cup during the Future Stars Tournament. Tambi will likely add two players to the following training camp roster, bringing the total for the camp to 26 players.

GOALKEEPERS (4): Lianne Maldonado (Clifton, N.J.), Jennifer Pettigrew (Kearney, N.J.), Kelsey Wys (Coral Springs, Fla.), Taylor Vancil (South Elgin, Ill.);
DEFENDERS (5): Catherine Cabot (San Diego, Calif.), Crystal Dunn (Rockville Center, N.Y.), Kristine Mewis (Hanson, Mass.), Megan Oyster (Naperville, Ill.), Julia Roberts (Fredrick, Md.);
MIDFIELDERS (9): Amber Brooks (New Hope, Pa.), Cloee Colohan (West Point, Utah), Kaitlyn Fitzpatrick (Pleasanton, Calif.), Olivia Klei (Pleasanton, Calif.), Rachel Mercik (El Dorado Hills, Calif.), Samantha Mewis (Hanson, Mass.), Shayla Mutz (Chicago, Ill.), Jenna Richmond (Centerville, Va.), Erica Tymrak (Detroit, Mich.); FORWARDS (6): Kim Castleberry (McKinney, Texas), Tani Costa (Honolulu, Hawaii), Alexa Harris (Plano, Texas), Caroline Miller (Rockville, Md.), Alyssa Rich (Cincinnati, Ohio), Mary Wagner (Wall, N.J.).