Sundhage Names Squad for September WNT Training Camp

CHICAGO (Aug. 25, 2009) – U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage has called in 26 players for a 12-day training camp at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., running from Sept. 21-Oct. 2. This will be the first U.S. Women’s National Team event since the end of the inaugural Women’s Professional Soccer season.

Twenty-three of the players on the roster come from WPS clubs while three are currently seniors for their college teams in UCLA forward Lauren Cheney and a pair of North Carolina Tar Heels in midfielder Tobin Heath and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris.

Sundhage named 18 players from the roster that defeated Canada twice in mid-July, but is also giving looks to several players who put in some quality work during the WPS season. Los Angeles Sol utility woman Brittany Bock gets her second call-up of the year after also making the U.S. roster for the match against Canada in Toronto on May 25. She was denied the opportunity to earn her first cap due to a heel injury suffered in training the day before the match.

Sundhage also named FC Gold Pride midfielder Tina DiMartino (5 caps/1 goal), Washington Freedom midfielder Lori Lindsey (1/0), and Sky Blue FC midfielder Yael Averbuch (2/0), as well as uncapped Chicago Red Stars midfielder Brittany Klein and Sky Blue FC defender Meghan Schnur. All five are veterans of the USA’s youth Women’s National Teams. The roster also features the return of Sky Blue FC midfielder Kacey White (17/0), who has not been called up since the Algarve Cup last March.

The camp marks a long awaited first call-up for Harris, who was the starter for the USA at both the 2002 and 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cups, playing every minute of all 12 games during those tournaments. The 5 feet 9 inch Harris, who played a key role in helping the USA win the 2002 FIFA U-19 WWC when she was just 16 years old, was on the fast-track to the full national team before a series of major injuries – including two ACL surgeries – set her back. The 23-year-old will train alongside regulars Hope Solo and Nicole Barnhart.

Veteran U.S. midfielder Lindsay Tarpley will miss her first camp in years as she is out 8-10 months after suffering an ACL tear during training with the Red Stars at the end of the WPS season. U.S. captain Christie Rampone is pregnant and will miss her first camp since her last pregnancy in 2005. With Rampone out, forward Abby Wambach and defender Cat Whitehill are the most capped players in camp with 130 each.

Sundhage will use this camp to select a roster for the USA’s trip to Germany in October when the Americans will face the reigning Women’s World Cup champions on Oct. 29 at Impuls Arena in Augsburg, one of the nine venues that will host matches at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The U.S. women currently sit atop of the FIFA Women’s World Rankings and have compiled a record of 6-0-1 in 2009, having scored 11 goals while allowing just one, that coming in the championship game of the Algarve Cup where the USA eventually succumbed to Sweden in penalty kicks.

UNITED STATES WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
Training Camp Roster
Sept. 21-Oct. 2
The Home Depot Center – Carson, Calif.

Players                  Pos.     Ht.     DOB           Hometown                   WPS Club/College                      Caps/Goals

Averbuch, Yael        M         5-10   11/03/86      Upper Montclair, N.J.      Sky Blue FC                                 2/0

Barnhart, Nicole       GK       5-10   10/10/81      Gilbertsville, Pa.             FC Gold Pride                               2/0 

Bock, Brittany         D          5-7     04/11/87      Naperville, Ill.                 Los Angeles Sol                           0/0

Boxx, Shannon        M         5-8     06/29/77      Redondo Beach, Calif.    Los Angeles Sol                           117/20

Buehler, Rachel       D          5-5     08/26/85      Del Mar, Calif.                FC Gold Pride                               30/0

Chalupny, Lori         D          5-4     01/29/84      St. Louis, Mo.                St. Louis Athletica                        91/8

Cheney, Lauren       F          5-8     09/30/87      Indianapolis, Ind.            UCLA                                           19/4

Cox, Stephanie        D          5-6     04/03/86      Elk Grove, Calif.             Los Angeles Sol                           55/0

DiMartino, Tina        M         5-2     11/06/86      Massapequa Park, N.Y. FC Gold Pride                                   5/1

Harris, Ashlyn          GK       5-9     10/19/85      Satellite Beach, Fla.       North Carolina                                 0/0

Heath, Tobin            M         5-6     05/29/88      Basking Ridge, N.J.       North Carolina                                 19/2

Hucles, Angela        M         5-7     07/05/78      Virginia Beach, Va.        Boston Breakers                           109/13

Klein, Brittany          M         5-3     10/29/86      Arcadia, Calif.                Chicago Red Stars                        0/0

LePeilbet, Amy        D          5-6    03/12/82      Crystal Lake, Ill.             Boston Breakers                          26/0

Lindsey, Lori            M         5-5     03/19/80      Indianapolis, Ind.            Washington Freedom                      1/0

Lloyd, Carli              M         5-8     07/16/82      Delran, N.J.                   Chicago Red Stars                        84/19

Mitts, Heather          D          5-5     06/09/78      Cincinnati, Ohio             Boston Breakers                           103/2

O’Reilly, Heather      M         5-5     01/02/85      East Brunswick, N.J.      Sky Blue FC                                 115/25

Osborne, Leslie       M         5-8     05/27/83      Brookfield, Wis.             FC Gold Pride                                 61/3

Rapinoe, Megan       M         5-7     07/05/85      Redding, Calif.               Chicago Red Stars                        11/4

Rodriguez, Amy       F          5-4     02/17/87      Lake Forest, Calif.          Boston Breakers                           37/6

Schnur, Meghan      D          5-6     04/1/6/86     Butler, Pa.                     Sky Blue FC                                 0/0

Solo, Hope              GK       5-9     07/30/81      Richland, Wash.            St. Louis Athletica                        84/0

Wambach, Abby      F          5-11   06/02/80      Rochester, N.Y.             Washington Freedom                    130/100

White, Kacey          M         5-4     04/27/84      Arlington, Texas             Sky Blue FC                                 17/0

Whitehill, Cat           D          5-7     02/10/82      Birmingham, Ala.           Washington Freedom                    130/11

Roster by Position
GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Ashlyn Harris (North Carolina), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica)
DEFENDERS (8): Brittany Bock (Los Angeles Sol), Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis Athletica), Stephanie Cox (Los Angeles Sol), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers), Megan Schnur (Sky Blue FC), Cat Whitehill (Washington Freedom)
MIDFIELDERS (12): Yael Averbuch (Sky Blue FC), Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Tina DiMartino (FC Gold Pride), Tobin Heath (UNC), Angela Hucles (Boston Breakers), Brittany Klein (Chicago Red Stars), Lori Lindsey (Washington Freedom), Carli Lloyd (Chicago Red Stars), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Leslie Osborne (FC Gold Pride), Megan Rapinoe (Chicago Red Stars), Kacey White (Sky Blue FC)
FORWARDS (3): Lauren Cheney (UCLA), Amy Rodriguez (Boston Breakers), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)

Team Staff:
General Manager: Cheryl Bailey (Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Head Coach: Pia Sundhage (Charlotte, N.C.)
Assistant Coach: Hege Riise (Charlotte, N.C.)
Assistant Coach: Marcia McDermott (Chicago)
Goalkeeper Coach: Paul Rogers (St. Louis)
Fitness Coach: Ken Vick (Redondo Beach, Calif.)
Athletic Trainer: Julie O’Connell (Chicago)
Athletic Trainer: Greg Banks (Charleston, S.C.)
Athletic Trainer: Elizabeth Lopez (Atlanta)
Massage Therapist: Scott Street (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Massage Therapist: Allison Griffith (Charleston, S.C.)
Equipment Manager: Andrew Dessert (Kansas City, Mo.)
Press Officer: Aaron Heifetz (Cypress, Calif.)