Sundhage Names First Tournament Roster

Four Nations Tournament Will Mark Early Trip to China

January 9, 2008

Pia Sundhage constructed her first tournament roster as head coach of the United States women's soccer team, finalizing a 20-player group that will represent America in Foshan, China at the Four Nations Tournament later this month.

Striker Abby Wambach is one of the few veterans on the roster.

After five days of training camp that featured seven on-field practice sessions, including a full-field scrimmage on Monday, Sundhage selected the 20 players who will travel to Foshan next Tuesday in preparation for the tournament, a four-team round-robin competition that annually features some of the world’s top teams, being held Jan. 16-20 at the Foshan Sports Center.

These matches will be the first of 2008 for the U.S. women and first under Sundhage, who replaced the embattled Greg Ryan in November.

While many of the U.S. players have been to China on multiple occasions, the trip will provide some valuable experience for the younger players on the roster who are trying earn a spot on the team's Olympic qualifying roster, and ultimately, the Olympic roster. The Four Nations Tournament will be the only time the team will travel to China this year before heading back to Beijing in August should they qualify for the Olympics, held from Aug. 6-21 in Beijing (and four other Chinese cities).

The entire 2008 Four Nations Tournament Roster by position:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS (6): Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Ali Krieger (Dumfries, Va.), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Becky Sauerbrunn (St. Louis, Mo.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tina DiMartino (Massapequa Park, N.Y.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.);
FORWARDS (5): Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).