U.S. Calls Up Four Breakers

Boston Quartet to Play in Pair of Friendlies Against Canada

July 7, 2009

U.S. women’s national team head coach Pia Sundhage has named 21 players for two matches against Canada, the first taking place on Sunday, July 19, at Marina Auto Stadium in Rochester, N.Y., and then again three days later on Wednesday, July 22, at Blackbaud Stadium in Charleston, S.C.

Amy Rodriguez

Amy Rodriguez (8) is one of 21 players called into the U.S. national team by coach Pia Sundhage. (Photo by CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com)

Among the 21 are four Boston Breakers, the most of the seven teams in Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS): defenders Amy LePeilbet and Heather Mitts, midfielder Angela Hucles and forward Amy Rodriguez.

LePeilbet has played all 1,170 minutes of Boston’s 13 matches this season, anchoring a defense that has allowed 14 goals and just three in its last five games. Mitts and Hucles have started every game at fullback and midfield, respectively, while Rodriguez has played in all 13 and started 10. The first overall pick of the WPS Draft scored her first career goal in the Breakers’ 2-0 win over Chicago June 21.

The quartet will miss the Breakers’ July 19 road game at FC Gold Pride, and could be a doubt for the team’s July 25 home match against Sky Blue FC.

The roster features 18 players from Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) clubs and three collegiate players. Leading the way is forward Abby Wambach, the USA’s leading active scorer, who will head to her hometown of Rochester, N.Y., in search of her historic 100th goal. She currently has 99 international scores in 128 games.

Sundhage also named veteran defender Cat Whitehill and midfielder Leslie Osborne, both members of the USA’s 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team, who get their first call-ups since major knee injuries knocked them out of the running for a spot on the 2008 Olympic Team. Neither has played for the USA in more than a year.

In addition, defender Stephanie Cox gets her first call-up since January. Cox, who has 54 caps and played all but 45 minutes of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, is a part of the Los Angeles Sol defense which has allowed just five goals this season.

The roster, which features 16 members of the USA’s 2008 Olympic gold medal team, is stocked with regulars, including team captain Christie Rampone, goalkeepers Hope Solo and Nicole Barnhart, defenders Lori Chalupny and Rachel Buehler and midfielders Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley. Eight players named to the roster have more than 100 career caps.

Breakers defender Amy LePeilbet gets her second call-up this year after performing very well in a starting assignment against Canada in May. Red Stars midfielder Megan Rapinoe, who has just nine caps but scored a wonderful goal in the win against Canada, also got the nod, as did young forward Amy Rodriguez.

These matches, the 46th and 47th all-time between the two countries, will complete the three-game summer series with Canada and give Sundhage more information in evaluating the player pool as she continues to mold a team for qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany.

The matches will be the last domestic games for the U.S. Women’s National Team in 2009, but the USA is scheduled to gather for training camps and a European tour following the completion of the inaugural WPS campaign.

The match in Rochester, which kicks off at 3 p.m. ET will be televised live on ESPN. The match in Charleston kicks off at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised live on Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Sports en Español. Fans can also follow both matches online via ussoccer.com’s MatchTracker and twitter.com/ussoccer.