US Women's Olympic Roster Announced

Solo Makes First Olympic Team

June 24, 2008

Solo, who was a starter until former coach Greg Ryan benched her in favor of Scurry before a disastrous 4-0 loss to Brazil in last year’s World Cup, was kicked off the team following her criticism of Ryan in a nationally televised interview after the game.

Hope Solo was one fo 18 players named to the US women's Olmypic roster. (CHRIS ADUAMA/aduama.com)

Ryan’s replacement, Pia Sundhage, named Solo and Nicole Barnhart her two keepers for Beijing. Both will be making their first Olympic roster. Scurry was one of four alternates named by Sundhage.

“Of course it has been a challenging situation,” said Sundhage. “Everyone was expecting a change, but it couldn’t be too much of a change, we still had to rely on the strengths of the U.S. team. It couldn’t be too little of a change, or no one would notice the difference, but the game plan has gone very well so far.”

Nine players on the roster were members of the U.S. team that won the gold medal four years ago in Athens, Greece, including team co-captains Christie Rampone and former Boston Breaker Kate Markgraf, who will both be participating in their third Olympic Games.

The USA will open play at the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Aug. 6 against Norway in Qinhuangdao, China. The USA will then face Japan on Aug. 9, also in Qinhuangdao, before finishing Group G play against New Zealand on Aug. 12 in Shenyang.

“There are many players that have a lot of experience and are very competitive in practice,” said Sundhage. “They really show up for every training and want to perform every time they are on the field. It’s good to see them train at a level that is close to the game. For all the coaches, we want to make practices as game-like as possible, and I never had to get on them or yell at them to work hard. They push themselves in a very nice way and that is why it is difficult to pick a team.”

2008 US OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.)

DEFENDERS (6): Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Stephanie Cox (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.)

FORWARDS (3): Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Amy Rodriguez (Lake Forest, Calif.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.)

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