Accent on youth

• by Soccer America , Jan 9, 2008

[U.S. WOMEN] All seven collegians whom new U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage called up for a six-day training camp at The Home Depot Center are among the 20 players she selected to travel to Foshan, China, for the 2008 Four Nations Tournament against Canada, Finland and host China Jan. 16-20 at the Foshan Sports Center Stadium.

UCLA's Lauren Cheney and Tina DiMartino, USC forward Amy Rodriguez, Portland's Angie Woznuk, North Carolina's Tobin Heath and Virginia's Becky Sauerbrunn joined Stephanie Cox (née Lopez), who played for the USA at the 2007 Women's World Cup.

After five days of training camp that featured seven on-field practice sessions, including a full-field scrimmage on Monday, Sundhage named her first tournament roster. The only other player who didn't go to the 2007 Women's World Cup is Ali Krieger, who finished up at Penn State in 2006.

Captain Kristine Lilly, who is pregnant and will sit out the 2008 Olympics, and Kate Markgraf, who is rehabilitating her injured ankle, are the only starters from the USA's 4-0 loss to Brazil in the semifinals of the 2007 Women's World Cup who will not be returning to China this month.

Just three players on the roster with 100 caps or more, the fewest in recent memory. Defender Christie Rampone leads the way with 177 followed by Cat Whitehill at 123 and Abby Wambach with 105.

U.S. WOMEN'S ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS: Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS: 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: 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: 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.).