5. WOMEN: USA welcomes 32 players into residency

• by Soccer America , Mar 29, 2007

The U.S. women's national team will welcome 32 players into residency training camp on April 2 at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. for a four-month period that will lead into the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup in China.

The USA will break camp at the end of July before playing its final friendly games before departing at the end of August for the Women's World Cup Sept. 10-30 in China. While in residency, the team will train almost daily, with full-field matches, functional training, individual sessions and weight training all a part of the schedule. The USA will play eight friendlies at home, beginning with a match against Mexico April 14 in Foxboro, Mass.

The residency roster will fluctuate during the year as players on "trial" will move in and out of camp. In addition, numerous players with college eligibility remaining will also train. Five collegians will report on April 2: UCLA's Danesha Adams and Lauren Cheney, Stanford's Rachel Buehler and Kelley O'Hara and Portland's Stephanie Lopez, who has been starting for the senior national team at outside back.

Two goalkeepers come into camp after an extended absence from the team in former Stanford star Nicole Barnhard and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Kristin Luckenbill. Defender Amy LePeilbet is coming back after recovering from ACL surgery.

The USA will enter the Women's World Cup as the favorite, having gone unbeaten in 38 games under Coach Greg Ryan and captured in 2007 the Four Nations Tournament and Algarve Cup.

U.S. RESIDENCY CAMP ROSTER:
GOALKEEPERS: Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Jenni Branam (Placentia, Calif.), Kristin Luckenbill (Paoli, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS: Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.), Tina Ellertson (Vancouver, Wash.), Amy LePeilbet (Crystal Lake, Ill.), Stephanie Lopez (Elk Grove, Calif.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), India Trotter (Plantation, Fla.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
MIDFIELDERS: Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Angela Hucles (Virginia Beach, Va.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.), Marci Jobson (St. Charles, Ill.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.);
FORWARDS: Danesha Adams (Shaker Heights, Ohio), Lauren Cheney (Indianapolis, Ind.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Kristine Lilly (Wilton, Conn.), Kelley O'Hara (Fayetteville, Ga.), Heather O'Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.), Kacey White (Arlington, Texas).