Before the U.S. team left Sendai, midfielder Heather O'Reilly and goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris took a brief tour of the inside of the HUGE statue next to the team's hotel. (The sixth largest statue in the world, mind you). We'll try to get a video up on their brief adventure before the end of the week, but here are a few pics.

U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage has named the 23 players that will travel to Japan for two of the biggest non-Olympic, non-World Cup matches the U.S. WNT has played in recent history, taking on Japan on April 1 in Sendai (6:30 a.m. ET) and Brazil on April 3 in Chiba (7 a.m.)
Both matches will be broadcast on ESPN2.

photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com

Fresh off a successful Olympic qualifying campaign, U.S. women's national team head coach Pia Sundhage has called up 28 players for its upcoming friendly against New Zealand.

Nineteen of the 20 players on the Olympic qualifying roster were summoned by Sundhage for the Americans' first game on home soil this year, including Alex Morgan, Hope Solo and Abby Wambach.

Now that The USWNT team has qualified for the Summer Olympics after a superb tournament in Canada, Head Coach Pia Sundhage can now turn her focus onto her squads first friendly match of the new year against New Zealand. The match will be played at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas, marking the eighth time the USWNT will play in the Lone Star State.

Photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com

U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage has named a 23-player preliminary roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal, and there are no surprises in the bunch.

Abby Wambach, Hope Solo and Alex Morgan are among the usual suspects who will compete in the tournament's Group B along with Denmark, Norway and defending World Cup champion Japan followed by a placement game from Feb.

The U.S. WNT will depart for the Algarve region of Portugal next week in preparation for the 19th Annual Algarve Cup, a tournament that has become a fixture in the USA's yearly schedule and soccer culture.
U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage will bring 23 players to Portugal and choose 21 for the tournament roster.

The USA's practice on Saturday consisted of a closed-door training match against China on a stunningly beautiful afternoon in the Algarve.
The 90-minute scrimmage featured different U.S. teams in each half with the Americans coming away with a 3-0 triumph on goals from Alex Morgan, Heather O'Reilly and Sydney Leroux.

U.S. WNT head coach Pia Sundhage has named the 21 players who will suit up for the four 2012 Algarve Cup matches. She brought 23 players to Portugal so only goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender Meghan Klingenberg (who suffered a slight ankle injury during training this week) will not suit up for the games.

After lunch today, many of the U.S. players visited the areas of Sendai and Natori that were most impacted by the earthquake and tsunami a little more than a year ago.
The players visit the highest ground for miles, but it wasn't high enough for those trying to escape the tsunami

Of course the U.

Photo by ISIphotos.com

The U.S. women's national team will play China at PPL Park on May 27 in a tune-up friendly prior to this summer's Olympics.

The last time the two nations met, the United States defeated China 2-0 at the Four Nations Tournament on Chinese soil in January of last year.

The U.S. team runs fitness
The U.S. team had a long but productive day today, running a fitness test in the morning, followed by weights with a lengthy and intense afternoon session on the field, all in the sweltering Florida heat. (Ok, so it wasn't as hot inside the weight room, but the sweat still was flowing as the team pumped iron).

U.S. women's national team coach Pia Sundhage has called on 28 players for a May training camp in New Jersey ahead of a friendly against China at PPL Park on May 27, as the U.S. women continue their preparations for this summer's Olympics.

The U.S. women will train in Princeton from Thursday until May 25 in the build-up to the friendly, and this camp comes on the heels of an April camp in Florida in which 26 of the 28 players called upon this time around participated.

A-Rod with a point blank chance vs. Jill Loyden

Training camp is going very well for the U.S. WNT with practice after practice featuring intense, competitive action, but at the same time the players are having fun. Yes, there are bodies flying and fantasice goals and saves, but also smiles around as the players participate in what has to be one of the most high level training environments a female player could experience anywhere in the world.

The U.S. WNT training camp has been intense, challenging and highly competitive, but it will soon come to an end. The focus soon turns to this weekend when the will USA face China at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.
U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage will suit up 18 players for the match which will be the USA's first since April 3 when the Americans down Brazil, 3-0, in Japan in a match that was played in front of a smattering of fans due to the kickoff being moved four hours earlier as a small typhoon (is there such a thing?

U.S. WNT goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris will undergo surgery on her left shoulder next week to repair a small tear in her labrum. Harris was initially injured during the USA's training camp in Bradenton, Florida, in late April, but was able to train full-out during the USA's May training camp in Princeton leading into the match against China on May 27.