U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage has named the 18 players that will suit up against New Zealand tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT at FC Dallas Stadium. The game is expected to be a sell-out in the 20,500-seat venue and the U.S. players are looking forward to a fantastic Texas reception.
U.S. Roster vs. New Zealand
Feb.

Hope Solo denies an Alex Morgan blast
Can't say there is much to report from U.S. WNT training in chilly Frisco, Texas. All the players are healthy and gunning for spots on the 18-player roster for the New Zealand game, but since there's not much new, we decided to put together a top-10 What's New?

by Maura Gladys

Five games, nine days and 39 goals. That's what it took for the U.S. women's national team to win the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying

One of the few negatives....

Tournament and book their ticket to this summer's London Olympic Games. The U.

The US WNT overcame early match nerves and a very game Costa Rican team through goals scored by Tobin Heath, Carli Lloyd, and Alex Morgan. This win qualifies them for the London Olympics. In the other semi-finals, Canada held off Mexico, 3-1, to also book their spot. The final will be played tomorrow and pits two of the most potent goalscorers in the game.

The US Women did it again last night, defeating a Mexican squad that actually gave them a run for their money. Don't let the 4-0 score fool you; the USWNT got lucky with two quick goals in the 7th and 8th minutes. That was it for the first half. Despite the strong will of Mexico, it wasn't enough to stop the US who scored two more goals in the second half, winning Group B with all nine points.

Photo by Stephen Brashear/ISIphotos.com

They might have been held to single digits on the scoreboard for the first time during the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament, but the U.S. women's national team remains on a roll.

Carli Lloyd netted a hat trick, and the U.

The US Women's National Team knocked off Mexico 4-0 in their final match of the group stage of Olympic qualifying to win Group B. Carli Lloyd had a hat trick and Heather O'Reilly added a goal as the USWNT rolled to an easy victory. They will face Costa Rica for a chance to qualify on Friday (8pm, concacaf.

The U.S. team once again practiced indoors at BC Place (with the weather so far in Vancouver, trust us when we say outdoors would not be too much fun), this time in preparation for its final Group B match vs. Mexico. The CONCACAF neighbors will meet on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. PT. Fans can watch the game live on Universal Sports Network, Universalsports.

Photo: Paul Rudderow.

I tried to tune in to watch the USWNT take on the Dominican Republic at the appointed 10:30 pm start time last night. In the 10 or so minutes it took me to update the stupid Silverlight player and get the game to load, I missed the opening 3 goals, which all happened inside the first 7 minutes of the game.

While MLS has in the last few years reached a level of stability that will hopefully give us a break from our perennial worrying about "the future of the game", the women's pro game is still struggling for survival in this country. The Women's National Team is currently preparing for the Olympic Qualifying Tournament this month and the roster is officially listed as:

GOALKEEPERS (2): Nicole Barnhart (out of contract), Hope Solo (out of contract)

DEFENDERS (7): Rachel Buehler (Atlanta Beat), Ali Krieger (FFC Frankfurt), Amy LePeilbet (Atlanta Beat), Heather Mitts (out of contract), Kelley O'Hara (Atlanta Beat), Christie Rampone (out of contract), Becky Sauerbrunn (Sky Blue FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (out of contract), Tobin Heath (out of contract), Lori Lindsey (Western New York Flash), Carli Lloyd (Atlanta Beat), Heather O'Reilly (Boston Breakers), Megan Rapinoe (out of contract), Amy Rodriguez (out of contract)

FORWARDS (4): Lauren Cheney (out of contract), Sydney Leroux (Atlanta beat), Alex Morgan (Western New York Flash), Abby Wambach (out of contract)

That's 10 players out of 20 who don't currently have a club team, which is remarkable for a country that has dominated the sport internationally for decades.

Pia Sundhage, head coach of the United States Women's National Team, announced earlier today the 20-player roster that she will be bringing with her to Vancouver, B.C. for the CONCACAF Women's Qualifying Tournament. The two teams that make it to the final of the tournament, set to begin on January 19th, will qualify for the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

photo by Brad Smith/ISIphotos.com

The CONCACAF Olympic Women's qualifying tournament takes place later this month, and we now know who will be representing the U.S. women's national team in it.

Head coach Pia Sundhage has named a 20-player squad for the eight-team tournament in Vancouver, B.

Last week Brian Straus made it known that the USWNT got off too light. He said that if the women didn't choke in the World Cup final, well, then they "folded":

In the aftermath of the U.S. women's national team's heartbreaking penalty kick shootout loss to Japan in the Women's World Cup final, usage of the word "choke" was frowned upon.

The Boston Breakers have signed veteran U.S. National Team midfielder Heather O'Reilly, the club announced today. Terms of deal were not realesed.

O'Reilly, 26, is a three year WPS verteran having last played with Sky Blue FC. She usually features on the flank and has contributed four goals and 11 assists in her domestic career.

The U.S. WNT was right smack in the middle of training today when the final whistle blew at the 2011 NCAA College Cup, giving the Stanford Cardinal its first NCAA title in women's soccer. That didn't stop Stanford Alumni and WNT regulars Kelley O'Hara and Rachel Buehler from hearing the score right away and sharing high fives and a big hug.

Breakers' midfielders Meghan Klingenberg and Keelin Winters were among 31 players called into U.S. Women's National Team camp by head coach Pia Sundhage on Wednesday. The camp will run from Dec. 3-20, and will take place at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Klingenberg started in 10 games for the Breakers in 2011 after the team acquired her from the now-defunct magicJack squad on June 1.

In what was an historic year for U.S. Women's Soccer, the Americans finished at 13-3-4 while scoring 41 goals and allowing 17.
The U.S. team started and finished the year ranked #1 in the world.
Abby Wambach led the USA in scoring (surprise!) with eight goals and four assists, but Carli Lloyd (6 goals) and Lauren Cheney (5) also had quality goal scoring years.

After a two-week training camp that featured 30 players, U.S. WNT head coach Pia Sundhage has named the 18 players that will suit up against Sweden on Sat., Nov. 19 at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. and fans can watch live via a webstream on ussoccer.com and also follow along on ussoccer.

After a first chilly day in Phoenix/Scottsdale for the U.S. WNT, the weather has been perfect for the "hit-the-ground-running" training camp as the team prepares for Olympic Qualifying being held in Vancouver, B.C. in January.
Despite the long layoff, the players have looked fit and sharp and there will be plenty of competition for the 18 rosters spots for the Sweden game on Nov.

On Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m., two days before the USA faces Sweden at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the U.S. WNT will hold its second bar event of the year after a successful Handshake Contest judged by Lori Lindsey and Megan Rapinoe in Portland, Oregon at Kells back in September.
Here in Phoenix, U.

Six players from the U.S. Women's National Team joined First Lady Michelle Obama in hosting a Let's Move! clinic today on the South Lawn of the White House. The players ran a group of kids through some soccer skills emphasizing the importance of physical activity.
Rachel and Becky explain a drill to First Lady Michelle Obama

The six players, all members of the the U.

Last year D.C. United and Washington Freedom players helped raise awareness of the Let's Move campaign in Washington, D.C.
South Lawn Series Continues at White House | Oct. 13, 2010
The White House will be teaming up with professional soccer players again as Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) has announced six players will join First Lady Michelle Obama in hosting a Let's Move!

File this anecdote in the "It's a small world" folder...
Before the U.S. WNT came together for the two-game "Celebration Series" against Canada, the players had a short time off after the end of the WPS season.
All of the players did what athletes do on breaks, spreading out to all corners of the country to get some much need R&R, going back home, or to see friends and love ones.

If you watched Hope Solo on "Dancing with the Stars" last night and you weren't alone (and if you didn't ABC.com is streaming all of last night's episode). Last night her teammates tuned into the show from the hotel up in Portland. ussoccer.com followed Amy LePeilbet, Rachel Buehler and Carli Lloyd during the high drama of DWTS:
And make sure you tune in tonight to see who is the first to leave this season of Dancing with the Stars.

CAMRBIDGE, Mass. With their playoff hopes on the line, the Breakers got two goals from Lauren Cheney as their 2-0 victory over Sky Blue FC earned them a trip to the WPS postseason on the final day of the regular season.

Cheney, who only recently came back from an ankle injury she suffered earlier this summer, scored in the 1st and 18th minutes while Alyssa Naeher made seven saves on the night to help steer Boston to its second consecutive WPS playoff appearance.

It is always sad when a World Cup ends. No more matches at all hours of the day, no more constant media coverage, no more excitement with new heros daily emerging from obscurity. This year's 2011 Women's World Cup was as entertaining an affair as we have seen from this (or any other tournament) in quite some time.

United States Drops Heartbreaker to Japan in Final

Writer Jerrod Roh has provided coverage, analysis, and opinion for the 2011 Women's World Cup for IMSoccer News. He has attended the last 3 men's World Cups in South Korea, Germany, and South Africa as well as the 2003 Women's World Cup in the U.

United States Drops Heartbreaker to Japan in Final

Writer Jerrod Roh has provided coverage, analysis, and opinion for the 2011 Women's World Cup for IMSoccer News. He has attended the last 3 men's World Cups in South Korea, Germany, and South Africa as well as the 2003 Women's World Cup in the U.

The more thinks of this match the more admiration one has for the Nadeshiko. There are fewer bigger goals in history men or women than the one Homare Sawa pulled off in the 116th minute of extra time. The US did everything humanly possibly to win this match but for those who know better this can be such a cruel, cruel game.

Japan turned the narrative tables: This time it was not the USWNT winning against the run of play. They attacked relentlessly for much of the match, and came awfully close to scoring over and over again. Japan forced the USWNT to bring the game to them. Every now and again, they let up their breaks.

The United States twice gave away leads, and series of poor penalty takes opened the door for Japan as they captured the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.

The match was dominated for large portions by the United States. The first twenty minutes saw the Americans squander at least 5 quality chances inside the area, only to miss target.

The Women's National Team has returned to the United States and made their first stop in New York City. They received a very welcome homecoming, and fans greeted the team as they arrived in Times Square.
Although the tournament is all wrapped up, the team is busy visiting your favorite news and entertainment shows to talk about their experience at the Women's World Cup in Germany.

Hope Solo of course gets the most attention in these parts of the ladies on the United States Women's World Cup squad. Some of that is due to her growing up in our state and playing for the Huskies, it is also because she's quite good. The other most recognizable name for Sounders fans that have only casually watched the games is Alex Morgan.

13 July 2011. Mooenchengladbach, Germany. Steady drizzle. Pitch: very good.
Three perfect touches: Lloyd's backheel down the line to Heather O'Reilly, whose cross behind the French back line and the goalkeeper allowed Cheney to come in and deftly steer the ball inside the far post. The finish was particularly high-quality as Cheney was nearside of the near post when she made contact with the ball.

The U.S. women's national team is a game away from reaching the final of the Women's World Cup for the first time since winning it all in 1999.

After their breathtaking, come-from-behind victory over Brazil in the quarterfinals, the U.S. women face France in a semifinal match in Moenchengladbach, Germany (12 p.

One has to wonder how the remaining four teams in the Women's World Cup can top the quarterfinal games we saw last weekend. Three of the four quarterfinals needed more than 90 minutes to be decided. Two went to PKs. We saw the defending champs and host nation eliminated, the sport's best player was eliminated, we had last minute goals to send games to overtime.

USWNT WORLD CUP INJURY FACTS

What percent of the US Women's National Team 2011 FIFA World Cup squad have torn their ACL's and come back after surgery and rehab?

28.5%

Of the 21 players on the US World Cup roster, 6 players have torn their ACL in their pro or college career.

Abby Wambach and Hope SoloOK, you've won me over United States Women's National Team (#USWNT as we say in the Twitterverse). I got sucked into that game yesterday and I enjoyed it; why is this starting to sound like some kind of Alcoholics Anonymous initiation rite?
I admit I was late, forgive me, but I did catch up quickly after halftime.

Rare is the soccer event involving a U.S. team that our sports nation is yakking about – but that I am not writing about. So it is with the Women's World Cup, which I am watching as an interested observer, but not necessarily as a journalist.

It's a strange place. So many casual fans know as much or more about Pia Sundhage and Co.

Abby Wombach scored in the dying moments. It was almost as though a script was written to bring women's soccer and the U.S. Women's National Team back into the limelight. If there was such a script, then the team played out there roles perfectly.
It was in dramatic fashion that the United States took the lead in the second minute of the match, only to find themselves down a player and two goals into the last minute of the second overtime.