Women's Soccer Trio Called into U.S. U-21 Training Camp

Women's Soccer Trio Called into U.S. U-21 Training Camp

June 18, 2001

SAN DIEGO - Santa Clara head coach and U.S. Under-21 Women's National Team leader Jerry Smith began a week-long training camp with 24 players on June 14 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in San Diego as he finalizes preparations for the 2001 Nordic Cup.

Bronco senior Anna Kraus, junior Aly Wagner and sophomore Veronica Zepeda are among the 24-player pool. All three were a part of 2000 squad that took gold while Wagner and Zepeda also participated in the 1999 event.

Without a FIFA-sanctioned tournament for this age group, the annual Nordic Cup tournament serves as the top competition in the world for U-21 women. It will be contested this summer in Norway at the end of July. This will be Smith's first Nordic Cup at the helm of the U-21's after taking over for Jillian Ellis last March.

The USA has won three out of the last four Nordic Cup tournaments, last year winning 1-0 in a classic final against Germany in Germany as Jena Kluegel scored the winning goal. Following is the training camp roster:

Goalkeepers: Emily Oleksiuk (Penn State), Liz Wagner (Notre Dame)

Defenders: Danielle Borgman (North Carolina), Anna Kraus (Santa Clara), Ally Marquand (Stanford), Lauren Orlandos (Portland), Vanessa Pruzinsky (Notre Dame), Catherine Reddick (North Carolina), Casey Zimney (Connecticut)

Midfielders: Betsy Barr (Portland), Aleisha Cramer (BYU), Jena Kluegel (North Carolina), Lori Lindsey (Virginia), Erin Misaki (Portland), Mary-Frances Monroe (UCLA), Jill Oakes (Harvard-Westlake), Aly Wagner (Santa Clara)

Forwards: Katie Barnes (West Virginia), Susan Bush (North Carolina), Alyssa Ramsey (North Carolina),Stephanie Rigamat (UCLA), Abby Wambach(Florida), Christie Welsh (Penn State), Veronica Zepeda (Santa Clara).