July 1, 2003
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Five of the 25 players U.S. Women's National Team head coach April Heinrichs named to the U.S. National Team roster that will train in New Orleans, La., in preparation to face South American champion Brazil on Sunday, July 13 are current or former Broncos. Rising junior Leslie Osborne received her first call-up to the national team, while Kylie Bivens, Brandi Chastain, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner have a combined 258 caps between them.
The training and match will be the last action for the USA before Heinrichs chooses the 2003 Women's World Cup Team in mid-August. The match kicks off at 3 p.m. CT and will be televised live on ESPN.
Advance tickets ranging from $12 to $40 are on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets (including Tower Records and Dillard's), by phone at 504-522-5555, and online at www.ussoccer.com. A limited number of On-Field Seats, priced at $150, are also available. Information on special discounts for groups of 20 or more can be obtained by calling U.S. Soccer at 312-528-1290.
The match marks not only the first game in the state of Louisiana for the U.S. Women over the 18-year history of the program, but also the first-ever full international soccer match for a U.S. team in the state, and the area soccer fans will be treated to a great one. The U.S. roster will be loaded with 12 veterans of the 1999 Women's World Cup Championship Team, including the world's all-time leading scorer, Mia Hamm, and the world's all-time leader in international appearances, Kristine Lilly.
In addition, Heinrichs will bring some of the best young players in the world to New Orleans in defender Cat Reddick, the captain of the U.S. U-21 Women's National Team who has already amassed 33 caps at age 21, midfielder Aly Wagner, the first pick in the 2003 WUSA Draft, and 5-foot-10 striker Abby Wambach, the 2002 WUSA Rookie of the Year. Heinrichs has also called in three members of the USA's 2002 Under-19 Women's World Championship team in midfielders Lindsay Tarpley and Lori Chalupny, as well as midfielder Leslie Osborne, who is getting her first call-up.
Heinrichs has called in four talented goalkeepers -- Briana Scurry, LaKeysia Beene, Siri Mullinix and Jaime Pagliarulo -- as she and her staff continue the process of choosing from several of the best female net-minders in the world.
A little more than half of the U.S. roster will arrive in New Orleans on Monday, July 7, and begin training on Tuesday. Players from the San Diego Spirit, the Atlanta Beat, the Philadelphia Charge and the Washington Freedom (including Mia Hamm) all have mid-week WUSA matches on Wednesday, July 9, and will arrive in New Orleans on Thursday.
Brazil will also bring some of the world's best players to the Big Easy, including three WUSA players in Katia and Pretinha from the San Jose CyberRays, and Daniela from the San Diego Spirit. More than a half dozen players on the Brazilian roster played for their U-19 team that roared to the semifinals of the first-ever FIFA world championship for youth women last September, meaning that the Brazilians will also bring a fine mixture of youth and experience.
Brazil qualified for the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup by winning the South American Women's Championships last April in Peru. Brazil, which has played in both Olympic women's soccer tournaments, will be participating in its fourth Women's World Cup this year and has advanced to the semifinals in the last three world championships, falling to the USA in the last two.
In a 1999 Women's World Cup semifinal, the USA and Brazil played an historic encounter on July 4, 1999, at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, Calif. in front of 73,123 fans with the Americans prevailing, 2-0. The two teams met again in Canberra, Australia, in a 2000 Olympics semifinal as the U.S. won, 1-0, on a goal from Mia Hamm, which was the most recent meeting between the two teams. Brazil fell to China in a 1996 Olympic semifinal.
Following the Brazil match, Heinrichs will watch WUSA games for the remainder of the season before choosing the 20-player 2003 U.S. Women's World Cup team sometime in early to mid-August.
U.S. Women's National Team | |||||||
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Birthdate | Hometown | College/ Club | Caps/ Goals |
| 1 | Scurry, Briana | GK | 5'9" | 09/07/71 | Dayton, Minn. | UMass/Atlanta | 118/0 |
| 2 | Fair, Lorrie | M | 5'3" | 08/05/78 | Los Altos, Calif. | North Carolina/Philadelphia | 114/7 |
| 3 | Pearce, Christie | D | 5'6" | 06/24/75 | Pt. Pleasant, N.J. | Monmouth/New York | 99/4 |
| 4 | Reddick, Cat | D | 5'5" | 02/10/82 | Birmingham, Ala. | North Carolina/-- | 33/1 |
| 5 | Roberts, Tiffany | M | 5'3" | 05/05/77 | San Ramon, Calif. | North Carolina/Carolina | 98/7 |
| 6 | Chastain, Brandi | D | 5'7" | 07/21/68 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara/San Jose | 169/29 |
| 7 | Chalupny, Lori | M | 5'4" | 01/29/84 | St. Louis, Mo. | North Carolina/-- | 4/0 |
| 8 | Osborne, Leslie | M | 5'8" | 05/27/83 | Menomonee Falls, Wis. | Santa Clara/-- | 0/0 |
| 9 | Hamm, Mia | F | 5'5" | 03/17/72 | Chapel Hill, N.C. | North Carolina/Washington | 236/139 |
| 10 | Wagner, Aly | M | 5'5" | 08/10/80 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara/San Diego | 44/10 |
| 11 | Foudy, Julie | M | 5'6" | 1/23/71 | Mission Viejo, Calif. | Stanford/San Diego | 228/40 |
| 12 | Parlow, Cindy | F | 5'11" | 05/08/78 | Memphis, Tenn. | North Carolina/Atlanta | 125/61 |
| 13 | Lilly, Kristine | M | 5'4" | 07/22/71 | Wilton, Conn. | North Carolina/Boston | 252/91 |
| 14 | Fawcett, Joy | D | 5'6" | 02/08/68 | Huntington Beach, Calif. | California/San Diego | 213/26 |
| 15 | Sobrero, Kate | D | 5'7" | 08/23/76 | Bloomfield Hills, Mich. | Notre Dame/Boston | 94/0 |
| 16 | Milbrett, Tiffeny | F | 5'3" | 10/23/72 | Portland, Ore. | Portland/New York | 189/97 |
| 17 | Slaton, Danielle | D | 5'6" | 06/10/80 | San Jose, Calif. | Santa Clara/Carolina | 38/1 |
| 18 | Mullinix, Siri | GK | 5'8" | 05/22/78 | Greensboro, N.C. | North Carolina/Washington | 37/0 |
| 19 | Hucles, Angela | M | 5'7" | 07/05/78 | Virginia Beach, Va. | Virginia/Boston | 21/1 |
| 20 | Tarpley, Lindsay | F | 5'6" | 09/22/83 | Kalamazoo, Mich. | North Carolina/-- | 6/0 |
| 21 | Bryan, Thori | D | 5'8" | 04/17/74 | Joppatowne, Md. | N.C. State/San Jose | 64/1 |
| 22 | Wambach, Abby | F | 5'10" | 06/02/80 | Rochester, N.Y. | Florida/Washington | 11/5 |
| 23 | Bivens, Kylie | D | 5'5" | 10/24/78 | Upland, Calif. | Santa Clara/Atlanta | 7/0 |
| 24 | Beene, LaKeysia | GK | 5'8" | 03/09/78 | Gold River, Calif. | Notre Dame/San Jose | 18/0 |
| 28 | Pagliarulo, Jaime | GK | 5'7" | 07/20/76 | Hershey, Pa. | George Mason/San Diego | 3/0 |
Team Staff
Head Coach: April Heinrichs (Gainesville, Va.)
Assistant Coach: Bill Palladino (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Goalkeeper Coach: Phil Wheddon (Monroe, Ct.)
Sport Psychology Consultant: Dr. Colleen Hacker (Tacoma, Wash.)
General Manager: Nils Krumins (Chicago)
Team Administrator: Heather Walles (Chicago)
Medical Doctor: Dr. Chris Amann (Chicago)
Medical Trainer: Cody Malley (Apex, N.C.)
Julie O'Connell (Chicago)
Massage Therapists: Nestor Battung (Chicago)
Scott Street (Chicago)
Equipment Coordinator: James Armstrong (Chicago)
Logistics Coordinator: Ben Payne (Atlanta, Ga.)
Press Officer: Aaron Heifetz (San Diego, Calif.)
