Feb. 20, 2008
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Former Santa Clara women's soccer standout Leslie Osborne ('04) was among the 20 players to named to the U.S. Women's National Team roster for the 2008 Algarve Cup it was announced Wednesday by head coach Pia Sundhage. The tournament will be held from March 5-12 in southern Portugal.
Osborne is one of 15 players that were on the USA's 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Team. She made her World Cup debut on Sept. 14 as she helped the USA to a 2-0 victory over Sweden. Osborne provided excellent coverage of Swedish star Victoria Svensson, while strongly winning numerous head balls for the U.S. Osborne also started and saw action in all 90 minutes of the USA's third place match against Norway, helping the Americans to a 4-1 triumph. The Brookfield, Wis., native has been a mainstay on the national team since her senior-team debut in 2003. As an undergrad at Santa Clara, Osborne was a two-time All-American and recipient of the Honda Award in 2004. She is also a two-time WCC Player of the Year, and in 2004 was named the WCC Defender of the year as well.
The U.S. team, which has been placed into Group B, will open play on March 5 against China, face Norway on March 7 and finish the first round against Italy on March 10. The USA will use this tournament as final preparation for the 2008 CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying, which will be held April 2-13 in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Fans can follow the USA's intense schedule of four games in eight days online via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and watch exclusive highlights on ussoccer.com's all-access video.