May 8, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Three former Santa Clara standouts were included on the United States Women's National Team's 18-player roster for the it's May 12 friendly against Canada in Frisco, Texas. Marian Dalmy, Leslie Osborne, and Aly Wagner will once again team up on the American side, which will wear special pink jerseys to support and promote breast cancer awareness.
The match will mark the 39th meeting between the USA and Canada, tying Norway for the most games played against any opponent in U.S. Women's National Team history. The match will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel at 6:30 p.m. local / 7:30 p.m. ET, and fans can also follow along live on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker. Both teams are preparing for the upcoming Women's World Cup to be staged from Sept. 10-30 in five Chinese cities.
In a game that will be played on the day before Mother's Day, the U.S. Women's National Team will wear special pink jerseys to support and promote breast cancer awareness, marking the first-time the U.S. Women's National Team has ever worn a special edition jersey.
The USA and Canada met three times in 2006 with the USA winning all three games, two in tournament finals, but all in tightly contested matches. The USA won 2-0 on July 30 in Cary, N.C., downed Canada, 1-0, on Nov. 4 in the Peace Queen Cup Final in Seoul, South Korea, and then beat the Maple Leafs, 2-1, in the CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup Final at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., on Nov. 26 in the final match of the year.
Ryan, who hails from Dallas where he was an All-American at SMU in 1978 and also coached the Mustang women's soccer team from 1996-1999, will bring all of his top players to the match. The U.S. roster features team captain Kristine Lilly and her 121 career goals, defensive midfielder Shannon Boxx, forward Abby Wambach and midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored four goals in four games last March at the 2007 Algarve Cup to help the USA to the title.
Just seven of the 18 players on the roster have previous experience in Women's World Cup tournaments and the rising young talent of the U.S. team will be on display, including forwards Lindsay Tarpley, Heather O'Reilly and Natasha Kai, midfielders Lori Chalupny and Leslie Osborne and defenders Stephanie Lopez and Marian Dalmy, who earned her first-ever senior team cap on April 14 against Mexico.
Two-time Women's World Cup veteran Kate Markgraf (156 caps) returns to the roster after missing the Algarve Cup and the Mexico match due to injuries, further strengthening an experienced back line that also features Christie Rampone (161), Cat Whitehill (107) and Heather Mitts (70).
This will be the seventh match for the U.S. women in Texas, amazingly all in different venues, but the first since October of 2004 when the Americans defeated Ireland, 5-0, at Reliant Stadium in Houston as Abby Wambach tied a U.S. record with five goals, all in the second half.
The U.S. women haven't played in the Dallas area since 2003 when they defeated Mexico, 3-1, at the Cotton Bowl. This will be the first trip for the U.S. women to Pizza Hut Park, home to FC Dallas of Major League Soccer.
Canada is ranked 10th in the most recent FIFA world rankings and, under head coach Even Pellerud, has shown its ability to compete with any team in the world. Canada is coming off a two-game trip to China where they lost both matches to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup hosts, but played 17 games in 2006 and lost just three, all to the USA. Canada's best player is two-time Hermann Trophy award winner Christine Sinclair from the University of Portland, who led the Pilots to the NCAA championship in 2005 with an amazing 39 goals.
