US head coach Pia Sundhage has named the 18 players that will compete in this year's Olympics, plus four alternates. She chose the final roster after the USA defeated Canada at the Peace Queen Cup.

The four alternates named were goalkeeper Briana Scurry, defender Ali Krieger, midfielder Kacey White, and forward Lauren Cheney.

Nine of the players on the roster were part of the team that won the gold in Athens, Greece four years ago. Two of them are playing in their third Olympics, team captains Christie Rampone and Kate Markgraf. The other seven players who played n Athens are Heather Mitts, Shannon Boxx, Angela Hucles, Aly Wagner, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, and Abby Wambach.

Six players are playing in their second world championshi with the first being the 2007 World Cup in China. They are Nicole Barnhart, Hope Solo, Lori Chalupny, Stephanie Cox, Carli Lloyd, and Natasha Kai, who is also the first Hawaiian to make an Olympic women's soccer team.

The last three players on the roster are the younger players who are still in college, and are playing in their first-ever world championship. They are defender Rachel Buehler, midfielder Tobin Heath, and forward Amy Rodriguez.

Two players made late runs to earn their spot on the roster. Aly Wagner came back after recovering from a in double-hernia surgery January. She has only played in four games, all at the Peace Queen Cup. Stephanie Cox was released at the end of the team's training camp in June, but after Cat Whitehill tore her ACL in South Korea, she was called up again to join the team, and played well at the Peace Queen Cup.

Heather Mitts also came back from a torn ACL. She was injured in May 2007 in a game against Canada. She came back in late April for the three-game domestic tour.

All 22 players will travel to Europe for two games, against Norway on July 2, and Sweden on July 5. Only the 18 players on the roster will play in the two Olympic send-off matches against Brazil, July 13 at Dick's Sporting Goods Stadium in Commerce City, CO and July 16 at Torero Stadium in San Diego, CA, before heading over to China.

US Women's Olympic Soccer Team:

Goalkeepers (2): Nicole Barnhart, Hope Solo

Defenders (6): Rachel Buehler, Lori Chalupny, Stephanie Cox, Kate Markgraf, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone

Midfielders (7): Shannon Boxx, Tobin Heath, Angela Hucles, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Aly Wagner

Forwards (3): Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach

The US Women left the States on June 8 and arrived in Seoul, North Korea on June 9 after a 12-hour flight, giving defender Heather Mitts her shortest birthday ever- 3 hours long. The team got to training the next morning to get over the jet lag.

On June 10, during training, defender Cat Whitehill tore the anterior cruciate ligament on her left knee. She flew back to the US, and Stephanie Cox flew to North Korea to take her spot. Cat Whitehill will miss the Olympics, along with Leslie Osborne, who also tore her ACL.

The US got their first win against Australia, who always fights a full 90-minutes and gives the US a good challenge. Kai scored the first goal in the 35th minute. Heather O'Reilly ran down the flank, creating space to pass the ball into the box. Kai slipped and poked the ball into the lower corner of the goal, giving the USA the lead.

Australia tied the game in the 57th minute when Amy Chapman chipped in a cross from the right wing into a group of US defenders, but Heather Garriock got a foot on it, giving the ball a weird spin, past Hope Solo, into the lower right corner.

The US got back on the board in the 77th minute when halftime substitute Aly Wagner took a corner kick from the left side. Abby Wambach jumped higher than the two Australians defending her with her back to the goal, and scored with the back of her head. This was Wambach's 96th goal.

The US will have one day of rest, which really won't be a day of rest. The few players that didn't play will hit the field for about an our, while those who did play will have a pool workout.

The US plays Brazil, who beat Italy 2-1, in the second group match on June 17 at 1 am ET, before facing Italy on the final group match.

The WNT ended their 2-week training camp on Monday, June 2. Head coach Pia Sundhage has chosen a 22-player roster that will travel to Seoul, South Korea next weekend. This was the final chance for some players to make an impact on the coaching staff, and have a chance to play at the Olympics, as 18 players will be chosen from the Peace Queen Cup roster.

Group A is made up of South Korea, New Zealand, Canada, and Argentina. Group B includes USA, Italy, Brazil, and Australia.

The US will play Australia on June 15, Brazil on June 17, and Italy on June 19.

The championship game will be played on June 21 between the first-place teams of each group.

Pia Sundhage chose a roster made up of 3 goalkeepers, defenders, 8 midfielder, and 4 forwards.

Goalkeepers: Hope Solo, Nicole Barnhart, Briana Scurry

Defenders: Christie Rampone, Kate Markgraf, Cat Whitehill, Heather Mitts, Lori Chalupny, Rachel Buehler

Midfielders: Aly Wagner, Angela Hucles, Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Tobin Heath, Kacey White

Forwards: Abby Wambach, Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, Lauren Cheney

This is the second edition of the tournament, in which the US defeated Canada, 1-0, in the first-ever Peace Queen Cup.

 

The US Women are back to training camp to prepare for the Peace Queen Cup in South Korea. This is the last tournament they will participate in before heading to China for the 2008 Olympics.

The Women's Olympic Football Tournament Draw was held on April 20. The twelve teams that will compete in the Olympics were placed in their groups: Group E consists of China (host), Sweden, Argentina, and Canada; Group F is made up of Korea DPR, Nigeria, two-time world champion Germany, and Brazil who placed second at the 2007 Women's World Cup; and the finally Group G which includes Norway, USA, Japan, and New Zealand.

The USA will face Norway first on group play, on August 6. Then they will play against Japan on August 9, and finally New Zealand on August 12.

The team that finishes first on their group will then move on to the quarter finals, along with the two best third-place teams.

In order for the US WNT to win a medal, they will have to advance to the final four.

The US has won two Olympic Gold Medals since the first Women's Soccer Olympic tournament in 1996. They defeated Norway in sudden death overtime at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. They also won at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, defeating Brazil. The US also won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia after losing to Norway on the championship game in overtime with a score of 2-3 .