CHICAGO - U.S. Women's National Team head coach Tom Sermanni named a 29-player on Tuesday for a training camp ahead of the squad's first two matches of 2013 -- both against Scotland -- on Feb. 9 in Jacksonville, Florida, and Feb. 13 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Sermanni, who was appointed the new head coach at the end of October, will be coaching in his first event with the U.S. team. He named 17 of the 18 players who helped the USA to the Olympic gold medal in London last summer, as well as numerous players with previous national team experience and a handful of young talented players.
"I'm excited to get out on the field and work with the team for the first time," said Sermanni. "For this particular part of the cycle, it's important to look at the established players in the squad but also the up-and-coming players and the ones who we think have the potential to really fight for positions on the team. For me, this period is really about observation and evaluation of some players who I know very well, some I've seen play only a bit and some who I will be seeing in a competitive environment for the first time."
Forwards Abby Wambach, the 2012 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, and Alex Morgan, the 2012 U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year, are coming off a stellar year in which they combined for 55 goals, tying a 21-year-old U.S. record for most goals by two players in a calendar year.
Looking to the next generation, Sermanni named two of the stars of the U.S. team that won the 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Japan last summer. Sermanni has given first full national team call-ups to University of North Carolina defender Crystal Dunn, who played a dominating tournament at right back and assisted on the winning goal in the 1-0 World Cup Final victory against Germany, and to Santa Clara University defender Julie Johnston, the U.S. captain and winner of the Bronze Ball as the third-best player in the tournament, a rare achievement for a defender.
The youngest player called up is 17-year-old goalkeeper Jane Campbell, who was the starter for the U.S. at the 2012 Under-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan. Campbell, who allowed just one goal in three matches at the World Cup and shut out eventual champion France, becomes the youngest goalkeeper called into the full national team since an 18-year-old Hope Solo participated in her first training camp in 1999.
U.S. Women's National Team Training Camp Roster
GOALKEEPERS: Nicole Barnhart (FC Kansas City), Jane Campbell (Concorde Fire South), Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Jill Loyden (Sky Blue FC), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS: Rachel Buehler (Portland Thorns FC), Crystal Dunn (North Carolina), Whitney Engen (Liverpool FC/England), Julie Johnston (Santa Clara), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers), Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City)
MIDFIELDERS: Yael Averbuch (Göteborg FC/Sweden), Shannon Boxx (Chicago Red Stars), Lauren Cheney (FC Kansas City), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lori Lindsey (Washington Spirit), Carli Lloyd (Western NY Flash), Kristie Mewis (FC Kansas City), Heather O'Reilly (Boston Breakers), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC), Keelin Winters (Chicago Red Stars)
FORWARDS: Sydney Leroux (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press (Tyresö FF/Sweden), Amy Rodriguez (Seattle Reign FC), Abby Wambach (Western NY Flash)
