Four Breakers Called Up for U.S. National Team Matches vs. Japan

Todd CivinMay 6, 2009

The following is excerpted from a press release by the Boston Breakers. The Breakers are the Boston entry in the new Women's Professional Soccer League. Photo above shows Angela Hucles, Breakers and US National player.

Westwood, Mass. (May 6, 2009) – Four Boston Breakers are among the 21 players called up to the U.S. Women’s National Team by head coach Pia Sundhage, it was announced this afternoon by U.S. Soccer. The team will face Japan in a pair of matches, May 20 in Frisco, Texas and again on May 23 in Sandy, Utah.

The four Breakers, a total which matches the Chicago Red Stars for the WPS team with the most call-ups, are forward Amy Rodriguez, midfielder Angela Hucles and defenders Amy LePeilbet and Heather Mitts. None of the four will miss any matches with Boston, and will join the national team following the Breakers home match against the Washington Freedom on May 17.

Rodriguez, Hucles and Mitts have all been mainstays with the national team in recent times and were each a part of the gold medal-winning squad which defeated Brazil last summer in the final of the Beijing Olympics. For LePeilbet, this is her first time back with the team since 2006.

Since the Olympic triumph, both Hucles and Mitts have hit the 100 cap (appearance) milestone, becoming the 24th and 25th Americans, respectively, to do so. Hucles earned her 100th cap against the Korea Republic on Nov. 8, while Mitts reached the century mark in the previous U.S. match against Sweden in the final of the Algarve Cup on March 11.

Rodriguez, who had the assist on the game-winning goal in the USA’s 1-0 win over Brazil in the Olympic final, has scored six times in 35 international matches. LePeilbet has earned 23 caps with the national team from 2004-06.

These will be the first-ever international games for the U.S. during the WPS season and the first domestic matches of 2009 for a U.S. team which is in very early preparations for qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. Seventeen of the 21 players on the roster are currently playing in WPS, and Sundhage also named four collegiate players.

The Boston Breakers are one of seven Women’s Professional Soccer franchises and opened play in April, 2009. The team plays its home games at Harvard Stadium and single-game tickets for all games, as well as group and season tickets are now on sale by calling 781-251-2100. For online orders, package details and a seating chart, visit www.bostonbreakers.com.

About Women's Professional Soccer (WPS)

The mission of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) is to be the premier women's soccer league in the world and the global standard by which women's professional sports are measured. The Inaugural Season kicked off on March 29 and runs through August 22, 2009, with WPS teams based in the Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey/New York, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. The league's eighth franchise, Philadelphia, will begin play next season with Atlanta expected to join as the ninth team in 2010, as well. For more information, visit www.womensprosoccer.com.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster vs. Japan
Frisco, Texas; May 20
Sandy, Utah; May 23

No. Players Pos. Ht. Birthdate Hometown Club/College Caps/Goals

Solo, Hope GK 5-9 07/30/81 Richland, Wash. St. Louis Athletica 82
   2 Mitts, Heather D 5-5 06/09/78 Cincinnati, Ohio Boston Breakers 100/2
   3 Rampone, Christie D 5-6 06/24/75 Point Pleasant, N.J. Sky Blue FC 215/4
   4 Buehler, Rachel D 5-5 08/26/85 Del Mar, Calif. FC Gold Pride 27/0
   5 Tarpley, Lindsay M 5-6 09/22/83 Kalamazoo, Mich. Chicago Red Stars 117/29
   6 LePeilbet, Amy D 5-6 03/12/82 Crystal Lake, Ill. Boston Breakers 23/0
   7 Boxx, Shannon M 5-8 06/29/77 Redondo Beach, Calif. Los Angeles Sol 114/19
   8 Rodriguez, Amy F 5-4 02/17/87 Lake Forest, Calif. Boston Breakers 35/6
   9 O’Reilly, Heather M 5-5 01/02/85 East Brunswick, N.J. Sky Blue FC 112/25
   10 Lloyd, Carli M 5-8 07/16/82 Delran, N.J. Chicago Red Stars 83/19
   11 Nogueira, Casey F 5-6 02/23/89 Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina 1/0
   12 Cheney, Lauren F 5-8 09/30/87 Indianapolis, Ind. UCLA 16/3
   13 Nairn, Christine M 5-5 09/25/90 Bowie, Md. Penn State 0/0
   14 Bock, Brittany D 5-7 04/11/87 Naperville, Ill. Los Angeles Sol 0/0
   15 Rapinoe, Megan M 5-7 07/05/85 Redding, Calif. Chicago Red Stars 8/3
   16 Hucles, Angela M 5-7 07/05/78 Virginia Beach, Va. Boston Breakers 106/13
   17 Chalupny, Lori D 5-4 01/29/84 St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis Athletica 89/8
   18 Barnhart, Nicole GK 5-10 10/10/81 Gilbertsville, Pa. FC Gold Pride 18
   19 Dalmy, Marian D 5-10 11/25/84 Lakewood, Colo. Chicago Red Stars 10/0
   20 Wambach, Abby F 5-11 06/02/80 Rochester, N.Y. Washington Freedom 127/99
   24 Davis, Kelsey GK 5-10 05/14/87 Thousand Oaks, Calif. Portland 0/0

Roster by Position

GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Kelsey Davis (Portland), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica)

DEFENDERS (7): Brittany Bock (Los Angeles Sol), Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis Athletica), Marian Dalmy (Chicago Red Stars), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Angela Hucles (Boston Breakers), Carli Lloyd (Chicago Red Stars), Christine Nairn (Penn State), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsay Tarpley (Chicago Red Stars)

FORWARDS (4): Lauren Cheney (UCLA), Casey Nogueira (North Carolina), Amy Rodriguez (Boston Breakers), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)

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