USA Olympic Women's Soccer Team: Roster, Complete Schedule & More

Michael Phelps versus Ryan Lochte. Usain Bolt versus Yohan Blake. Team USA basketball versus a bunch of countries they really should beat.

The above are three of the most talked-about storylines heading into the 2012 London Olympics. And I'm excited to see all three play out. But I'm just as excited to see if the U.S. women's national team can avenge its loss to Japan in the 2011 World Cup final and win gold this summer.

With that in mind, I've compiled all of the information you will need to be fully informed and ready to support the U.S. women at this year's women's soccer tournament. From the roster and schedule, to the player you need to carefully watch starting this week, I've got you covered.

Roster

Player	Position
Solo, Hope	GK
Mitts, Heather	D
Rampone, Christie	D
Sauerbrunn, Becky	D
O'Hara, Kelley	D
LePeilbet, Amy	D
Boxx, Shannon	M
Rodriguez, Amy	F
O'Reilly, Heather	M
Lloyd, Carli	M
Leroux, Sydney	F
Cheney, Lauren	M
Morgan, Alex	F
Wambach, Abby	F
Rapinoe, Megan	M
Buehler, Rachel	D
Heath, Tobin	M
Barnhart, Nicole	GK

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time	Watch
July 25, 2012	France	12 p.m. ET	NBC Sports Network, NBC Olympic Soccer Channel
July 28, 2012	Columbia	12 p.m. ET	NBC Sports Network, NBC Olympic Soccer Channel
July 31, 2012	Korea DPR	12:15 p.m. ET	NBC Sports Network, NBC Olympic Soccer Channel

The women's quarterfinals will be played on August 3, the semifinals on August 6 and the bronze and gold-medal games on August 9. For the full tournament schedule, be sure to check out NBCOlympics.com.

Player to Watch: Alex Morgan

The brightest young star of the U.S. national team, Morgan has been on an absolute tear in 2012, with 17 goals this year and 27 total in her 42 international appearances.

The 23-year-old very quickly went from being the future face of women's soccer in America to the present face. Or foot, if you prefer.

Between her elite speed and clinical finishing around goal, Morgan is thrilling to watch and presents a nice pairing with fellow forward Abby Wambach, one of the most dangerous women in the world in the air.

Prediction

Though the United States' opening game against France will be a true challenge, the U.S. should have no trouble advancing past the group stage. They are one of the tournament's favorites, after all.

But alongside France, Japan, Brazil and even Sweden should present major challenges for the United States depending upon which countries they encounter after the group stages. Hope Solo, Lauren Cheney, Megan Rapinoe, Wambach and Morgan may have gold on the mind, but the road to glory won't be easy.

Still, I believe the team's loss in the World Cup final to Japan will motivate this team, and I think a gold medal is in their future. It won't be easy, but the U.S. women will stand atop the podium when this tournament comes to a close.

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