U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM UPDATE FUTURE WOMEN'S STARS GET CALL-UP FOR AUSTRALIA CUP

Women's National Team departed for Australia yesterday with a young and talented squad consisting mostly of college stars to the Australia Cup, being played in Melbourne and Adelaide from Jan. 7-13, 2000. The Americans will face the Czech Republic (Jan. 7), Sweden (Jan. 10) and Australia (Jan. 13). The 18-player pool consists of seven players who will be looking for their first cap in the three game tournament and just one player on the roster has scored a goal in a
full international match, that being Aly Wagner. Twelve members of the roster played college soccer last season, three are high school seniors poised to enter college next fall and three are out of college. The U.S. team is not without international experience as almost all the young players have seen significant action with the U.S. Under-21 and Under-18 National Teams. Topping the
roster is college sensation Mandy Clemens from Santa Clara University, who swept bothpost-season player of the year awards, winning the Missouri Athletic Club Player of the Year and the Hermann Trophy. With a new head coach not yet named after the resignation of Tony DiCicco, Women's World Cup assistant coaches Lauren Gregg and Jay Hoffman will guide the team in the Australia Cup. The following is a look at the U.S. roster:

Goalkeepers - Lakeysia Beene (Gold River, Calif.), Siri Mullinix (Greensboro, N.C.);
Defenders - Thori Bryan (Joppatowne, Md.), Michelle French (Kent, Wash.),
Kelly Lindsey (Omaha, Neb.), Nandi Pryce (Casselberry, Fla.), Danielle Slaton (San Jose, Calif.); Midfielders - Heather Aldama (Redlands, Calif.), Aleisha Cramer (Lakewood, CO),
Jenny Mascaro (Baton Rouge, La.), Mary Frances Monroe (Tariffville, Ct.),
Jenny Nikki Serlenga (San Diego, Calif.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.), Veronica Zepeda (Riverside, Calif.);  Forwards - Susan Bush (Houston, Tex.), Mandy Clemens (San Diego, Calif.),Sherrill Kester (High Point, N.C.) Christie Welsh (Massapeaqua Park, NY).

FIRST DOMESTIC MATCH OF 2000 PITS WORLD CHAMPS AGAINST ARCH RIVALS:

The U.S. Women's National Team will open its 2000 domestic campaign on Sunday, Feb. 6, with a match against long-time rival Norway at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. The game between the only two countries to ever win a Women's World Cup will kick-off at 2 p.m. ET and be broadcast live on ESPN. The USA-Norway game will be followed at 4:30 p.m. by the annual Women's College All-Star Match, featuring the top seniors from the 1999 season.  The USA last played at Lockhart Stadium on Jan. 30, 1999, defeating Portugal, 6-0, a match in which Michelle Akers scored the 100th international goal of her career.

Courtesy US Soccer