http://www.wusa.com/press_room/343935.html 1 Scurry, Briana G 5-9 09/07/71 Dayton, Minn. UMass Atlanta 113 2 Fair, Lorrie M 5-3 08/05/78 Los Altos, Calif. UNC Philadelphia 111/7 3 Pearce, Christie D 5-6 06/24/75 Pt. Pleasant, N.J. Monmouth New York 94/4 4 Reddick, Cat D 5-5 02/10/82 Birmingham, Ala. UNC --- 26/1 5 Roberts, Tiffany M 5-3 05/05/77 San Ramon, Calif. UNC Carolina 94/7 6 Chastain, Brandi D 5-7 07/21/68 San Jose, Calif. Santa Clara San Jose 163/29 7 O'Reilly, Heather F 5-5 01/02/85 East Brunswick, N.J. --- PDA Torpedoes13/2 8 MacMillan, Shannon F 5-5 10/07/74 Escondido, Calif. Portland San Diego 149/52 9 Hamm, Mia F 5-5 03/17/72 Chapel Hill, N.C. UNC Washington 229/136 10 Wagner, Aly M 5-5 08/10/80 San Jose, Calif. Santa Clara San Diego 37/8 11 Foudy, Julie M 5-6 01/23/71 Mission Viejo, Calif. Stanford San Diego 221/39 12 Parlow, Cindy F 5-11 05/08/78 Memphis, Tenn. UNC Atlanta 120/57 13 Lilly, Kristine M 5-4 07/22/71 Wilton, Conn. UNC Boston 245/90 14 Fawcett, Joy D 5-6 02/08/68 Huntington Beach, Calif. California San Diego 207/26 15 Sobrero, Kate D 5-7 08/23/76 Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Notre Dame Boston 87/0 16 Milbrett, Tiffeny F 5-3 10/23/72 Portland, Ore. Portland New York 185/96 17 Hucles, Angela M 5-7 07/05/78 Virginia Beach, Va. Virginia Boston 14/1 18 Mullinix, Siri G 5-8 05/22/78 Greensboro, N.C. UNC Washington 35 19 Slaton, Danielle D 5-6 06/10/80 San Jose, Calif. Santa Clara Carolina 35/1 20 Tarpley, Lindsay F 5-6 09/22/83 Kalamazoo, Mich. UNC --- 4/0
i still fail to comprehend why wambach isn't selected. if it's for fear of her being called for fouls all the time, heinrichs needs to get over that because she can absolutely dominate on the field with her size.
i totally agree, the biggest problem this team is having right now is someone that will mix it up and put the ball in the back of the net, something that abby does really well. so what the hell is the deal? i am surprised that she is not included and the high school'er continues to be included...let's play for now and not 5 years down the road. <ps. i am glad to see miss tarpley included once again!>
Veteran roster I think that because of the '4 games in 7 days,' the idea is to weed out any veterans that cannot handle the rigorous schedule and the youth that is still too young. It's also to see who plays well together and understands the "team" concept. There is the possibility that the upcoming friendlies rosters will be composed mostly of the younger players to solidify which of the youth will be travelling with the team to China. From the Algarve comes the veteran base of the WC team, the friendlies will decide the youthful speed and attack. If fouling was an issue, then Parlow would not be going either. (though her play seems more subdued lately too).
abby vs oreilly With regard to the Algarve roster, I'm sort of tired of hearing the "where's wambach why heather" line, so hear me out: No doubt Abby put forth an outstanding performance in her WUSA games, but NT games are what are important here I'd urge everyone to look at oreilly's play in some of the games that haven't been broadcast on ESPN: USA v Norway -China Cup- oreilly puts the nail in the coffin with a second half goal in the 3-1 win China Cup- USA has no goals scored against with oreilly on the pitch, partially because of her speed and aggressive attack on offense USA v Italy- Nike cup- O'Reilly with goal + assist In short, over the past year, I haven't seen any play with the NT on the part of Wambach to earn her a spot over oreilly . To say that heather needs more experience with the vets is a valid criticism, but I still haven't seen anything by A.W. to sway me. O'Reilly brings in speed and an aggressive attack style as a 2nd half sub which can help the US maintain a lead or at least shake things up. I'd argue that April is thinking about the upcoming WC and not 5 years from now as critics may argue
Re: abby vs oreilly You obviously missed the Scotland match in which Abby had a hat trick and an assist, and combined with Mia Hamm in a dominant offensive display. I'm sure some other Wambach fan can point out her other USA performances. I don't keep tabs on specifics, but her game vs. Scotland and her connection with Mia was plenty memorable for me. I definitely like Wambach over O'Reilly at this point in time.
Why O'Reilly over Wambach ? Obviously Abby Wambach is kind of player who has no room for improvement while on the other hand Heather O'Reilly is the opposite, I think thats how the way April see it from the these two players.
youth vs. vets Perhaps some of you are aligning with former NT'ers over more inexperienced players because you view Heinrichs as trying to toss them aside like yesterday's trash. Wambach, Welsh (reportedly bothered by injuries), and Serlenga are just a few that have been mentioned on these threads lately. But what about Heinrichs bringing back Christie Pierce (out a couple years), Kate Sobrero(off and on) , and Tiffany Roberts (out for a couple years)? Mia Hamm had a HUGE scoring slump over a year ago, and she wasn't put out to pasture, even when fans said she was through. I don't think this is a black and white issue of favoring young blood over aging veterans.
O'reilly is mobile and dynamic, much like Millie. Wambach doesn't finish all of her post runs. If I can notice that from watching game tapes, I'm sure the coach has caught it too.
I would like to see this line up: ...........Scurry Sobrero....Fawcett...Chastain....Slaton .................Foudy ........Wagner..................Lilly ..................Mia ........Parlow .....................Milbrett I would rather have Wambach make the team instead of Roberts. But with the short schedule, I understand the US needs cover in the very physical dmf position. O'Reilly with her recent performances, fully deserves to be on this team. I think the only reason why she is not starting is because of the great player like Lilly still plays as well as anybody. She stretches defenses which gives Mia and Wagner more room to operate. I'm still not convinced Cat Riddick belongs on this team. I'm glad Tarpley made the team. It's her last chance to show she belongs to be picked for the WC roster. I would pick her over Roberts and Hucles.