It's hard to know really. But with the Olympics comming up shortly Hope is probably in the best position to get the job since she's the most talented proven women's gk in the US right now. She's done everything in her power since her comments to apologize to the team. So she clearly wants the job. With the somewhat objective eye that Sundhage will posses, I just don't think Scurry will get the job. I understand why people would want to defend the woman (because of her past accomplishments) but she just wasn't up to par in the WWC or the games after, plus everyone knows she can't kick. Barnhart was the third goalie, but she lacks experience.

Sundhage is known to be very good with players and communication and inspiring her teams to reach their potential. In Boston she turned a talented team that had never made the playoffs into champions in a year-the first thing she did on that team was give captain Kristine Lilly a co-captain. So she's willing to assert authority, but at the same time get her players behind her- since Lilly said way before this that Sundhage is the best coach she's ever had.

So I do think she'll shake things up, but I don't think it would effect Solo unless she sucks it up at camp in January.

So it looks promising, but it's a case of wait and see. then

As usually you are correct and more succinct than me twmcat.

Ah - you obviously haven't seen the posts where I ramble on

Or - maybe you started reading them then went to sleep

I hope she wil bring back our dear Hope Solo
what do you guys think

i think here chances are fine now

I think Hope will be back , she is the best keeper in the world at the moment as it would be wrong to have her on the bench. I do think Lilly should be dropped as captain and from the starting line-up. What she did to have Hope dropped was disgusting and her performance at the w/c was slow , she wasn't on the ball at all. Lilly should now move over and the let the younger ones take over. Sundhage needs to be strong and do this but with their past I doubt it will happen. I'm hoping Scurry is dropped altogether and Barnhart given a chance as the number two.

I agree with Smithy for the most part. But no one will ask Lilly to step down as captain, they'll ask her to full out retire because being removed as captain would be seen as a huge insult that neither Lilly, Sundhage and especially the Fed would like to project to the public. She's very conspiciously said that she doesn't know if she's going to retire before the Olympics, it's gotten to the point that she might be wondering if with the new coaching situation she'll be welcomed back. I mean none of us actually know what really happened within the team to make it implode like it did, but we do know it imploded, who the "team leaders" were, and that the team seemed to consistently suffer from leadership on the field, if fans catch that there's no way Sundhage isn't very aware of the same thing. The same thing can be said about the Scurry situation, plus if you're being objective (which I'm not) I think you would see that both are past their prime.

The Fed has finally shown a willingness to listen to the fans: putting Solo on the Mexico roster, firing Ryan (A guy on an American board said he was one of the people who called to complain and apparently the guy at the Fed said that they were shocked at the amount of emails and phone calls received, and very aware of the board activity generated by the issue) so if Sundhage thinks some big named players need to retire the Fed will probably allow it now.

I wouldn't be suprised if Lilly and Scurry "retire" in January or even after the mini-camp Sundhage announced for December.

Below are comments from Sundhage during the Press Conference:

On whether she has any reservations about calling in goalkeeper Hope Solo:
“First of all, I haven’t met the team yet. I think coaching is about communication. Of course, we will respect each other. Hope is a good goalkeeper and we have to move on. It’s important that everybody feels that the team is important and you treat every individual with respect. If I could communicate, I’m good at that, and I think that will be no problem. You talk to people and be yourself and sort it out. Hope is a good goalkeeper and that’s a good start.”

On whether all the players, including the veteran players, have to prove themselves to her:
“This is about leadership and to treat everybody with respect. I don’t want to go into how exactly how I would treat them because I haven’t met any of them yet. Just give me some time and I will tell you what kind of leadership that will be. What is important for me is communication and to treat everyone with respect. That, I think, will solve any kind of problem.”

That seems pretty reasonable - let's see how it all works out

Looks like she's giving everyone a chance. Can't really complain at that.

Weipenguigumbi I totally agree with you , Scurry and Lilly are both past their prime but I will say Lilly can change a game but I don't want her starting every game. The young player's weren't learn anything on the bench. For Lilly to start on the bench then come on would be ok. Scurry get rid altogether.

Nothing new about the team but here's an interesting article from the NYTimes about a scary vacation a few of them took in Italy.


A vacation in Italy was about to come to an appropriate end, a trip to a soccer game between Roma and Cagliari. Leslie Osborne, Heather O’Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley, members of the United States women’s national team, were on a bus, and Rome’s Olympic Stadium was in view.

Instead of ending their post-World Cup trip watching a Serie A match, they found themselves facedown on the floor of the bus as irate fans pelted it with rocks on Nov. 11. That was the night a Lazio fan, on his way to a game in Milan, was shot and killed by a policeman at a highway rest stop.

“It was the most scared I’ve ever been,” Osborne said last week in an interview. “We were petrified and thought we were going to die.”

In the Women’s World Cup in China, Osborne, a 24-year-old defender from Brookfield, Wis., started four of the six games. She scored an own goal in the 4-0 semifinal loss to Brazil. For that game, Coach Greg Ryan benched goalkeeper Hope Solo for Briana Scurry. It was a decision that led to Ryan’s dismissal.

“I think the change in goal affected all of us,” Osborne said. “As a team, you need to come together no matter what the coach does. It’s just unfortunate things happened that way, but now we have a new coach, the Olympics next summer, and we need to move on.”

Osborne said she did not know the team’s new coach, Pia Sundhage, “but I’ve heard good things about her.”

“It’s going to be a really busy, crazy year,” Osborne said, referring to a minicamp in January, then tournaments in China and Portugal, before Olympic qualifying matches, which will be played in Mexico in April. “We’ve got a new coach, and we all still need to prove ourselves every day in training — no matter who the coach is. I’m excited to get started and turn the page.”

They were lucky to get out that situation in one piece.

It sounds like Ozzy was one them who was on Hope's side.

She needed someone on her side

Jeez that must have been scary! Glad their all OK

Pia Sundhage then, hmm...hopefully the team will be back on track. I'm sure they'll get far in the Olympics as usual.

USWNT WWC players not on the below training camp roster: Ellerton, Hucles, Jobson, Lopez, LILLY

The first three being dropped would not be a shocker. The other two are much, much more interesting, and at this point the reasons are unknown. Although I do believe Lopez is getting married shortly.




U.S. WNT To Have First Training Camp Under New Head Coach Pia Sundhage

- 24 Players Will Come to The Home Depot Center for Four Day Mini-Camp



CHICAGO (December 4, 2007) – The U.S. Women’s National Team will hold its last training camp of 2007, and first under new head coach Pia Sundhage, from Dec. 8-12 at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.

Sundhage will bring in 24 players for the mini-camp designed to give her a quick look at the core of the U.S. team, plus a handful of young players just coming off the college season, before the squad regroups in early January to prepare for the Four Nations Tournament in China.

The camp is basically the beginning of the run to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, with the USA preparing for the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Final Round qualifying tournament, being held April 2-13 in Chihuahua, Mexico. Two countries from the six-team tournament will advance to China.

“It’s a short camp, but it will be valuable time spent together as a team and a unique moment for me to have a chance to work with the best players in the United States for the first time,” said Sundhage. “It will give us the chance to get to know them as players a little bit more, they’ll get the chance to learn my style and I’ll also get the chance to get to know them off the field. It will be a good start to something new.”

The mini-camp roster features 16 players from the 2007 U.S. Womens’ World Cup Team, along with seven players who recently finished their collegiate seasons. Defender Heather Mitts has regained her fitness and makes a return to the squad after suffering an ACL tear on May 12, 2007, which required surgery and caused her to miss out on the Women’s World Cup in China.

Of the seven players coming in from the college ranks, all have considerable youth National Team experience, with five (Yael Averbuch, Rachel Buehler, Tobin Heath, Casey Nogueira and Angie Woznuk) having represented the USA at a FIFA youth world championship while the other two (Michelle Enyeart and Nikki Washington) are in the running for a spot on the U.S. U-20 team that will attempt to qualify for the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Of the seven collegians, four come from the University of North Carolina, two from the University of Portland and one from Stanford. Buehler and Woznuk, both of whom have trained with the full National Team during Residency Training Camps, are the only two seniors, having finished their college eligibility with their school’s runs in the NCAA playoffs.

UNITED STATES WOMEN’S NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM
TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
December 8-12, 2007
The Home Depot Center - Carson, Calif.

Players Pos. Ht. DOB Hometown College Caps/Goals
Averbuch, Yael M 5-10 11/03/86 Upper Montclair, N.J. UNC 2/0
Barnhart, Nicole GK 5-10 10/10/81 Gilbertsville, Pa. Stanford 4
Boxx, Shannon M 5-8 06/29/77 Redondo Beach, Calif. Notre Dame 77/17
Buehler, Rachel D 5-5 08/26/85 Del Mar, Calif. Stanford 0/0
Chalupny, Lori M 5-4 01/29/84 St. Louis, Mo. UNC 53/6
Dalmy, Marian D 5-10 11/25/84 Lakewood, Colo. Santa Clara 5/0
Enyeart, Michelle F 5-6 07/26/88 Hemet, Calif. Portland 0/0
Heath, Tobin M 5-6 05/29/88 Basking Ridge, N.J. UNC 0/0
Kai, Natasha F 5-8 05/22/83 Kahuku, Hawaii Hawaii 35/8
Lloyd, Carli M 5-8 07/16/82 Delran, N.J. Rutgers 44/10
Markgraf, Kate D 5-7 08/23/76 Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Notre Dame 168/0
Mitts, Heather D 5-5 06/09/78 Cincinatti, Ohio Florida 71/2
Nogueira, Casey F 5-6 02/23/89 Raleigh, N.C. UNC 1/0
O’Reilly, Heather F 5-5 01/02/85 East Brunswick, N.J. UNC 72/15
Osborne, Leslie M 5-8 05/27/83 Brookfield, Wis. Santa Clara 52/2
Rampone, Christie D 5-6 06/24/75 Point Pleasant, N.J. Monmouth 177/4
Scurry, Briana GK 5-8 09/07/71 Dayton, Minn. UMass 167
Solo, Hope GK 5-9 07/30/81 Richland, Wash. Washington 52
Tarpley, Lindsay F 5-6 09/22/83 Kalamazoo, Mich. UNC 79/17
Wagner, Aly M 5-5 08/10/80 San Jose, Calif. Santa Clara 117/21
Wambach, Abby F 5-11 06/02/80 Rochester, N.Y. Florida 105/86
Washington, Nikki M 5-5 08/01/88 Mesquite, Texas UNC 0/0
Whitehill, Cat D 5-7 02/10/82 Birmingham, Ala. UNC 123/11
Woznuk, Angie M 5-5 03/29/85 El Cajon, Calif. Portland 1/0


GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Briana Scurry (Dayton, Minn.), Hope Solo (Richland, Wash.);
DEFENDERS (6): Rachel Buehler (Del Mar, Calif.), Marian Dalmy (Lakewood, Colo.), Kate Markgraf (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), Heather Mitts (Cincinnati, Ohio), Christie Rampone (Point Pleasant, N.J.), Cat Whitehill (Birmingham, Ala.);
MIDFIELDERS (9): Yael Averbuch (Upper Montclair, N.J.), Shannon Boxx (Redondo Beach, Calif.), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis, Mo.), Tobin Heath (Basking Ridge, N.J.), Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Leslie Osborne (Brookfield, Wis.), Aly Wagner (San Jose, Calif.), Nikki Washington (Mesquite, Texas), Angie Woznuk (El Cajon, Calif.);
FORWARDS (6): Michelle Enyeart (Hemet, Calif.), Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Casey Nogueira (Raleigh, N.C.), Heather O’Reilly (East Brunswick, N.J.), Lindsay Tarpley (Kalamazoo, Mich.), Abby Wambach (Rochester, N.Y.).

Team Staff:
Head Coach: Pia Sundhage Stockholm, Sweden
Asst. Coach: Mark Krikorian Tallahassee, Fla.
Asst. Coach: Erica Walsh State College, Pa.
GK Coach: Phil Wheddon Monroe, Conn.
General Manager: Cheryl Bailey Redondo Beach, Calif.
Medical Trainer: Gigi Garcia Miami, Florida
Massage Therapist: Jenny Pishko Chicago, Ill.
Massage Therapist: Mark Higgins Chicago, Ill
Equipment Manager: Angie Garza San Diego, Calif.
Videographer: Noelle Jouglet San Diego, Calif.
Press Officer: Aaron Heifetz Cypress, Calif.
Team Security: Ben Payne Atlanta, Ga.


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Nothing makes you want to read into something than something that tells you, "Nothing is to be read into..." Rampone and Markgraf are both older and injured during the WWC and they're not "too tired." If I were to read into it, I would think she is seriously considering retirement.

Best news I've heard all day. so do we read into it that Lilly's been dropped or asked to be left out. I'm hoping it's the latter. As for Lopez , I've never liked her style of play , she's seems a tad to slow and didn't make that much of an impact in the w/c , I'm still baffled as to why she started over Ellerton in Brazil game.

So Phil Wheddon has be given his job back then didn't deserve to lose it in my opinion for just saying how he felt.

Why Is Scurry still there , she's to slow now for the game , come on Pia drop her.


I'm shocked that Ellerton is dropped , she's a good quick defender. I hope that's just to see what the younger ones can do.

I agree with you on Lopez, I wouldn't be heart broken if she was dropped. But she is getting married in early December, so she may not have actually been dropped.

Ellerton is extremely fast and people on the team say that she is the best one on one defender on the team. But fans also call her "a failed experiment." I haven't watched her enough, but I suspect like Aluko, she may have mad pace, but poor soccer skills. Sundhage has shown with her extra college player selections that she is all about implementing possession football and maybe Ellerton just doesn't live up to that. Whitehill, Rampone and Markgraf are all solid passers and good at backing each other up and remaining a cohesive unit. Lopez was called up after Mitts injured her ACL and Mitts is now back, and the four are a pretty solid unit. They may lack speed, but their ability to work together should make up for this.

I'm pretty disappointed about the goalie thing to, Scurry needs to be dropped. But I also heard that the next logical replacement, some college player, is currently injured. Also the college finals are still going on, so some players may not have made themselves available.

As for the coaches, they are staying on during camp to help out, but Sundhage will probably bring in some of her own people. I believe she has a Swedish goalie coach in mind.

The "too tired" excuse about Lilly was given by the USWNT PR guy to fairgame magazine. It's a horrible excuse considering several people on the team were injured during and post WWC and all of them are showing up. Something is definitely up. If Sundhage actually dropped her, the PR people probably would have wanted her to announce her retirement before camp to make it look all pretty. Maybe Pia told her she was welcome, but that she wouldn't be captain and would only be a bit player. That's a big insult in USWNT land, which probably is making her seriously think about retirment. But then you've got the USWNT PR machine (which is considered evil by some) who probably really wants her to stick around and sell more jerseys so they're kissing her ass behind the scenes.

Total speculation, but no one else would get away with just not showing up to camp, so something is definitely up I think on both sides of the aisle.

I think Mitts not being at the w/c definitely cost the US , it was a cruel blow for her , but I would take Ellerton over Lopez any day. But the entire defence wasn't sure in the s/f v Brazil due to the goalie choice.

There was a big thing about Ashlyn Harris once upon a time , people were building her up to be the next big thing. I think she's been hampered by a lot of injuries in her short career so far. But I'm hoping she can find form again and oust the ' over the hill Scurry '. I'm hoping Pia will look to take the team forward and not back like Ryan.

It's gonna be interesting to see how Abby's style of play changes as I'm presuming that the long ball forward will be dropped.

The Lilly aspect is interesting, I just wish the PR people would back off and let everyone know the truth. I personally would like to see her dropped but not off the team altogether , maybe brought on as a sub. It's now time she handed over to the next generation.

Ashyln Harris I think you're right there. The problem with goalie is that they take ages to develop because it's so psychological so I think Pia might be a little trapped here. Since we still lack a league, we lack options for people who have appropriate experience. They could still experiment with Barnhart a lot during the Algrave.

With the defense they seemed to have it split into the experienced unit and the future, the maybe's (which would probably include Lopez since Mitts is back) may have just been cut. Pia seemed to do this with the midfielders.

Hopefully, Pia will treat Wambach like the incredibly great option that she is rather than the center of the team. This is where Lilly would have fit in nicely, because she's good at the cross, but they'll just have to develop Tarpley and maybe start using Wagner again. There is also Lloyd who looked awful in the WWC because of the style they were playing, but if you give her a team that can play possesion ball she can do impressive things. Both her and Chalupny have great kicking ability out of the midfield, if I was Sundhage I would make them practice accuracy constantly. Then you have O'Reily up front who doesn't have international pace, but infront of the net she has amazing poise. I've seen her on numerous occasions make split second decisions to take shots that go around the goalie rather than freak out and just take a quick shot. Then you've got Kai with pace and an energy that always seems to make positive things happen, not really using her is another reason Ryan is a moron. Then of course you have all the defensive midfielders and the newbies. How Sundhage will organize this will be fascinating.

Aaron Heistfz (sp?) is the head PR guy. It's how this guy operates. I have never heard a nice word spoken about the man from the fans. But the man must be an incredible leach, because a lot of people got the ax with Ryan, including the security guy, yet he manages to hang on. It's weird, I know.

I think we all know who should of got the sack as well , you need someone with brains to run a PR machine.

I agree with everything you said there. I was completely baffled as to why Kai was never given a chance in the w/c. Like you said she can make things happen and her pace is unreal. Solo has said before that Kai has a crazy power in her shot and you never know what she can do. I think Tarpley should be used more , we never get to see what she can really do as it's all centered round Wambach.

I would like to see more of Lloyd and Chalupny shooting from distance , both of them have scored some great goals this year , but Lloyd is probably gonna be one of the future player's if Pia goes with Wagner and Boxx.

It's certainly gonna be an exciting time next year and I for one can't wait for the Four Nations tournament to see what she does for the team. One thing for sure is that Hope Solo will have her job back.