Getting the band back together

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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The U.S. Women’s National Team will play its first two matches since the end of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup when it faces Canada in a two-game “Celebration Series,” with games in recently opened Major League Soccer Stadiums on Sept. 17 in Kansas City and on Sept. 22 in Portland. The games will help the U.S. team celebrate with the fans that supported the team so wonderfully this summer during the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, while also allowing the USA to takes its first step towards Olympic Qualifying being held this January in Vancouver, Canada. The match at the spectacular LIVE STRONG Sporting Park will kick off at 6 p.m. CT and be broadcast live on Fox Soccer while the second leg at JELD-WEN Field, which underwent massive renovations and has developed into one of best soccer environments in MLS, will be shown live on ESPN2 and ESPN3 at 8 p.m. PT.  After the World Cup, the U.S. players went back to their WPS clubs and have not played together since their spectacular run to the championship game in Germany where the USA fell to Japan in a dramatic penalty kick shootout. The roster for these two matches will consist of the 21 players that represented the USA in Germany. For training camps in November and December, U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage will call in new and additional players as she starts to formulate her squad for Olympic Qualifying.

U.S. Women’s National Team Roster by Position – Detailed Roster 
GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (Philadelphia Independence), Jill Loyden (magicJack), Hope Solo (magicJack) 
DEFENDERS (7): Rachel Buehler (Boston Breakers), Stephanie Cox (Boston Breakers), Ali Krieger (FFC Frankfurt), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Atlanta Beat), Christie Rampone (magicJack), Becky Sauerbrunn (magicJack) 
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (magicJack), Tobin Heath (Sky Blue FC), Lori Lindsey (Philadelphia Independence), Carli Lloyd (Atlanta Beat), Kelley O’Hara (Boston Breakers), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (magicJack) 
FORWARDS (4): Lauren Cheney (Boston Breakers), Alex Morgan (Western New York Flash), Amy Rodriguez (Philadelphia Independence), Abby Wambach (magicJack)

Olympic Qualifying in Vancouver, B.C.

The 2012 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament will be held from Jan. 19-29 at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, Canada. The eight-team, 15-game tournament will send two countries to the 2012 Summer Olympics. The competition will feature two groups of four teams each with the top two finishers in each group “crossing-over” for the all-important semifinals. The winners of those semifinal matches will earn the region’s two berths to London. All the group games and the semifinals will be played in double-header formats. The competition will feature host Canada, the USA and Mexico from North America; the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba from the Caribbean; and two countries from Central America that have yet to qualify. This marks the third edition of CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament, held every four years since 2004. The USA won the competition in Costa Rica in 2004 and in Mexico in 2008. The USA was the lone CONCACAF representative at the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, the first two that featured women’s soccer. Mexico qualified along with the USA for the 2004 Olympics in Athens while the Canadians claimed the second spot behind the U.S. in 2008 in Beijing.

First time at live strong

In its history, the U.S. Women’s National Team has played matches in 31 of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.), and will now add a 32nd state when the team plays its first international in Kansas. The USA has played four times in Kansas City, Mo. (compiling a 2-0-2 record, including a tie against Canada on Aug. 20, 2000), but the clash with their northern neighbors will be the first on the Kansas side of the border. The last time the U.S. Women christened a new state was July 13, 2010, when they tied Sweden 1-1 in Omaha, Neb.

Familiar city, New house

Portland – home to Nike – is certainly a familiar area to the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, having played nine games in the Rose City since 1995. While this will be the USA’s first match at the newly renovated JELD-WEN Field, they have played six matches at the venue under its previous names of Civic Stadium and PGE Park. The only loss in the nine games in Portland was a particularly painful one as the USA was knocked out of the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup on home soil by Germany, losing 3-0 in the semifinal. The USA has played Canada twice at the venue, coming away with wins both times, by a 4-2 score in 1999 and a 4-0 result in 2000.

Captain Christie

Point Pleasant, N.J. native Christie Rampone is in her fourth year as captain for the United States and will now begin the final stretch of her brilliant career which will end following the 2012 Olympics, should the Americans qualify. The 36-year-old mother of two has announced that she will retire after London and the U.S. players would love nothing more than to send her out on top. She led the team out of the tunnel for the first time as captain on Jan. 16, 2008, against Canada in Pia Sundhage’s first game as head coach and has worn the captain’s armband 61 times (including when she got her 100th cap), leading the U.S. to the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics and to the championship game of the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Rampone is fourth all-time in caps for the USA with 241 and passed Joy Fawcett this summer in Germany. She missed a few games at the end of 2009 and beginning of 2010 due to pregnancy and recovery from the birth of her second daughter. She is just the fifth women to captain the USA in a Women’s World Cup following April Heinrichs (1991), Carla Overbeck (1995 & 1999), Julie Foudy (2003) and Kristine Lilly (2007).

Goal scores emerge: Prior to the Women’s World Cup, one of the key factors in the USA’s success was going to be other players stepping up to score goals besides Abby Wambach, who of course showed her true clutch form by scoring four times, once each in the final four games of the tournament. In fact, she won the Bronze Shoe was the third leading scorer in the tournament. However, young strikers Alex Morgan and Lauren Cheney (who actually played more in the midfield in Germany) combined for four goals at the WWC while Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly and even Rachel Buehler added a goal each. The USA’s 13 goals were the most by any team in the tournament. The USA is averaging more than two goals a game in 2012 even though just five of its 17 games have been against teams outside the top-10 in the world. Lloyd is the USA’s leading scorer this year with six total goals while Wambach, Morgan and Cheney have five each.

Solo honored for 100th cap in Portland

On July 13 during the 2011 Women’s World Cup Semifinal against France, U.S. goalkeeper earned her 100th career cap, making her just the second ‘keeper in U.S. history to reach that milestone. (Briana Scurry retired with 173 games played). As there could be no ceremony in Germany during a FIFA event, in keeping with tradition, Solo will be honored in front of U.S. fans in her home region of the Northwest before the USA takes on Canada at JELD-WEN Field in Portland on Sept. 22. Solo hails from Eastern Washington and lives in Seattle, but Portland will surely be close enough to get some hometown appreciation from the fans.

U.S. WNT Quick hits

• Pia Sundhage is 18-1-1 against CONCACAF teams during her almost four years as head coach of the USA. The team has scored 61 goals and allowed six during that time.
• The USA is 12-3-2 in 2011 coming off the Women’s World Cup. The losses came in the first game of the year to Sweden, in an April friendly to England and in the Women’s World Cup to Sweden. The ties both came in the Women’s World Cup as the USA’s penalty kick win over Brazil and penalty loss to Japan both count officially as ties.
• The USA’s leading scorer this year is Carli Lloyd with six goals and three assists, including a goal and an assist in the Women’s World Cup.
• Megan Rapinoe has the most assists in 2011 with five, including three in the Women’s World Cup. Lauren Cheney has four assists, three coming in the WWC.
• The USA is 78-2-4 all-time when Abby Wambach scores a goal.
• Wambach, who has 122 career goals, is just eight away from tying Kristine Lilly for second on the all-time U.S. scoring list. Mia Hamm tops the list with 158.
• The USA’s 36 goals this year have been scored by 10 different players: Lloyd (6), Lauren Cheney (5), Alex Morgan (5), Wambach (5), Amy Rodriguez (4), Heather O’Reilly (3), Rapinoe (3), Lindsay Tarpley (2), Shannon Boxx, and Rachel Buehler (plus one own goal by Brazil in the Women’s World Cup).
• Goalkeeper Jill Loyden is the least-capped player on the World Cup roster with one game to her name. Kelley O’Hara, who played one match in the World Cup, coming on against Sweden, has six caps, making her the least capped field player. Becky Sauerbrunn, whose only action of the WWC came over 90 excellent minutes in the World Cup semifinal against France, earned her 12th cap in Germany.
• Five players scored their first Women’s World Cup goals this summer in Germany: Rachel Buehler, Lauren Cheney (2), Carli Lloyd, Morgan (2) and Megan Rapinoe.
• Seven players on the U.S. roster have surpassed 100 caps with Rampone leading the way with 241. Hope Solo earned her 100th cap in the Women’s World Cup semifinal against France.
• Morgan is the youngest player on the squad at 21 (Tobin Heath is 23) while Rampone is the oldest at 36.
• Morgan is the only member of the World Cup Team that won the 2011 WPS title, taking the championship with the Western New York Flash.
• 27 players have played in an international match for the USA this year.

Women’s World Cup All-Stars

Following the Women’s World Cup, the FIFA Technical Study Group chose an All-Star Team and it feature four U.S. players: goalkeeper Hope Solo, midfielders Shannon Boxx and Lauren Cheney and forward Abby Wambach. Several other U.S. players certainly could have made the list, most notably right back Ali Krieger, who had a fantastic tournament in her first world championship at any level, and team captain Christie Rampone, who played every minute while marshaling the defense.

Finishing 2011

Following these two matches against Canada, the U.S. players will have about a six-week break before getting back together for a training camp in early November that may also feature an international match, which would be the last one of the year for the squad. The U.S. team will also have a training camp in December. Both camps will feature a larger squad of players as U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage formulates her 20-player roster for CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying that will get started on January 19 in Vancouver, B.C., with the USA getting together in a warmer site (most likely The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.) about two weeks before the competition kicks off.

Last time out vs. Canada

The USA and Canada plotted different paths at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup with Canada going out in the first round and eventually finishing last of the 16 teams while the USA marched dramatically to the championship game where it had every opportunity to defeat Japan for the world title before falling in PKs. The teams started 2011 at the same place – the Four Nations Tournament in Chongqing, China – where they met on the second match day of the tournament with the USA coming away with a 2-1 victory on a freezing night. The USA went with a young squad that night as Brittany Taylor, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara and Alex Morgan all got rare starts while Meghan Klingenberg and Yael Averbuch (both of whom did not make the World Cup rosters) came off the bench. U.S. iron-woman Heather O’Reilly was rested that night, ending her U.S. record consecutive match streak at 63 while Hope Solo and Abby Wambach both missed the tournament while recovering from injuries. Lindsay Tarpley, who would tear her ACL on May 14, just a month before the Women’s World Cup would begin, had a goal and an assist in the match after coming on 30 minutes into the game.

Match: U.S. Women’s National Team vs. Canada 
Date: Jan. 23, 2011 
Competition: 2011 Four Nations Tournament 
Venue: Yongchuan Sports Centre Stadium; Chongqing, China 
Attendance: 7,000 
Weather: Cold, haze – 39 degrees

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F 
USA 0 2 2 
CAN 0 1 1

USA – Lauren Cheney (Lindsay Tarpley) 54th minute 
CAN – Melissa Tancredi (Kaylyn Kyle) 56 
USA – Lindsay Tarpley (Lauren Cheney) 70

Lineups: 
USA: 18-Nicole Barnhart; 25-Brittany Taylor, 22-Becky Sauerbrunn, 3-Christie Rampone (capt.) (19-Rachel Buehler, 46), 14-Stephanie Cox; 21-Kelley O’Hara (27-Meghan Klingenberg, 78) 16-Lori Lindsey, 10-Carli Lloyd (4-Yael Averbuch, 66), 15-Megan Rapinoe (5-Lindsay Tarpley, 31); 8-Amy Rodriguez (12-Lauren Cheney, 46), 13-Alex Morgan 
Subs not used: 9-Heather O’Reilly, 11-Tobin Heath, 24-Ashlyn Harris, 26-Sydney Leroux 
Head Coach: Pia Sundhage

CAN: 1-Karina LeBlanc; 7-Rhian Wilkinson, 9-Candace Chapman (4-Carmelina Moscato, 64), 13-Sophie Schmidt (19-Desiree Scott, 73), 20-Marie-Eve Nault; 6-Kaylyn Kyle, 82-Emily Zurrer, 8-Diana Matheson, 16-Jonelle Filigno (23-Jodi-Ann Robinson, 81); 14-Melissa Tancredi (10-Christina Julien, 67), 12-Christine Sinclair (capt.) 
Subs not used: 3-Melanie Booth, 5-Robyn Gayle, 17-Brittany Timko, 21-Laura Chénard, 22-Stephanie Labbé 
Head Coach: Carolina Morace

Statistical Summary: USA / CAN 
Shots: 12 / 8 
Shots on Goal: 8 / 5 
Saves: 4 / 3 
Corner Kicks: 8 / 10 
Fouls: 11 / 5 
Offside: 7 / 5

Misconduct Summary: 
CAN – Candace Chapman (caution) 61st minute 
CAN – Carmelina Moscato (cation) 85 
USA – Lauren Cheney (caution) 94

Opponent Capsule: Canada 
Current FIFA World Ranking: 8 
USA All-time record vs. Canada: 41-3-4 
Last Meeting vs. USA: Jan. 23, 2011 (a 2-1 U.S. win in Chongquing, China during Four Nations Tournament) 
Head Coach: John Herdman 
Key Players: G Erin McLeod, D Robyn Gayle, D Emily Zurrer, M Diane Matheson, M Sophie Schmidt, F Melissa Tancredi

USA vs. Canada Fast Facts: The USA has played Canada more times than any other nation and these two matches will be the 49th and 50th, making it the first time the USA has played another nation 50 times … Canada has a new head coach in John Herdman, who takes over from Italian Carolina Morace who resigned after the Women’s World Cup … The Englishman Herdman, just 36, comes to Canada from New Zealand, where he led the Kiwis to the 2007 and 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cups and the 2008 Beijing Olympics … Herdman named 15 players from the team that participated WWC in Germany, but has also called in several young players, including three making their debut trips with the national ‘A’ team: Tina Romagnuolo, Jaclyn Sawicki and Lauren Sesselmann.… The USA and Canada met at least once a year (and often multiple times) every year dating back to 1993 until 2010 when surprisingly the two countries did not play … Canada will be without its best player in forward Christine Sinclair, who scored her countries lone goal in the World Cup against Germany on a spectacular free kick in the opening game of the tournament … Sinclair and Candace Chapman, who played in the World Cup and then along with U.S. forward Alex Morgan helped Western New York Flash win the WPS title, are getting these two games off … Along with Sinclair and Chapman, Canada has three other players who played in WPS this year in Lauren Sesselmann and Kelly Parker of the Atlanta Beat and Sophie Schmidt from magicJack … Several other players on the roster have WPS experience, including goalkeepers Karina LeBlanc and Erin McLeod, who is currently playing in Sweden … In fact, the Canada roster features five players currently playing in Sweden and two in Norway … Canada is preparing for the 2011 Pan-American Games in Mexico, where it will play Costa Rica, Argentina and Brazil in group play.

Canada Women’s National Team Roster by Position 
GOALKEEPERS (3): Justine Bernier (University of Alabama), Stephanie Labbé (Piteå IF, SWE), Karina LeBlanc (magicJack), Erin McLeod (Dalsjöfors G.o.I.F., SWE) 
DEFENDERS (6): Lexi Marton (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Emily Zurrer (Dalsjöfors G.o.I.F., SWE), Melanie Booth (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Robyn Gayle (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Lauren Sesselmann (Atlanta Beat), Rhian Wilkinson (Lillestrøm SK Kvinner, NOR) 
MIDFIELDERS (10): Kaylyn Kyle (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Diana Matheson (Lillestrøm SK Kvinner, NOR), Carmelina Moscato (Piteå IF, SWE), Kelly Parker (Atlanta Beat), Tina Romagnuolo (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Jaclyn Sawicki (University of Victoria), Sophie Schmidt (magicJack), Desiree Scott (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Diamond Simpson (Hamilton FC), Chelsea Stewart (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) 
FORWARDS (2): Christina Julien (Ottawa Fury), Melissa Tancredi (Piteå IF)

WPS Year III: The members of the USA’s 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup missed quite a few WPS matches this season due to national team commitments, but several still had stellar seasons and Abby Wambach was named to the league’s Best IX after going on a goal-scoring tear following the WWC that saw her end with nine. Following are the regular season stats for the U.S. players in WPS. Wambach added two goals in the playoffs while Megan Rapinoe, who was sold during the Women’s World Cup to magicJack, added one. Amy Rodriguez also added two goals in the playoffs, including her team’s lone goal in the WPS title game.

USA WNT bt the numbers: