U.S. SOCCER: Heinrichs names Pacific Cup roster

U.S. women’s national team head coach April Heinrichs chose her 18-player roster for the USA’s trip to the inaugural Pacific Cup in Australia. The tournament runs from May 31 to June 11 and will be held in three cities: Canberra, Sydney and Newcastle. Originally an eight-team tournament, the format was adapted after the withdrawal of North Korea and Scotland, and now six teams will play a round-robin format with the winner being determined on total points. The USA now joins China, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and host Australia as 15 matches will be contested in six stadiums, two of those Olympic venues, serving as valuable seasoning for the USA, China and Australia, three of the eight teams competing in the 2000 Olympic Women’s Soccer Tournament. The USA will also be in Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Soccer Draw Ceremony, taking place at the Sydney Town Hall at 11:00 a.m. local (4:00 ET) on Saturday June 3, when the Americans find out who their first round opponents will be for the 2nd Olympic Women’s Soccer Tournament. The USA travels to Australia on May 25 and opens the tournament on May 31 against China. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since the historic Women’s World Cup Final on July 10, 1999. The USA will then face Canada on June 2 at the Sydney Football Stadium, site of the women’s soccer gold medal match, meet New Zealand on June 4, face Japan on June 7 and then finish the tournament with a clash against Australia on June 11. Heinrichs named 13 players from the 1999 Women’s World Cup championship team for the Pacific Cup. Team captain Carla Overbeck will miss the trip while she recovers from a minor knee injury while midfielder Michelle Akers continues to rehabilitate from shoulder surgery and is expected back in early July. Goalkeeper Briana Scurry (currently at 99 caps) and midfielder Shannon MacMillan (98 caps) may both make their 100th appearances for the USA at the Pacific Cup, joining 10 teammates in the century club. Heinrichs named five young players to the roster: goalkeeper Siri Mullinix, defender Danielle Slaton, midfielders Aly Wagner and Nikki Serlenga, and forward Christie Welsh. All traveled with the USA to Australia last January with a young U.S. squad during a period when the veterans were embroiled in contract negotiations. While Mullinix suffered a foot injury in training and did not see action, the other four played major roles in helping win the Australia Cup against three full national teams, notching an 8-1 victory over the Czech Republic, a 0-0 tie with Sweden and a 3-1 victory over Australia. Welsh and Serlenga scored against the Czechs, while Slaton and Wagner tallied against the Matildas to clinch the tournament. The USA is scheduled to play all three of its Olympic first-round matches in Melbourne at the Cricket Ground. Should the USA qualify for the knockout round in the Olympics, the semifinals will be played at the Sydney Football Stadium or Bruce Stadium in Canberra. The bronze medal match and gold medal match will be played at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Pacific Cup is a tournament that is managed and administrated by five core Pacific countries — Australia, USA, China, Canada and Japan. The tournament will be held every two years and hosted on a rotating basis by one of the core countries. Not counting China, the U.S. women are 45-2-0 against its other four Pacific Cup opponents. However, of those two losses, one was in 1986 to Canada and the other in 1987 to New Zealand, which still stands as one the two biggest wins in Kiwi history, along with the victory over Australia that qualified the small island nation for the 1991 Women’s World Cup. United States Women’s National Team Roster 2000 Pacific Cup, May 31-June 11, Australia