The United States has captured the past five Nordic Cups — the annual unofficial ''world championship'' for under-21 women — and seeks to extend its streak to six, but winning titles is not head coach Chris Petrucelli's primary aim.

Player development is all that matters, Petrucelli acknowledges, but that won't dull his team's focus heading into Friday's opening day of the 15th Nordic Cup in Iceland.

''I don't think that there's pressure to win,'' Petrucelli says, ''but we want to win, certainly. We're going there to win.''

To do so, the Americans must overcome Finland, Norway and Germany in group play, then topple Denmark, England, Iceland or Sweden in next Thursday's championship.

Petrucelli has assembled a virtual college all-star team featuring four players — Lori Chalupny, Joanna Lohman, Carli Lloyd and Kelly Wilson — with some measure of full national team experience, and 15 others who hope to be suiting up for the big team in the coming years.

''The Nordic Cup is great international experience for our players — playing away from home, in a difficult environment, against good teams,'' Petrucelli says. ''That's the ultimate value of the Nordic Cup. How does it affect individual players? Does it help prepare a Lori Chalupny for the next opportunity with the national team? And things like that.

''We think a lot about preparing our players for the next level, for sure.''

Chalupny, from the University of North Carolina, was among the final players cut from the U.S. Olympic roster after spending three months in Southern California as part of national team coach April Heinrichs' pre-Athens residency.

Former Penn State All-American Lohman, who made her professional debut in the WUSA Festivals last month, was with the national team for a two-week trial in April. Lloyd, from Rutgers, had a brief spell with the national team during residency, and Wilson, who plays for Petrucelli at Texas, saw action in three U.S. games in 2002.

Others, such as Stanford goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart and Hawaii striker Natasha Kai, likely will get their chances at some point following the Olympic games.

This team's strength, Petrucelli says, is its attack. Kai, the top goalscorer in NCAA Division I last fall, has emerged as a potent offensive force this year, advancing from superb athlete to soccer player, utilizing her speed and natural instincts in front of the goal to become the Americans' primary finisher. She'll likely be accompanied by Lloyd and Wilson up front in a 4-3-3 alignment, and Arizona State's Manya Makoski also is expected to see considerable action on the frontline.

''Kai just keeps getting better and better,'' Petrucelli says. ''She's scored against everybody. She's scored against China's Olympic team, she's scored against Brazil's Olympic team — she's scored against our Olympic team. She's scored against everybody. To have a player you can count on for a goal: It's something we're all looking for.''

The Americans' game revolves around Lohman, one of four ''overage'' players (born in 1982 or earlier) on the roster. She's captained the team for two years and sets the on-field tone. She'll have Chalupny — a supremely talented winger who loves to take on defenders — on her left and either Texas' Nikki Thaden or Virginia's Sarah Huffman supporting from behind. North Carolina's Kacey White also figures to see significant action.

Thaden, the only college sophomore on the roster, has made huge strides since she was first called into the team in January.

''I'll tell you what,'' Petrucelli says, ''[Thaden's development has] been amazing. We brought her into camp really to fill a spot. She just keeps getting better and better. She's not afraid of any challenge. She keeps conquering different challenges.''

The Americans employ an athletic backline anchored by UCLA's Jill Oakes and Tennessee's Keeley Dowling, who are among six veterans from the 2002 U-19 world-championship team on the U.S. roster. With Oakes and Dowling in the middle, Petrucelli says, ''nobody will win a head ball from us.''

Stanford's Jenny Farenbaugh, the team's best 1-on-1 defender, will play on the right, and Lindsey Huie — a playmaking midfielder at Portland — adds an attacking presence on the left.

Huie's move to the backline was spurred by former UCLA star Nandi Pryce's departure from the team and a desire to get Huie onto the field without moving Lohman or Lloyd, who was playing in midfield before Chalupny joined the squad earlier this month.

''We looked at it as she's one of our best players, how do we get her in?'' Petrucelli says. ''She had played in the back some with her club [Southern California Blues], and she also said to me, 'I want to play; I'll play in the back. She gives us the playmaking player out of the back that we all would love to have but struggle to find.''

The Americans start play Friday against Finland in Dalvik, then meet Norway (Sunday in Olafsfjordur) and Germany (Tuesday in Dalvik). Placement games will be played Thursday.

U.S. NORDIC CUP ROSTER
(with hometown and university and year)

Goalkeepers
Nicole Barnhart (Gilbertsville, Pa.), Stanford, sr.
Kati Jo Spisak (Manchester, Mo)., Texas A&M, jr.

Defenders
Keeley Dowling (Carmel, Ind.), Tennessee, sr.
Jenny Farenbaugh (Reseda, Calif.), Stanford, jr.
Lindsey Huie (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Portland, jr.
Hayley Hunt (San Marino, Calif.), Stanford, jr.
Jill Oakes (West Hills, Calif.), UCLA, jr.

Midfielders
Lori Chalupny (St. Louis), North Carolina, jr.
Sarah Huffman (Flower Mound, Texas), Virginia, jr.
Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.), Rutgers, sr.
Joanna Lohman (Silver Spring, Md.), Penn State, eligibility finished
Julianne Sitch (Oswego, Ill.), DePaul, jr.
Nikki Thaden (Clive, Iowa), Texas, soph.
Kacey White (Arlington, Texas), North Carolina, jr.

Forwards
Natasha Kai (Kahuku, Hawaii), Hawaii, jr.
Manya Makoski (Trumbell, Conn.), Arizona State, jr.
Esmeralda Negron (Harrington Park, N.J.), Princeton, sr.
Kelly Wilson (Odessa, Texas), Texas, sr.

Head coach: Chris Petrucelli (University of Texas)
Assistant coach: Karen Ferguson (University of Louisville)
Goalkeeper coach: Bill Irwin (University of Portland)

Likely U.S. lineup: Barnhart; Farenbaugh, Oakes, Dowling, Huie; Thaden; Lohman, Chalupny; Wilson, Kai, Lloyd.

Overage players: Barnhart, Huie, Lloyd, Lohman.

Previous Nordic Cup experience: Barnhart (2002-03), Chalupny (2001, 03), Huie (2003), Lloyd (2002-03), Lohman (2002-03), Oakes (2001). Makoski and Wilson were chosen for the 2003 team but forced to bow out because of injury.

2002 FIFA U-19 World Championship experience: Chalupny, Dowling, Huffman, Makoski, Oakes, Wilson.

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U.S. SCHEDULE
July 23: vs. Finland at Dalvik, Iceland.
July 25: vs. Norway at Olafsfjordur, Iceland.
July 27: vs. Germany at Dalvik, Iceland.
July 29: Placement match at site TBA.

NORDIC CUP SCHEDULE
July 23
Group A: Denmark vs. Sweden, Iceland vs. England.
Group B: United States vs. Finland, Norway vs. Germany.

July 25
Group A: England vs. Sweden, Iceland vs. Denmark.
Group B: United States vs. Norway, Finland vs. Germany.

July 27
Group A: Denmark vs. Iceland, Sweden vs. England.
Group B: United States vs. Germany, Norway vs. Finland.

July 29
Placement matches

NORDIC CUP CHAMPIONS
Under-20
1990: Sweden
1991: Sweden
1992: Denmark
1993: Sweden
1994: Sweden
1995: Germany
1996: Norway
1997: United States

Under-21
1998: Norway
1999: United States
2000: United States
2001: United States
2002: United States
2003: United States

U.S. Placement
1992: Fifth
1993: Fifth
1994: Fifth
1996: Third
1997: Champion
1998: Second
1999: Champion
2000: Champion
2001: Champion
2002: Champion
2003: Champion