U.S. WOMEN: Three 2003 Tar Heels headed to Athens

The notion that last fall's University of North Carolina squad was the greatest to play college women's soccer received a boost Thursday when U.S. national team coach April Heinrichs selected three players from that group — defender Catherine Reddick, midfielder Lindsay Tarpley and forward Heather O'Reilly — for her Olympic roster.

The trio were among six Tar Heels — along with Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Cindy Parlow — that Heinrichs, also a former UNC star, named to the 18-player roster that will compete in the Aug. 11-26 Athens Olympics women's soccer tournament.

Two other former Tar Heels, midfielders Lorrie Fair and Tiffany Roberts, were dropped from the 20-player roster that Heinrichs announced Wednesday.

''This was the most difficult roster selection that IÆve ever been a part of,'' Heinrichs said in a statement. ''Largely because the parity in the pool of players is greater than itÆs ever been. With six months of preparations, everybody ended this last training block playing their best soccer of the year, but the final team is a great blend of players in terms of talent, personality, versatility and winning mentality.''

Heinrichs selected two goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and four forwards, and a number of players can play different positions.

Among them is Tarpley, Soccer America's College Player of the Year last fall after leading North Carolina to a 27-0-0 record and its first NCAA title since 2000. O'Reilly was Soccer America's Freshman of the Year last fall, and Reddick — a U.S. starter at last year's Women's World Cup — won the MAC/Hermann Award as the nation's top player and was selected a Soccer America MVP.

Reddick's college eligibility ended last fall, but Tarpley will be a junior and O'Reilly a sophomore this year.

Tarpley and O'Reilly are among four players making their major championship debuts for the U.S. women. Goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill, a star with the WUSA's Carolina Courage, got the nod as Briana Scurry's backup. Heather Mitts, a standout with the WUSA's Philadelphia Charge, emerged this year as a top defender with the U.S. squad.

Four U.S. Olympic alternates will be chosen later this month.

The U.S. women are grouped with Australia, Brazil and host Greece for the first stage of the Olympic tournament.

U.S. OLYMPIC ROSTER
(With current club or college affiliation or most recent college or WUSA affiliation in parentheses)