Feb. 11, 2011
CHICAGO, Ill. - Penn State women's soccer alums Alyssa Naeher and Ali Krieger sewed up places on the 24-player Algarve Cup squad that will represent the United States in March. Both former Nittany Lions will partake in a European training camp starting Feb. 18 in the lead up to the tournament.
Naeher, who is one of four goalkeepers named on the 24-player roster, will be looking for her first cap in U.S. senior play. The other three goalkeepers are Nicole Barnhart, Ashlyn Harris and Hope Solo, but Solo is not expected to play due to the lingering effects of shoulder surgery last year.
Krieger has been with her FFC Frankfurt side in Germany this year will travel to Portugal when the team trains for the Mar. 2-8 tournament. Krieger has been in the national team circles for the past 14 months in various tournaments, training camps and friendlies including World Cup qualifying last year.
The Algarve Cup will be in its 18th installment and the U.S. are in Group A with Japan, Finland and Norway. Other teams participating are Sweden, China, Iceland, Denmark, Portugal, Chile, Wales and Romania. The U.S. plays Japan on Mar. 2, Norway on Mar. 4 and Finland on Mar. 7. Two days later, all 12 teams will compete for a final time in various Championship/Consolation matches.
Prior to the tournament starting, 20 players will be named for the tournament roster before play starts. The games will be played in the Algarve region of Portugal. The United States has won the event seven of the 16 times it has participated including a streak of three-straight wins from 2003-05. The Algarve is one of the major pre-World Cup tournaments, which is set for this summer in Germany.
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--NITTANY LIONS--