Hope Sole reinstated with US Womens National Team

The U.S. Women’s National Team will face Mexico three times in an eight-day span starting this Saturday, Oct. 13, at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo. (kickoff at 7 p.m. CT) as the 2007 U.S. Women’s World Cup Team travels through three times zones to finish the schedule this year.  Goalkeeper Hope Solo was included in he roster after her replacement and dismissal from the US squad at last months World Cup.  Both Solo and Brianna Scurry are included on the roster for the friendlies.

After the game in St. Louis, the USA will then travel west to face the Tricolor Femenil on Oct. 17 at PGE Park in Portland, Ore. with a 7 p.m. PT kickoff. The final match will take place on Oct. 20 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, N.M. with a 4:30 p.m. MT kickoff. 

The USA will be without two players from the Women’s World Cup roster. Defender Stephanie Lopez will not be available to play in the first and third matches, as she has returned to her college team at the University of Portland, but will available for the match in Portland. Also midfielder Marci Jobson will not be available for any of the three matches as she has returned to her post as head women’s soccer coach at Northern Illinois University.

The USA has played Mexico 19 times in its history, but 15 of those have comes since 2000, as the Mexicans have increased their programming and their level of play while qualifying for the 2004 Olympics and barely missing out on the last two Women’s World Cup tournaments, falling in a playoff with Japan both times. The teams last met on April 14 of this year in the USA’s first domestic match of 2007, a 5-0 win at in Foxborough, Mass.

The three Mexico games will complete a long year for the U.S. team that began in mid-January before the team traveled to China and won the Four Nations Tournament. The USA also won the Algarve Cup in March and then played eight domestic games before the Women’s World Cup.

The U.S. team is 17-1-3 in 2007 and will finish the year having played 24 matches, the most since the Olympic year of 2004, and prior to that, the most since the 2000 Olympic year when the U.S. women played a team record 41 games.