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U.S. picks 18 for Olympic qualifying
Posted: Friday April 07, 2000 07:28 PM
CHICAGO (AP) -- Seven players were cut Friday from the U.S. Olympic soccer team, leaving an 18-man roster for qualifying later this month. Cut were goalkeeper Andy Kirk of Tampa Bay; defenders Matt Chulis (Columbus Crew), Eric Denton (D.C. United), Carlos Parra (New England Revolution) and Evan Whitfield (Chicago Fire); midfielder Brian Winters (A-League); and forward Chris Brown (Kansas City Wizards). They became alternates on the team. "These were some very tough choices I had to make," said U.S. coach Clive Charles, who led the team to a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan Am Games. "But when it comes time to play, feel we'll be putting the best possible team out there to represent the United States and hopefully qualify for the Olympics in Sydney." Olympic men's soccer is limited to players under 23, except for three wild-card players, who can be older that the limit. The use of overage players has been a source of contention with FIFA. Of the 18 players on the final U.S. roster, 12 hail from California, including three players at MLS power Los Angeles Galaxy -- midfielder Sasha Victorine, defender Dan Califf and midfielder Pete Vagenas. The CONCACAF 2000 Olympics Qualifying Tournament, which will place two finalists into the final round of 16 at the 2000 Olympics, will be played over the course of five doubleheaders from April 21-30 at the 16,000-seat Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pa. This year's qualifying will mark the first time the U.S. Under-23 MNT has entered a competition of this magnitude with a roster made predominantly of professional players, previously having to rely on current collegiate players and recent graduates to field a team. The two youngest players on the team are Landon Donovan (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany) and DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire), who starred for the U.S. at the Under-17 World Cup last November. Donovan was named the tournament's MVP, with Beasley earning runner-up honors. The roster:Goalkeepers: Adin Brown (Colorado Rapids); Tim Howard (New York-New Jersey MetroStars) Defenders: Danny Califf (Los Angeles Galaxy); Steve Cherundolo (Hanover 96, Germany); Ramiro Corrales (New York-New Jersey MetroStars); Brian Dunseth (New England Revolution); Chad McCarty (Tampa Bay Mutiny); Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley (Chicago Fire); Joey DiGiamarino (Colorado Rapids); John O'Brien (Ajax, Netherlands); Ben Olsen (D.C. United); John Thrrington (Leverkusen, Germany); Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles Galaxy); Sasha Victorine (Los Angeles Galaxy) Forwards: Chris Albright (D.C. United); Conor Casey (University of Portland); Landon Donovan (Leverkusen, Germany) Josh Wolff (Chicago Fire).
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