See you in Rochester

After an excellent performance against Canada on Memorial Day, playing under the adverse conditions of a hard turf field and 10,000 hostile Canadian fans (ok, they weren't hostile. Canadians are actually really nice folks), the U.S. players have returned to their WPS clubs, where they shall stay until mid-July when the team regroups for another two matches against Canada. The first should be extra-fun as Abby Wambach (should she get called up and we think that's a pretty good bet) will be going for her 100th career goal in front of her hometown fans in Rochester, N.Y. on July 19 in front of a live television audience on ESPN. (Do you remember that Mia Hamm scored her 100th goal in Rochester in 1998? Also her 101st). Hmmm...Are the Soccer Gods trying to tell us something? There is sure to be some buzz that week in Rochester with this amazing coming together of circumstances. And we here at the WNT Blog can't wait. But we must. And so must you. We'll start up again when the team arrives in Rochester around July 15 and at that time we'll post the all_access video of the sit-down we did with Abby and Canadian Christine Sinclair, who is also on 99 goals. Until then, enjoy the WPS action.

Abby Goes for 100

Today's match against Canada marks a unique moment in time for women's soccer as both Abby Wambach and Canadian captain Christine Sinclair will be shooting for their 100th career international goals in the same game, something that has never happened before. Keep checking ussoccer.com later today for a special video as we sat down the two goal scorers to talk about their upcoming milestones. For now, you can read about Abby's career as well as get a goal-by-goal breakdown of her first 99 scores, and some interesting and fun Abby goal scoring facts by clicking here. A reminder, you can watch the players' quest for 100 live on Fox Soccer Channel at 7 p.m. ET or follow on ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, or if you are so inclined and technologically savvy enough, do both. And if you haven't read the ussoccer.com feature "Abby is Back from Her 'Break'", and you have a few minutes (it's sort of long), click here.

Boxx Talks WPS

With the USA preparing to play its first-ever match during a WPS season, U.S. midfielder and team leader Shannon Boxx sat down with ussoccer.com to discuss coming back into the national team from the WPS, the challenges and the positives. Read what Boxxy's had to say here.

Dinner and a Game

U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage was kind enough to move up the USA's pre-game meeting tonight so the squad could go to a local sports bar and watch the WPS match between the Los Angeles Sol and FC Gold Pride. (Of course, Pia wanted to watch the game too...). Almost the entire team took in the Sol's 2-0 win, a great victory on the road any way you slice it as they played without four starters (two Americans, two Canadians) that are here in Toronto for the match tomorrow. While the whole team enjoyed the match and the ooooohs! and aaaaaaahs! were frequent, no one lived and died with each kick like the players for the Sol (Shannon Boxx and Brittany Bock) and the Gold Pride (Rachel Buehler and Nicole Barnhart). Huge kudos to back-up Gold Pride GK Allison Whitworth for a fantastic performance, but in the end the Sol picked up the three points to solidfy its lead atop the WPS standings. Tomorrow, 17 WPS players for the USA and six for Canada will lace'em up at BMO Field in a match that can be seen live on Fox Soccer Channel at 7 p.m. ET

Last Training in Toronto

The U.S. team trained this morning on turf at Allan Lamport Stadium, going about 90 minutes in its final practice before facing Canada tomorrow. Following the game, the players will head back to their WPS clubs (or in the case of the college players, summer vacation!) and the national team will not come together until mid-July for two more games against Canada. A reminder that fans can watch the game live on Fox Soccer Channel at 7 p.m. ET and follow online with ussoccer.com's MatchTracker if you don't happen to be in a place that carries FSC. Fortunately, the WPS matches are carried in Canada and a bunch of U.S. players are heading to a sports bar tonight after dinner and the pre-game meeting to watch the L.A. Sol take on FC Gold Pride from Santa Clara, Calif. The result of the match may determine if Shannon Boxx and Brittany Bock or Rachel Buehler and Nicole Barnhart pay for the hot wings and spinach dip.

Matriculating to the WNT

We don't know how much PT they will get on Monday, but props to the four collegiate players that U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage has called in four this event, all of whom have represented the USA at a FIFA youth Women’s World Cup. The players have just 17 caps between them, but 16 of those belong to Lauren Cheney, one of the top forwards in the country at UCLA and a member of the gold medal-winning 2008 Olympic Team. Cheney, who has scored 53 goals in three seasons for the Bruins, was a late addition to the Olympic roster, replacing Abby Wambach after she suffered a broken leg in the final pre-Olympic match. Midfielder Christine Nairn, a Penn State freshman and a member of the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup champions last fall in Chile, gets her second call up after training with the USA in January, but is looking for her first senior team cap. Sundhage also called up forward Casey Nogueira, a member of the USA’s 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Team in Russia, who had a fantastic junior season at North Carolina last year, pounding in 25 goals with eight assists including both scores in the NCAA title game victory against Notre Dame. She picked up a slew of national player of the year awards after the season. Nogueira earned her lone cap at the 2007 Four Nations Tournament in China, playing the first half against England. Goalkeeper Kelsey Davis from the University of Portland also gets a call up, earning the opportunity to train alongside veterans Hope Solo and Nicole Barnhart. A long-time veteran of the USA’s youth national teams, Davis was the back-up goalkeeper at the 2004 FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup in Thailand and the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Russia and was a member of the U.S. U-23 Women’s National Team that won the 2007 Nordic Cup in Finland. No matter how much these players get to play against Canada, with the Women's World Cup two years away, the time is now to invest in young players to see if they can make an impact down the road.

Lloyd Hurt: Gruesome, but Not Serious

U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd suffered a laceration to her left knee today in the USA's scrimmage and will not be available for the match against Canada on Monday. The injury, which was much worse looking than it actually was, occurred when she skidded on the ground after trying to cross a ball. She suffered a deep, 2.5 inch gash almost directly on the front of her kneecap. No one could figure out if it was a cleat that opened the wound, a rock, or just friction on the ground, but suffice it to say it was pretty gross. So much so that the WNT Blog has decided against posting a picture of it. But to give you visual image, it looked as if a small shark or a barracuda had chomped on her knee. She should be able to make up some good stories with the scar after she is all healed up. "So, I was snorkeling in Bermuda, and out of nowhere, a giant squid grabbed my leg!" Carli is fine, and in good spirits, but once again amazed at the freakishness of injuries she has suffered with the WNT, which includes a broken wrist after she lost her balance hitting a shot early in her career, and a broken nose. The U.S. medical staff, which did a great job cleaning, stitching (it took 5-6 stitches to close that sucker) and dressing the wound on the field, estimates about two weeks until she can get back on the field after the cut has healed and closed up well.