Olympic Gold Medalists Will Play South Korea in Tampa SaturdayCLEARWATER – The gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will continue its Achieve Your Gold Tour with a match against South Korea this Saturday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, with a kickoff at 7 p.m. It will mark the first visit to Florida by the U.S. Women in more than eight years. . Tickets for the match are on sale now. They can be purchased by phone at 813-287-8844 (Tampa), and at Ticketmaster ticket centers. Tickets can also be purchased at the Raymond James box office on game day. Midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored the game-winning goal in the championship game on Aug. 21 at Beijing Workers’ Stadium during the dramatic 1-0 overtime victory against Brazil, headlines the roster. Team co-captains Christie Rampone and Kate Markgraf, who solidified the defense that shut out Brazil for the title and goalkeeper Hope Solo, whose stellar play all tournament long, but especially in the gold medal game, will anchor the USA’s defense. Fifteen of the 18 players from the Olympic roster will travel on the tour, and an additional four players have been added. The USA’s college players – Amy Rodriguez (USC), Tobin Heath (UNC) and Lauren Cheney (UCLA) -- will not be playing due to commitments to their college seasons. Olympic alternates Briana Scurry and midfielder Kacey White were added to the roster for the entire Achieve Your Gold Tour, and they will now be joined by two members of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup Team in defenders Tina Ellertson and Marian Dalmy, who have come back from pregnancy and injury, respectively. Despite two trips to South Korea in the past three years for the Peace Queen Cup, the U.S. women had not faced the South Koreans since 1999, a 5-0 win in Columbus, Ohio. The USA beat South Korea on November 1st in Richmond, Va in the first of the three game series that concludes in Tampa. The USA has not lost a domestic match since November of 2006. In fact, the U.S. women have lost just five domestic matches this decade, three coming in 2000.
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