ARENA NAMES 23-MAN ROSTER FOR NOV. 17 MATCH AGAINST EL SALVADOR AT RFK STADIUM ON ESPN; Youth Is the Theme for Final Match in 2002 as Road to Germany 2006 Begins
From the U.S. Soccer Communications Center -- October 29, 2002

CHICAGO (October 29, 2002) -U.S. Men's National Team head coach Bruce Arena has chosen a 23-man roster that will train in preparation for the international friendly against El Salvador on Sunday, November 17 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The match will be broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 3 p.m. ET, and fans can also follow the action live online via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker, presented by Philips Electronics.

The United States has not faced an international opponent since the team's historic quarterfinal finish at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in June. The team will train in the Washington, D.C. area beginning Nov. 10.-- Youth is the theme in the U.S. training camp, with the average player age coming in just under 24 years old. During the 2002 World Cup, the team's average age was 28. Eleven players will be in search of their first international cap against El Salvador, including high-scoring Revolution forward Taylor Twellman, who lit up MLS with 23 goals this year.

During the previous four-year cycle under Bruce Arena, 93 different players were given an opportunity to play with the national team, and the trend resumes again as 2006 World Cup qualifying begins in about 18 months.

"The challenge of building a team capable of qualifying for the World Cup begins again," said Arena. "There are a lot of talented young players with great potential in MLS, and over the next two years we plan to provide them with quality international experience in order to evaluate who can compete at the international level."

Four players from the U.S. World Cup side return to the nation's capital, led by the strike force tandem of San Jose Earthquakes forward Landon Donovan and MetroStars forward Clint Mathis. Donovan scored two goals during the USA's historic quarterfinal finish in Korea, including the second goal in the team's 2-0 victory against Mexico in the Round of 16. Mathis netted one of the best goals of the tournament when he stunned the home crowd by giving the U.S. a 1-0 lead against Korea in Daegu. The pair are joined by Chicago Fire midfielder DaMarcus Beasley and Colorado Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni, both of whom played in three games each during the World Cup. All ten MLS teams are represented on the training camp roster, with the Columbus Crew and New England Revolution each contributing four players.

The 2002 U.S. Open Cup champion Crew are led by forward Jeff Cunningham, who returns to the national team after helping the U.S. capture the 2002 Gold Cup in January, and MLS Rookie of the Year Kyle Martino. Twellman heads the New England contingent. The 22 year-old forward tallied 52 points in his debut season to capture the MLS Budweiser scoring championship and lead the Revolution to their first-ever MLS Cup final. Returning to the U.S. fold is D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen, who has missed nearly two years of service with the national team after suffering a series of ankle injuries.

Tickets for the Nov. 17 friendly, which is being presented to fans by LEGO, range in price from $22 to $50 and are available now through all Ticketmaster outlets (D.C. 202-432-7328; Baltimore 410-481-7328; Northern Virginia 703-573-7328; out of state 1-800-551-7328). Fans can also order online at www.ussoccer.com. Discount rates for groups of 20 or more are available by calling the D.C. United ticket offices at 703-478-6600.

The United States holds an 8-1-4 lifetime advantage against El Salvador, and has never lost a meeting on home soil. The Nov. 17 match will mark the first contest between the CONCACAF nations in Washington, D.C., where the U.S. has collected an 8-3-3 record. RFK last hosted an international friendly May 12 of this year, when the USA beat Uruguay 2-1 during the "Nike Road to Korea."

The teams last met in the 2002 CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal earlier this year, with Brian McBride netting a hat trick en route to a 4-0 U.S. victory on Jan. 27 at the Rose Bowl. The United States went on to capture the Gold Cup championship, beginning the impressive form that would carry through to Korea/Japan.

The U.S. has posted an impressive 11-6-2 record in 2002, going unbeaten in the first five matches of the year in capturing the 2002 Gold Cup championship in February. The team's performance reached a pinnacle during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, as the United States advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in 72 years.

U.S. Men's National Team Roster v. El Salvador
International Friendly November 17, 2002 RFK Stadium, Washington, D.C.

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Caps/G Hometown Club
3 Barrett, Wade D 5'8" 150 06/23/76 0/0 Virginia Beach, Va. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
7 Beasley, DaMarcus M 5'7" 126 05/24/82 15/3 Ft. Wayne, Ind. Chicago Fire (MLS)
4 Bocanegra, Carlos D 6'0" 170 05/25/79 6/0 Alto Loma, Calif. Chicago Fire (MLS)
24 Brown, Adin GK 6'4" 200 05/27/78 0/0 Pleasant Hill, Calif. New England Revolution (MLS)
23 Califf, Dan D 6'1" 175 03/17/80 1/0 Orange, Calif Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)
2 Cullen, Leo M 5'8" 160 02/26/76 2/0 Burnsville, Minn. New England Revolution (MLS)
9 Cunningham, Jeff F 5'8" 155 08/21/76 4/0 Crystal River, Fla. Columbus Crew (MLS) 21 Donovan, Landon F 5'8" 148 03/04/82 28/7 Redlands, Calif. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
13 Dunseth, Brian D 6'0" 170 03/02/77 0/0 Upland, Calif. Columbus Crew (MLS)
8 Hernandez, Daniel M 5'10" 165 07/23/76 0/0 Tyler, Texas New England Revolution (MLS)
18 Howard, Tim GK 6'3" 210 03/06/79 1/0 North Brunswick, N.J. MetroStars (MLS)
17 Klein, Chris M 6'1" 180 01/04/76 6/0 St. Louis, Mo. Kansas City Wizards (MLS)
16 Martino, Kyle M 5'10" 144 02/19/81 0/0 Westport, Conn. Columbus Crew (MLS)
25 Mastroeni, Pablo M 5'10" 170 08/26/76 13/0 Phoenix, Ariz. Colorado Rapids (MLS)
11 Mathis, Clint F 5'10" 170 11/25/76 25/10 Conyers, Ga. MetroStars (MLS)
5 McCarty, Chad D 5'11" 190 10/05/77 0/0 Clovis, Calif. Columbus Crew (MLS)
14 Olsen, Ben M 5'8" 140 05/03/77 19/3 Middletown, Pa. D.C. United (MLS)
19 Quill, Eric M 5'10" 170 02/28/78 0/0 Missouri City, Texas Kansas City Wizards (MLS)
1 Rimando, Nick K 5'11" 181 06/17/79 0/0 Montclair, Calif. D.C. United (MLS)
22 Robinson, Eddie D 6'1" 180 06/19/78 0/0 Orlando, Fla. San Jose Earthquakes (MLS)
6 Suarez, Ryan D 6'2" 185 07/28/77 0/0 Roseville, Calif. Dallas Burn (MLS)
20 Twellman, Taylor F 5'11" 170 02/29/80 0/0 St. Louis, Mo. New England Revolution (MLS)
12 Victorine, Sasha M 6'2" 165 02/03/78 1/0 Corona, Calif. Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS)

Goalkeepers: Adin Brown, Tim Howard, Nick Rimando

Defenders: Wade Barrett, Carlos Bocanegra, Dan Califf, Brian Dunseth, Chad McCarty, Eddie Robinson, Ryan Suarez

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Leo Cullen, Daniel Hernandez, Chris Klein, Kyle Martino, Pablo Mastroeni, Ben Olsen, Eric Quill, Sasha Victorine

Forwards: Jeff Cunningham, Landon Donovan, Clint Mathis, Taylor Twellman

U.S. Men's National Team Staff
Head Coach: Bruce Arena (Fairfax, Va.)
Assistant Coach: Dave Sarachan (Ashburn, Va.)
Assistant Coach: Glenn Myernick (Denver)
Goalkeeper Coach: Milutin Soskic (Mission Viejo, Calif.)
General Manager: Pam Perkins (Evanston, Ill.)
Trainers: Jim Hashimoto (Wilmington, Del.), Rick Guter (Fairfax, Va.)
Doctor: William Hazel (Fairfax, Va.)
Equipment Manager: Joe Ahearn (Chicago)
Press Officer: Michael Kammarman (Chicago)

RESULTS & STANDINGS