Pia calls up 21

It was a momentous week for the USWNT as Wednesday saw Pia’s first national team call-ups since the new women’s professional league began play. The team has two upcoming friendlies against Japan May 20th & May 23rd. Seventeen WPS and four college players made the roster. And Pia’s response: “Now is the time to start investing in 2011.” While these upcoming games are only technically friendlies, they definitely are warm-ups for World Cup qualifiers. And even though the new league is showcasing new talent, this particular list pretty much contains the usual suspects – save for a few new additions. Clearly Brittany Bock continues to impress while Amy LePeilbet and Marian Dalmy are back in the fold. But since the inaugural WPS season is only about a quarter done, it may be too soon to start complaining about the absence of Tiffany Weimer. At least Abby Wambach is back. Here’s the list:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Nicole Barnhart (FC Gold Pride), Kelsey Davis (Portland), Hope Solo (St. Louis Athletica)
DEFENDERS (7): Brittany Bock (Los Angeles Sol), Rachel Buehler (FC Gold Pride), Lori Chalupny (St. Louis Athletica), Marian Dalmy (Chicago Red Stars), Amy LePeilbet (Boston Breakers), Heather Mitts (Boston Breakers), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (Los Angeles Sol), Angela Hucles (Boston Breakers), Carli Lloyd (Chicago Red Stars), Christine Nairn (Penn State), Heather O’Reilly (Sky Blue FC), Megan Rapinoe (Chicago Red Stars), Lindsay Tarpley (Chicago Red Stars)
FORWARDS (4): Lauren Cheney (UCLA), Casey Nogueira (North Carolina), Amy Rodriguez (Boston Breakers), Abby Wambach (Washington Freedom)