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reprint of COLORADO RAPIDS NEWS RELEASE -- byline Andy Engel
NEWS RELEASE

DENVER (Tuesday, July 16, 2002) - United States Men's National Team Head Coach Bruce Arena has named an 18-man roster that will battle the best of MLS in the 2002 Pepsi MLS All-Star Game - a roster that includes past Team USA World Cup and current Colorado Rapids members Pablo Mastroeni and Chris Henderson. Kickoff for the Saturday, August 3 game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. is set for 3:30 p.m. ET, with the match being televised live on ABC.
The United States, which advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time in more than 70 years and captivated a nation in doing so, featured 11 current and five former MLS players. The U.S. roster for this match consists entirely of MLS players, with nine of ten teams represented.
"U.S. Soccer is honored to participate in the Pepsi MLS All-Star Game," said Arena. "We are proud to help acknowledge the players of MLS, who have made such great strides in establishing this league in seven short years. We are looking forward to an entertaining event and having the opportunity to thank our loyal fans."
In the spirit of acknowledging the contributions so many have made to the growth of Major League Soccer and the sport in this country during the modern era, Arena has selected players from past and present World Cup rosters. Rapids midfielder Pablo Mastroeni was the sole member of Arena's Korea/Japan '02 squad not to have played in a single World Cup qualifying match before appearing in three of five games for Team USA in its unprecedented run at the quarterfinals in June, playing a key role in matches against Portugal, Mexico and Germany. Henderson, the youngest member of the U.S. World Cup squad in 1990 (Italy '90) at age 19, has recorded 79 caps for the U.S. and has appeared for the Red, White and Blue in international play every year since 1990. During his tenure as a member of the national team, Team USA is 32-22-25 with Henderson in the lineup. Henderson currently leads the Rapids with 8 goals, 2 assists in Colorado's 2002 MLS campaign.
Leading the 2002 contingent are members of the MLS StrikeForce: Landon Donovan and Brian McBride, both of whom scored game-winning goals for the USA in Korea, and the Chicago Fire tandem of DaMarcus Beasley and Josh Wolff.
A total of ten players on the roster are veterans of the France '98 squad, including names like Brian Maisonneuve (Crew), Alexi Lalas (Galaxy) and Preki Radosavljevic (Wizards). Also joining the U.S. selection is former U.S. captain John Harkes.
In addition to the celebratory game between the U.S. National Team and MLS All-Stars (as voted by the fans, players, coaches and media), MLS and U.S. Soccer will recognize previous players who have been an integral part of the growth of soccer in the United States. The Chicago Fire's Chris Armas, one of the key components of the USA's 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign who was lost prior to the tournament with a torn ACL in his right knee, has been named the honorary captain of the U.S. selection.
The starting 11 for the Pepsi MLS All-Stars will be announced at 11:00 a.m. MT on Wednesday, July 17th during a press conference featuring Commissioner Don Garber and Bruce Arena in New York, with the remainder of the 2002 squad to be named next week by Pepsi MLS All-Star and San Jose Earthquakes Coach Frank Yallop.
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Caps/G Hometown Club Agoos, Jeff D 5'10" 175 05/02/68 133/4 Dallas, Texas San Jose Earthquakes Burns, Mike D 5'9" 165 09/14/70 75/0 Marlboro, Mass. Kansas City Wizards Beasley, DaMarcus M 5'7" 126 05/24/82 15/3 Ft. Wayne, Ind. Chicago Fire Deering, Chad M 6'1" 165 09/02/70 18/1 Plano, Texas Dallas Burn Donovan, Landon F 5'8" 148 03/04/82 28/7 Redlands, Calif. San Jose Earthquakes Harkes, John M 5'11" 165 03/08/67 90/6 Kearny, N.J. Columbus Crew Henderson, Chris M 5'10" 150 12/11/70 79/3 Everett, Wash. Colorado Rapids Jones, Cobi M 5'7" 145 06/16/70 159/14 Westlake Village, Calif. Los Angeles Galaxy Lalas, Alexi D 6'3" 195 06/01/70 96/9 Detroit, Mich. Los Angeles Galaxy Llamosa,Carlos D 5'11" 166 06/30/69 29/0 Maspeth, N.Y. New England Revolution Maisonneuve, Brian M 5'11" 170 06/28/73 13/0 Warren, Mich. Columbus Crew Mastroeni, Pablo D/M 5'10" 170 08/26/76 13/0 Phoenix, Ariz. Colorado Rapids McBride, Brian F 6'1" 170 06/19/72 65/20 Arlington Heights, Ill. Columbus Crew Meola, Tony GK 6'1" 205 02/21/69 99/0 Kearny, N.J. Kansas City Wizards Pope, Eddie D 6'1" 180 12/24/73 55/5 High Point, N.C. D.C. United Radosavljevic, Preki M 5'9" 165 06/24/63 28/4 Overland Park, Kan. Kansas City Wizards Sommer, Juergen GK 6'5" 215 02/27/69 8/0 New York, N.Y. New England Revolution Wolff, Josh F 5'8" 160 02/25/77 20/6 Stone Mountain, Ga. Chicago Fire Goalkeepers: Tony Meola, Juergen Sommer Defenders: Jeff Agoos, Mike Burns, Alexi Lalas, Carlos Llamosa, Eddie Pope Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Chad Deering, John Harkes, Chris Henderson, Cobi Jones, Pablo Mastroeni, Brian Maisonneuve, Preki Radosavljevic Forwards: Landon Donovan, Brian McBride, Josh Wolff Head Coach: Bruce Arena
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