Sports Then and Now

St. Louis Athletica goalkeeper Hope Solo and midfielder Shannon Boxx have been named to the 2010 Algarve Cup roster by US Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage. The annual tournament in Portugal, staged this year from Feb. 24 through Mar. 3, is one of the most competitive tournaments in women’s international soccer.

This trip will mark Solo’s eighth Algarve Cup, and she goes in as one of the most experienced Algarve players on the US roster along with forward Heather O’Reilly. This will be the seventh tournament for Boxx.

Athletica captain and US Women’s National team captain Lori Chalupny will miss this tournament due to concussion-related injuries.

Solo started in 17 of the 17 games she was available for in the 2009 WPS season, missing the other games for national team duties. She was second in the WPS with eight shutouts, 84 saves, and goals against average (.82). She was the leading vote-getter for fan balloting for the WPS All-Star Game.

Former Los Angeles Sol captain Shannon Boxx, acquired by the Athletica in the 2010 Dispersal Draft on Feb. 4, scored three goals and added three assists in 19 games during the 2009 WPS season. She was also a member of the WPS All-Star team.

The United States was drawn into group B in the Algarve Cup, along with Norway, Iceland and Sweden. The team will depart for Europe on February 18. Kickoff times and venues have not yet been determined.