May 3, 2006

Former University of South Carolina soccer player Josh Wolff has been named to the 2006 United States FIFA World Cup Team. National team head coach Bruce Arena unveiled his 23-man roster that will compete in Germany this summer Tuesday evening on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Wolff, who played at South Carolina from 1995 to 1997, will make his second appearance in the World Cup. He is one of 12 players on the 2006 squad that helped the U.S. advance to the quarterfinals of the 2002 event, the best finish for the Americans in 72 years.

Wolff was an All-South Region selection for the Gamecocks in 1997. He scored 50 points on 21 goals and eight assists in his three seasons at South Carolina. Wolff’s inclusion on the 2006 World Cup Roster marks the third by a former Gamecock. Wolff was joined by Clint Mathis (1994-97) on the 2002 team.

Since playing at South Carolina, Wolff has completed nine seasons in the MLS, including three with his current team the Kansas City Wizards. In addition to competing in the 2002 World Cup, Wolff also played in the 2000 Olympics and scored two goals and two assists in six games as the U.S. advanced to the semifinals in Sydney.

The U.S. will play a three-match “Send Off Series” during the month of May, including a May 23 match with Morrocco in Nashville, Tenn., a May 26 date against Venezuela in Cleveland and the final exhibition on May 28 against Latvia in East Hartford, Conn. All three games will air live on ESPN2 at 7 p.m. ET. The team is scheduled to depart for Germany on June 1 from Newark, N.J., arriving in Hamburg the following day.

The U.S. was drawn into Group E for the 2006 FIFA World Cup along with the Czech Republic, Italy and Ghana. The U.S. will play its opening match against Czech Republic on June 12 in Gelsenkirchen before meeting Italy in Kaiserslautern on June 17. They will finish the Group play June 22 against Ghana in Nuremberg.

2006 U.S. World Cup Roster

Goalkeepers: Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard, Kasey Keller

Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Jimmy Conrad, Cory Gibbs, Frankie Hejduk, Eddie Lewis, Oguchi Onyewu, Eddie Pope

Midfielders: DaMarcus Beasley, Bobby Convey, Clint Dempsey, Landon Donovan, Pablo Mastroeni, John O’Brien, Ben Olsen, Claudio Reyna

Forwards: Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, Brian McBride, Josh Wolff