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"Sitting together in a circle, they look like a motley crew.\n\nThere's Abby Wambach: the outgoing forward from upstate New York who is eagerly talking about the importance of being a positive role model for teens. Then, there's introverted Natasha \"Tasha\" Kai: the Hawaii\u2013born forward who sports eleven tattoos on her body and whose poker\u2013face breaks into a mischievous grin only when the discussion turns to her dancing skills.\n\nForward Lindsay Tarpley from Michigan has a young, sweet demeanor that offsets her on\u2013field ferocity; Californian midfielder Shannon Boxx exudes a steady, mature wisdom; defender Cat Whitehill from Alabama seems shy at first, but becomes wide\u2013eyed and animated at the mere mention of World Cup; and tough New Jersey\u2013native midfielder Carli Lloyd is more of the sit\u2013back\u2013and\u2013take\u2013it\u2013all\u2013in type.\n\n\"All of us here, along with the rest of our team members, come with different body shapes, personalities, ethnicities, political affiliations, and religions,\" says Abby, \"but when we step onto the field, we have one common goal.\"\n\nRight now, that goal is to become the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 champions in September. Currently holding the top spot in FIFA's Women's World Ranking for the first time since August of 2003, this national team is set to possibly be one of the best squads in U.S. history. And the recent influx of young, new recruits combined with the leadership of the experienced veterans is sure to give them a competitive edge going into the championship.\n\n\"We're a fresh team, and we've been preparing for this moment for two years. I'm so excited that the competition is finally here!\" says Cat. The preparation she's talking about includes practicing a couple of hours a day, six days a week. Plus, the entire team went through an intensive four\u2013month\u2013long Residency Training Camp this past spring in California and is now at the end of an eight\u2013match send\u2013off tour across the U.S.\u2014all of this leading up to the main event in China.\n\n\"This fall, we want to leave our mark on the game of soccer,\" says Lindsay\u2014and from all of the heads nodding in agreement, it's clear that they're ready and determined to do so.\n\nShannon sums up the team's attitude best: \"Bring it on!\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/soccer>