Four FC Kansas City player called up for St. Louis match

FC Kansas City's Lauren Holiday, Becky Sauerbrunn, Amy Rodriguez and Heather O'Reilly were all called up for training in Los Angeles for a few days before heading to St Louis for a match against New Zealand on April 4 at Busch Stadium.

The roster is the same 25 players who won the 2015 Algarve Cup in Portugal by defeating France 2-0 in the final.

"Having the initial training period in L.A., when we can go a bit harder and then tapering into the match in St. Louis will be excellent preparation for a New Zealand team that always gives us a highly competitive game," said Ellis. "This will be an excellent test for us. They are aggressive, athletic and like to press. We'll see some similar tendencies that we could see in our first group match at the World Cup and certainly the crowd will be tremendous. It will be nice to be back at home."

FC Kansas City's captain and twice NWSL defender of the year Becky Sauerbrunn is a native of St. Louis as is Lori Chalupny from the Chicago Red Stars.

This match (and possibly another in April) are part of the preparation for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup as well the Send-off series in May.

U.S. Women's National Team Roster By Position:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Ashlyn Harris (Washington Spirit), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (10): Lori Chalupny (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Washington Spirit), Whitney Engen (Western NY Flash), Julie Johnston (Chicago Red Stars), Meghan Klingenberg (Houston Dash), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Rachel Van Hollebeke (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Shannon Boxx (Chicago Red Stars), Morgan Brian (Houston Dash), Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC), Lauren Holiday (FC Kansas City), Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash), Heather O'Reilly (FC Kansas City), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)
FORWARDS (5): Sydney Leroux (Seattle Reign FC), Alex Morgan (Portland Thorns FC), Christen Press (Chicago Red Stars), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Abby Wambach (Unattached)