Five Dash Players Called Up To National Teams

Five Houston Dash players have been called up to their national teams for up coming tournaments. Whitney Engen and Meghan Klingenberg have been called up for the USWNT while Lauren Sesselmann and Erin McLeod have been called up for the CanWNT. The Dash's newest signing Aya Sameshima was called up for Japan.

The United States will be participating in the Algrave Cup from March 5-12 facing Japan, Sweden, and Denmark in the group stages. The team has won the Algrave Cup nine times since 2000 including last year's victory. Whitney Engen has earned 12 caps for the USWNT while Meghan Klingenberg has six caps.

Aya Sameshima has been called up by the Japanese Women's National Team, which was drawn into the same group as the United States for the Algrave Cup. They will face Sweden, Denmark and the United States in the group stage. Sameshima has had 52 caps for the team since 2008.

The Canadian team will be competing in the Cyprus Cup taking place from March 3-13. As part of their group play they will be facing Finland, Italy and England. The Cyprus Cup was first played in 2008, and the Canadian women have won it three times. Erin McLeod had made 93 appearances for Canada since 2002. Sesselmann has 39 caps for Canada with four assists in those games.

Training camp for the Houston Dash starts on March 10. The results of the tournaments will determine when the players will be in Houston.

U.S. Women's National Team Roster By Position:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Jill Loyden (Sky Blue FC), Alyssa Naeher (Boston Breakers), Hope Solo (Seattle Reign FC)
DEFENDERS (9): Stephanie Cox (Seattle Reign FC), Whitney Engen (Tyresö), Meghan Klingenberg (Tyresö), Ali Krieger (Washington Spirit), Kristie Mewis (Boston Breakers), Kelley O'Hara (Sky Blue FC), Christie Rampone (Sky Blue FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (FC Kansas City), Rachel Van Hollebeke (Portland Thorns FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Virginia), Tobin Heath (Paris Saint-Germain), Sarah Killion (UCLA), Carli Lloyd (WNY Flash), Samantha Mewis (UCLA), Heather O'Reilly (Boston Breakers), Megan Rapinoe (Seattle Reign FC)
FORWARDS (5): Sarah Hagen (Bayern Munich), Sydney Leroux (Seattle Reign FC), Christen Press (Tyresö), Amy Rodriguez (FC Kansas City), Abby Wambach (WNY Flash)

Canada Women's National Team Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Stephanie Labbé (KIF Örebro DFF), Karina LeBlanc (Chicago Red Stars, Erin McLeod (Houston Dash)
DEFENDERS (8): Robyn Gayle (Washington Spirit), Kadeisha Buchanan (West Virginia University), Carmelina Moscato (Seattle Reign FC), Marie-Eve Nault (KIF Örebro DFF), Lauren Sesselmann (Houston Dash), Rhian Wilkinson (Unattached), Emily Zurrer (Jitex BK), Rachel Quon (Chicago Red Stars)
MIDFIELDERS (5): Kaylyn Kyle (Boston Breakers), Diana Matheson (Washington Spirit), Sophie Schmidt (Sky Blue FC), Desiree Scott (Notts County Ladies), Brittany Baxter (Unattached)
FORWARDS (5): Adriana Leon (Chicago Red Stars), Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns FC), Josée Belanger (Unattached), Nkem Ezurike (Boston Breakers), Jonelle Filigno (Sky Blue FC)