The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup is underway in Germany this weekend, and the United States roster includes a pair of Atlanta Beat players: defender Heather Mitts and midfielder Carli Lloyd. With a combined 223 caps, they're among the USWNT's most experienced players, and Lloyd compares favorably with the goal-scoring total of everybody not named Abby Wambach.
Mitts is playing her first season with the Beat, having appeared in four games for the home team after seasons with the Philadelphia Independence and Boston Breakers. 2008 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year Lloyd also joined the Beat for 2011, having suffered an ankle injury during her 2010 season with Sky Blue FC.
Elsewhere on the 2011 roster, Breakers forward Kelley O'Hara hails from Fayetteville, Georgia, earning various 2006 all-state honors before going to play for the Stanford Cardinal. And Heather O'Reilly scored the winning goal for the U.S. team against China last year at the Kennesaw St. Owls Soccer Stadium, home of the Beat.
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