Natasha Kai, the former UH and Kahuku High standout, was named to the final 18-player roster for the United States national women's team in the upcoming Olympic Games.
Brian Ching, the Kamehameha product who is a star striker for the Houston Dynamo of MLS, remains a key member of the U.S. men's squad on the road to qualification for the 2010 World Cup.
Kai's selection was hardly surprising, given that she has scored a team-leading 10 goals for the U.S. this year.
More surprising was the selection of goalkeeper Hope Solo and the exclusion of veteran Briana Scurry. Hope was suspended from the squad during the last Women's World Cup after criticizing then coach Greg Ryan for being kept out of the starting lineup in an eventual 4-0 loss to Brazil.
Ching contributed a pair of goals for the US in an 8-0 rout of Barbados in an opening round match in regional World Cup qualifying. The Americans won the away leg of the home-and-home series in less impressive fashion, defeating Barbados 1-0.
The win earned the US a berth in a semifinal group that also includes Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba and Guatemala.
The top teams from each semifinal group advance to next year's regional finals, which will produce three World Cup qualifiers and a fourth team that will play-off against South America's fifth-place team for the final berth.
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