This story written for US Soccer.com posted today, Tuesday, July 13.
The Yahoo Sports Fans Group for the MISL is MISL Fan Forum,
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/mislfanforum

United States Futsal National Team head coach Keith Tozer has
announced the 12-player roster that will represent the U.S. at the
2004 CONCACAF Futsal Final Round Qualification Tournament from July
23 to August 1, 2004 in Heredia, Costa Rica.

The U.S. will open its qualifying campaign against Panama on July
24, and will also face Guyana on July 26 before finishing group play
on July 28 against Cuba. The U.S. will hope to advance to the
semifinals on July 30, where the winner of the two semifinal matches
will qualify for the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship being
played from Nov. 21 to Dec. 5 in Chinese Taipei. Both finalists will
play for the CONCACAF crown on July 31.

"We are looking forward to this tournament," said Tozer, who has a
17-8-4 record in his nine years leading the team. "In the past four
years we have played many more international competitions than years
past and hopefully our players garnered enough experience to advance.

"With the growth of futsal in the last four years, all of the teams
will be tough. Panama has a Brazilian coach and has traveled to
Brazil to gain international experience, which means we will open
against a tactically and technically solid team. Guyana also has a
Brazilian influence on their coaching staff, and Cuba, who we lost
to in 2000, is one of the most experienced teams in the region."

The roster features only two holdovers, defender Sean Bowers and
midfielder Lee Tschantret, from the 2000 qualifying team that missed
the FIFA Futsal World Championship with a third place finish. Bowers
enters qualifying with 25 caps, 11 more than Tschantret, the second
most experienced player on the team. In 2000, he scored a goal in
each of the USA's three group games vs. Puerto Rico, Netherlands
Antilles and Mexico while picking up four assists as the U.S.
finished third behind Cuba and Costa Rica. Tschantret tied for the
team lead with 11 points in that tournament with four goals and
three assists. Both Bowers and Tschantret lead the team with six
international goals on their career record.

The U.S. earned a spot in the eight-team final round competition
after sweeping Honduras 7-1 in a two game series (5-1, 2-0) in late
May in Milwaukee, Wis. Eight of the 12 players on the final round
roster appeared for the U.S. in that series, with Greg Howes, Joel
Shanker and Danny Kelly each recording goals.

All 12 players on the U.S. roster played in the MISL last season,
and one half of the roster – as well as head coach Keith Tozer –
represented the Milwaukee Wave and Baltimore Blast in the MISL
Championship Series this spring. Blast goalkeeper Scott Hileman was
named the MVP of the series and Kelly scored the series-clinching
goal. Tschantret and Kelly each had three goals in the series for
the Blast, while Howes and Todd Dusosky had four and two,
respectively, for the Wave. Pat White also suited up for the Wave in
the series.

Futsal is a sport that is a derivative of soccer played with five-
man teams on a basketball style court, with no walls and a low
bouncing ball, unlike the traditional sport of U.S. indoor soccer
played with a six-man squads and walls. Great soccer super stars
such as Pele, Zico and Ronaldo grew up playing the game and credit
futsal with developing their skills.

U.S. Futsal Roster
CONCACAF Final Round Qualifying Tournament
Heredia, Costa Rica – July 23-Aug. 1, 2004
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Birthdate Hometown MISL Club
Caps/Goals
Hileman, Scott GK 6-1 176 11/05/72 Phoenix, Ariz.
Baltimore Blast 2/0
Phillips, Brett GK 5-11 205 12/27/68 Syracuse,
N.Y. St. Louis Steamers 11/0
Bowers, Sean D 6-2 185 08/12/68 San Diego, Calif.
San Diego Sockers 25/6
Tschantret, Lee D 5-9 160 04/10/69 New York, N.Y.
Baltimore Blast 14/6
White, Pat D 5-10 175 07/14/74 Milwaukee, Wis.
Milwaukee Wave 10/4
Ball, John M 5-11 165 11/05/72 Newton, Conn.
Cleveland Force 9/1
Kelly, Danny M 5-9 155 03/07/69 Bronx, N.Y.
Baltimore Blast 2/1
Shanker, Joel M 5-9 165 08/14/71 St. Louis, Mo.
Philadelphia Kixx 6/4
D'Ambra, Don F 5-10 190 05/05/72 Philadelphia, Pa.
Philadelphia Kixx 4/4
Dusosky, Todd F 6-0 200 05/12/76 Hales Corner,
Wis. Milwaukee Wave 5/1
Guastaferro, Andy F 5-10 175 11/24/77 Canandaigua,
N.Y. Chicago Storm 2/0
Howes, Greg F 6-0 185 03/26/77 Tacoma, Wash.
Milwaukee Wave 4/1

Team Staff
Head Coach: Keith Tozer (Mequon, Wis.)
Assistant Coach: Vilmar Marques (Mountain View, Calif.)
Head of Delegation: Alex Para (Berkeley, Calif.)
Team Coordinator: Bryan Koch (New Berlin, Wis.)
Medical Trainer: Todd Daniels (Oak Park, Calif.)
Team Physician: David Garelick (Chicago, Ill.)
Press Officer: David Applegate (Chicago, Ill.)

CONCACAF Qualifying Tournament Schedule
Palacio de los Deportes, Heredia, Costa Rica – July 23-Aug. 1, 2004
Group A
Date Teams Kickoff (ET)
July 23 Mexico vs. Trinidad 7 p.m.
July 23 Costa Rica vs. Surinam 9 p.m.
July 25 Surinam vs. Mexico 7
p.m.
July 25 Costa Rica vs. Trinidad & Tobago 9 p.m.
July 27 Trinidad & Tobago vs. Surinam 7 p.m.
July 27 Costa Rica vs. Mexico 9 p.m.

Group B
Date Teams Kickoff (ET)
July 24 USA vs. Panama 7 p.m.
July 24 Guyana vs. Cuba 9 p.m.
July 26 USA vs. Guyana 7 p.m.
July 26 Cuba vs. Panama 9 p.m.
July 28 Panama vs. Guyana 7 p.m.
July 28 Cuba vs. USA 9 p.m.

Semifinals / Finals
Date Teams Kickoff (ET)
July 30 B1 vs. A2 7 p.m.
July 30 A1 vs. B2 9 p.m.
July 31 Third Place Game 7 p.m.
July 31 Final 9 p.m.