U.S. Women's Quest for 4th Olympic Gold Begins Wednesday in Scotland

Several soccer players from Southern California, including Amy Rodriguez of Lake Forest, are with the U.S. Women's National Team in Scotland to go for an historic fourth Olympics gold medal starting Wednesday.

Supporters in Lake Forest will have to take a very early lunch if they want to watch live, as the Americans are scheduled to kickoff at 9 a.m. Pacific.

The 2012 Summer Olympics, known formally as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, begin July 25 at soccer stadiums in Glasgow, Cardiff and Coventry.

The Games Opening Ceremony is in London later this week, at 1 p.m. Pacific Time on Friday, July 27.

The U.S. Women lost in the final of the 2011 FIFA World Cup, but they are the current defending Olympic Gold medalists.

Olympic women's soccer features a 12-team tournament, with 2011 World Cup champions Japan, other strong sides including Brazil and Sweden, and a combo roster representing the hosts, Great Britain.

The U.S. team's 18-woman roster includes So Cal natives Rodriguez, Amy Morgan of Diamond Bar, Shannon Boxx of Redondo Beach, Rachel Buehler of Del Mar, and Sydney Leroux of Los Angeles.

According to U.S. Soccer, their work begins at 9 a.m. Pacific Time Wednesday at Hampden Park in Glasgow, where the Americans will take on France in the first of three group matches.

The match is scheduled to be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network and the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel. Supporters can also follow the match via ussoccer.com's MatchTracker and on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt.

"The U.S. team has been in the United Kingdom since July 11 and in Glasgow since July 17, and despite some rainy weather, the pre-Olympic training has gone very well for the Americans," U.S. Soccer reported Tuesday.

Following Wednesday's match against France, the U.S. continues group play against Colombia at 9 a.m. Pacific on Saturday July 28 at Hampden Park.

The Americans will then face Korea DPR at 9:15 a.m. Pacific on Tuesday July 31 at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.

Both games will be broadcast live on the NBC Sports Network and the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel, according to U.S. Soccer.

U.S. 2012 Olympics Roster:

  1 Goalkeeper Hope Solo, 30, of Richland, Wash.

  2 Defender Heather Mitts, 34, of Cincinnati, Ohio

  3 Defender Christie Rampone, 37, of Point Pleasant, N.J.

  4 Defender Becky Sauerbrunn, 27, of St. Louis, Mo.

  5 Defender Kelley O’Hara, 23, of Fayetteville, Ga.

  6 Defender Amy LePeilbet, 30, of Crystal Lake, Ill.

  7 Midfielder Shannon Boxx, 35, of Redondo Beach, Calif.

  8 Midfielder Amy Rodriguez, 25, of Lake Forest, Calif.

  9 Midfielder Heather O’Reilly, 27, of East Brunswick, N.J.

10 Midfielder Carli Lloyd, 30, of Delran, N.J.

11 Forward Sydney Leroux, 22, of Los Angeles, Calif.

12 Forward Lauren Cheney, 24, of Indianapolis, Ind.

13 Forward Alex Morgan, 23, of Diamond Bar, Calif.

14 Forward Abby Wambach, 32, of Rochester, N.Y.

15 Midfielder Megan Rapinoe, 27, of Redding, Calif.

16 Defender Rachel Buehler, 26, of Del Mar, Calif.

17 Midfielder Tobin Heath, 24, of Basking Ridge, N.J.

18 Goalkeeper Nicole Barnhart, 30, of Gilbertsville, Pa.

Women's soccer debuted as an Olympic sport in 1996. The U.S. women won gold in 1996, 2004 and 2008. The Americans also won the FIFA Women's World Cup in 1991 and 1999.

For more information on U.S. Women's Soccer, visit www.ussoccer.com, and for more information about the 2012 Summer Olympics based in London, England, visit www.london2012.com.