SANTA CLARA, CA (February 26, 2009) – FC Gold Pride continues to solidify its roster, adding two U.S. National Team players today with the announcement that Nicole Barnhart and Leslie Osborne have agreed to terms.

Both players have international playing experience with the U.S. Women’s National Team and played at the collegiate level in the Bay Area, Barnhart at Stanford and Osborne at Santa Clara.

Barnhart was a standout goalkeeper at Stanford University from 2000 through 2004, where she set the school’s career low goals against average (GAA) allowing only 0.41 per game during her tenure with the Cardinal. The Gilbertsville, PA native was an All Pac-10 selection in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and M.A.C. Hermann trophy finalist her senior year. She earned her first cap with the Senior National Team in 2004 and has made appearances with the team in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Barnhart was a member of the Olympic Gold Medal winning team at the Beijing Games along with FC Gold Pride teammate, Rachel Buehler.

Osborne is also a member of the U.S. National team. The Brookfield, WI native earned her first cap in 2004 and in recent years has established herself as a fixture in the midfield and now has 57 caps and two goals. She was forced to sit out of the 2008 Olympic tournament while recovering from a torn ACL. While at Santa Clara, Osborne was named to the All West Coast Conference (WCC) First-Team all four years. She finished her career with the Broncos with 34 goals and 44 assists. As a senior, she was the winner of the NCAA’s prestigious Honda Award as the nation’s top female athlete in her sport as well as a M.A. C. Hermann Trophy award semi-finalist. She was also named the WCC Defender of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to be selected as both the Player of the Year (which she accomplished in 2003) and Defender of the Year.

FC Gold Pride will open training camp on Monday, March 2 at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA with 28 players on the roster. The preseason schedule includes five exhibition matches against Cal, California Storm and WPS intrastate rival Los Angeles Sol.

Get ready for Opening Day! FC Gold Pride will kick off the 2009 WPS season on April 5th at home against the Boston Breakers at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University. Individual-game tickets for all 10 Pride home games go on sale Monday, March 2 at 8 a.m. exclusively at fcgoldpride.com.