Jan. 30, 2008

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla - Former UC Santa Barbara soccer players Rob Friend and Tyler Rosenlund were among the 19 players listed on the Canadian men's national team camp roster, as announced by head coach Dale Mitchell earlier this month.

The former Gauchos are currently training in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The team will run an 11-day training camp before heading to St. Lucia to play their first international friendly of the season this Saturday. The men's national team will also face the Republic of Estonia on March 26.

While CONCACAF's first phase of 2010 World Cup Qualification begins in February, Canada will wait until the second phase to play their first game on June 15 in Saint Vincent & the Grenadines.

"The January training camp is largely about working with players who are in their off season," Mitchell told CanadaSoccer. "Ultimately, we are looking to see who amongst the group could play a part in the qualifying process of our senior men or Olympic team during 2008."

Playing with the Gauchos in 2001 and 2002, Friend became first player in program history to be drafted by an MLS team when he was selected by the Chicago Fire in the fourth round of the 2003 SuperDraft. The native of Kelowna, B.C. was named an NSCAA and College Soccer News All-American in 2002 after setting a school record for goals scored in a season with 20. Friend also helped guide Santa Barbara to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance that year, advancing to the second round before losing to Cal 2-1. He ranks fourth on UCSB's all-time scoring charts with 31 career goals.

Friend currently plays professionally for Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany.

Rosenlund was a three-year letterwinner at UCSB from 2004-06 and helped the Gauchos' win the program's first national championship in his final season. He scored four goals - three of which came in Santa Barbara's win over Northwestern in the Elite Eight -- and dished out four assists as a junior and went on to earn All-College Cup honors for his performance in the midfield. A Hermann Trophy Candidate in 2005, Rosenlund finished with career totals of nine goals and 16 assists in 51 matches.

The Port Coquitlam, B.C. native signed with the Swedish Club Atvidabergs FF after foregoing his senior season at UCSB.

Information in this release courtesy of CanadaSoccer.com