Roseville, Minnesota - The roster for the USA Women's National Bandy Team is in place, as the team prepares for the 2012 Women's Bandy World Championships. This years tournament takes place February 23-26 in Irkutsk, Russia, billed as a Women's bandy mecca. The outdoor stadiums that the team will be playing at in Russia are Trud Stadium, a 20,000 seat venue built in 1957, and Rekord Stadium, a 6,300 seater, by far the largest arenas a U.S. Women's Bandy team has ever played in.

The team has been training hard the last two years under the watchful eye of new Head Coach Mikael Sandberg. Sandberg has brought a wealth of bandy knowledge to the team after playing competitively all his life, at the highest level in Sweden and Russia. Commenting on this years team, Sandberg said "It's been a long road in preparing for this year's World Championship. We started training eighteen months ago, and during that time we have completely revamped our playbook, added new players, and moved to a higher division to get more competitive games. The team has worked very hard off ice to ensure that they are in top physical condition, so we can skate with the best teams in the world for sixty minutes".

Big changes happened quickly upon the teams return from the 2010 World Championships in Drammen, Norway, where they finished a disappointing fifth. At the tournaments conclusion, coach Paul Meehl moved to General Manager, and Rob Goldnick stepped down from coaching. Meehl and Goldnick are credited with rebuilding the team in 2003 after several years in dormancy, and keeping the program going through five World Championship tournaments. Sandberg was brought in, and started training the team immediately. Several new players were added to the roster, and started working alongside the team veterans in preparation for the 2012 World Championships. The team turned up the intensity starting last summer, running ski hills to build strength and endurance, and using various sports facilities for theory and tactic training, as well as shooting practice. The team also moved up from the lowest Division in the USA Bandy League, to the B Division, so they could play against better competition.

Almost half of the roster for the United States will be participating in their first World Championship this month. The new players join Sweeper Steph Johnson, Goalkeeper Kathy Dupre and Midfielder Kristy Powell Wynn, the last hold outs from the team that competed in Finland back in 2004. Rounding out the veteran side of the squad are Halfback Annie Simons, Halfback Becky Draper, Midfielder Sarma Özmen, Midfielder Kathryn Greaves and Fullback Sharon Cole. Cole and Powell Wynn will lead the team together as Co-Captains, a responsibility they have shared since 2007. While the newest players may lack international bandy experience, many have experience in big game situations while playing competitive sports all their lives Several have competed at the highest levels of U.S. Hockey.

Mikayla Rogers and Hannah Powers come to the team from Highland Park High School, where they play hockey for the St. Paul Blades, and also excel on their High School tennis and softball teams. Powers captained those tennis and softball teams, and was All-Conference Honorable Mention in both. She also made the Academic All-State tennis team. She did all of this while still maintaining her status on the A Honor Roll, and remaining a member of the National Honor Society. She was nominated for the Minnesota State High School League 'AAA' Award (Athletics, Arts, Academics), and won the St. Paul City Jeanne Arth Sportsmanship Award. Rogers is the youngest member of Team USA, and also an A Honor Roll student. Like Hannah, Mikayla is a three sport varsity athlete in softball, tennis and hockey, but she has also qualified for nationals in downhill ski racing. She was All-Conference in softball, two time All-Conference in tennis, and her team's MVP. Tennis also brought her an Urban Tennis Youth Program City Championship in 2006. As if that weren't enough, she is a two time All-Conference Honorable Mention, a Minnesota Selects choice in '05, '06, '08 & '09, and All-Academic in 2009 for hockey.

Goalkeeper Sarah Ahlquist was invited to try out for the team shortly after Laura Evanson was unable to play any longer. Ahlquist plays elite hockey with the Minnesota Whitecaps, as well as the Minnesota Blue J's, who have won four National Championships with her in the net. She played her college hockey at Princeton University, where she was a four year letter winner with the Tigers, and Second Team All-Ivy League her sophomore year. Prior to that, she was a finalist for Goalie of the Year in the state of Minnesota at South St. Paul High School, where she broke a Minnesota State High School record with nineteen shutouts in one season, while winning All-State, All-Metro and All-Conference honors twice. She likely would have won those honors her junior year as well, had she not played on the boys team that season, becoming the only female in South St. Paul history to play in a boys varsity game. In her senior year with the Packers, she was voted Team MVP after being named State All-Tournament Team and All-State Academic on her way to being an International Baccalaureate Honoree. Forward Ashlan Lambert came to the team after a standout hockey career that started at Boston College, and ended at St. Cloud State University, where she was a WCHA All-Academic Team selection in 2010. At Eden Prairie High School, she was Associated Press First Team, a Ms. Hockey top five finalist, and All-Metro First Team. As Captain of the team, she lead Eden Prairie to the State Championship while being named to the Minnesota State All-Tournament team, All-Conference twice, and an All-State selection her senior year.

In a short amount of time, Halfback Andi Schoephoerster has developed one of the strongest shots on the team. After a stellar academic, hockey and softball career at Champlin Park High School, where she captained her team twice, was All-State and All-Conference three times, and an Honor Student, she was named Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year, and a two time NJCAA Division III All-American at Anoka-Ramsey College. She was the first player in that school's history to win the honor. As seems to be the norm among the players on this team, Forward Natalie Nygren was an Honor Student and Captain of her hockey team at Park Center High School. There she received All-conference honors, was All-State Honorable Mention, and the team's MVP. She went on to play for St. Cloud State University, where she had the unique experience of being in the starting lineup for the teams inaugural Division I season of Women's hockey. Rounding out the "rookies", is first year Fullback Angie Erickson. After winning All-Conference honors twice in hockey as team Captain and Class President at Benson High School, and graduating first in her class as a member of the National Honor Society, she took her talents to Hamline University, where she was Captain of the Women's hockey team for three of the four years she played on the team, and All-Conference Honorable Mention and Team MVP her freshman year. She also played on the Hamline soccer team for three years and graduated Cum Laude with a major in biology, minor in anthropology, and a certificate of forensic science. She uses her education now as a DNA Analyst and the DNA Database (CODIS) Administrator for the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Crime Lab.