Romero to Compete for Olympic Bid

Lincoln - Nebraska junior defender Ari Romero has been selected to play for the Mexican National Team that will complete at the CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Vancouver, British Columbia. Romero is one of 30 total players on the roster and is the sixth youngest player on the squad.

Romero will be joined in Vancouver by two former Huskers that will be playing for the Canadian National Team. Karina LeBlanc is one of two goalies on the Canadian team, while Brittany Timko is one of the team's five attackers.

A sophomore during the 2011 season, Romero started all 18 games for Head Coach John Walker at defender. The Surprise, Ariz., native scored one goal on the year and added two assists.

The eight-team tournament is split into two four-team groups, with the top two teams in each group meeting in a single-elimination tournament to decide the two teams that earn bids to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Group A consists of Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba and Haiti, while Mexico is in Group B with Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and the United States.

The tournament kicks off at BC Place Stadium on Friday, Jan. 19, at 7 p.m. (CT) with Costa Rica and Cuba. Mexico is set to open play the following day against Guatemala at 7 p.m. (CT), before meeting the Dominican Republic on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. (CT) and the United States on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 9:30 p.m. (CT). The semifinals will be played on Jan. 27, and the finals on Jan. 29.

All games are set to be streamed live on CONCACAF TV here - http://www.concacaftv.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home and more information about the tournament can be found here - http://www.concacaf.com/page/WOQ/Home/0,,12813,00.html.