FIRST ROUND OF OPEN TRYOUTS DRAWS WEALTH OF LOCAL TALENT

Two More Tryout Dates Slated for this Spring

(Potential players tryout on Jan. 31^st Tryouts)

Portland, OR (February 4, 2009) - The Portland Rain women’s soccer team held its first round of open tryouts this past weekend and welcomed a number of local players as the organization took its first steps toward building the team for the 2009 inaugural season.
(Hayley Koch lines up for a shot during tryouts)

Players ranging from ages 17 to 29 came out to the Stott Recreation Field at Portland State University on Saturday to compete for an invite to the final tryout in May, and eventually for one of the 25 roster spots for 2009.

(Nicole Wilcox and Lauren Miller lead the charge during the tryouts scrimmage)
University of Oregon assistant coach Nicole Wilcox, Tigard High School standout Kasey Kanada and NAIA All-American twins Jackie and Justine Pronovost were among the wealth of talent on display on Saturday. The tryouts also included graduates of Gonzaga, University of Oregon, Concordia, Linfield, Southern Oregon, Lewis & Clark and more.

“I thought it went extremely well on Saturday,” said interim coach Stan Rodrigues. “The quality of play was very high, and throughout the tryout you could sense the intensity and excitement that these players have, given the chance to play at a higher level in front of their hometown crowd.”
(Emma Tripplet defends as Patti Degarness makes a move)

The final two open tryout dates are set for March 21^st and March 28^th, both at Stott Recreation Field at Portland State from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Interested players can download the registration form at www.portlandrainfc.com and must be returned by March 18th. Players can fax it to (503) 764-1436 or email to tryouts@portlandrainfc.com.  Players can also send the completed registration form to PO Box 90575, Portland, OR 97290, postmarked before March 15^th. There is a pre-registration fee of $50.00 (cash or money order made payable to the Portland Rain), if registered before March 18^th; otherwise the registration will be $60.00. Onsite registration will begin at 12:30 p.m., however, all participants must arrive early to confirm registration and sign forms.