Posted by Sheldon Shealer, editor

Among the keepers and defenders, high school soccer played an important role for these Americans who will represent the U.S. at the Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Among their many accomplishments, Brad Guzan, Patrick Ianni, Nathan Sturgis and Marvell Wynne guided their high school teams to section and/or state tournament appearances.

This is a snapshot of the prep accomplishments for the keepers and defenders. High school accoloades for midfielders and forwards will be posted later tonight.

Brad Guzan - Providence Catholic (Ill.) ... Won the ESP Golden Gloves in 2002. He played four years of high school soccer, helping his team to one state tournament appearance. Incidentally, Guzan was a field player in high school, scoring 23 goals with 11 assists as a senior.

Chris Seitz - Thousand Oaks (Calif.) ... The two-time Parade All-America selection, Seitz was a member of the very first EA SPORTS High School All-America team in 2004. He was a first-team Los Angeles Times selection his senior year in high school.

Patrick Ianni - Lodi (Calif.) ... Ianni played four years of high school soccer, was a two-time Parade All-American, an EA SPORTS High School All-American and played in the short-lived McDonald's All-America game. Ianni was the captain of the Lodi squad that reached the section final.

Michael Orozco - Magnolia (Calif.) ... Orozco did not play high school soccer.

Michael Parkhurst - Bradenton Academy (Fla.) ... Parkhurst spent his early high school years in Cranston, R.I., before joining the US Soccer Residency program in Florida, where he earned his high school degree.

Nathan Sturgis - Nease (Fla.) ... Sturgis helped Nease to the Florida Class 3A state final in 2003, his senior year in high school. He was a Parade All-American his senior year.

Marvell Wynne - Poway (Calif.) ... The son of a former Major League Baseball player, Wynne was a three-year soccer standout at Poway. He was the Palomar Player of the Year his senior season. During his career, he scored 13 goals with 13 assists from a defensive position.