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The US Men's National Team has returned to Cary just a month after drawing with Jamaica 1-1 in an international friendly here at SAS Soccer Park. With only Keller & Cherundolo (who are finishing their league season this weekend) and Albright & Donovan (who played last night against FC Dallas) absent, Bruce Arena assembled his squad for the 2006 World Cup Thursday.

Practice started with some light jogging and stretches followed by a 6-minute endurance test where the players' heart rates and distance run were measured. Clint Dempsey and guest player Michael Bradley won the prize for distance, followed by Ching, Convey, and McBride. Keepers Howard and Hahnemann brought up the rear.

As the exhausted keepers moved to shot blocking drills, the outfield players played some 8 v. 8 two-touch drills in about a quarter of the pitch's area. Gooch (minor sore foot) and Lewis (recovering from a slight virus) watched as the rest of team moved to a slightly bigger area and played one-touch.

The team wrapped up its 90 minute practice with a 9 v. 9 scrimmage on a shortened field. With the goals at the top of the 18 yard box and the sidelines brought in about 5 yards each, the Nats scrimmaged for twenty minutes. The Red team, comprised of Hahnemann, Gibbs, Pope, Bradley, Convey, Olsen, McBride, Reyna, and Wolff jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Reyna slid to meet a cross in front of goal and beat Howard. The Yellow team, made up of Howard, Conrad, Bocanegra, Mastroeni, Dempsey, Johnson, Ching, O'Brien, and Beasley threatened several times but could not find a way through. One of the most interesting matchups of the scrimmage was Beasley v. Olsen -- a battle which Olsen won more often than not.

In the second half of the scrimmage, assistant Curt Onalfo replaced John O'Brien who is still nursing a slight calf strain. Sporting a "2nd choice" midfield, Yellow was encouraged by Arena to push forward for an equaliser leaving them vunerable at the back. Convey almost made Yellow pay when he rang a shot off Howard's near post. Later, Dempsey beat Reyna 1 v. 1 only to hit the crossbar -- Yellow's closest chance of the match. With about two minutes to play, Hahnemann made a sharp save and sprung his Reading teammate Convey down the left who shot for the opposite post this time and tucked an insurance goal past a sprawling Howard.

The players spent a few minutes cooling down and stretchng while McBride and several of the assistant coaches took turns giving Howard and Hahnemann a few more repititions in goal. After practice, Eddie Lewis and Brian McBride reacquainted themselves with American football while Arena spoke with the media briefly. Arena allayed any concerns of serious injury to Gooch, Lewis, or O'Brien noting all three could have gone the distance today but they were just playing it safe early in camp.

The team continues its camp on Friday with another closed-door practice. At present, there is no plans to open any of the practice or scrimmage sessions to the public.

>> Click here to see many more photos from today's practice session.