May 10, 2004

Santa Barbara, Calif. - New Zealand Soccer announced two weeks ago the 23-man roster for the upcoming 2004 Nations Cup and the 2006 World Cup Qualifying and among those names were UC Santa Barbara student athletes Neil Jones (Auckland, NZ) and Tony Lochhead (Tauranga, NZ). Both players are coming off a successful campaign with New Zealand's Olympic Squad that was within one goal of qualifying for the 2004 Games. The naming of Jones to the full National Team for the upcoming tournaments is his first, while Lochhead will be receiving his second international cap with the All Whites.

A proven goal scorer with the Gauchos, Jones represents a movement by All Whites head coach Mick Waitt towards a more youthful squad to represent New Zealand's finest international soccer players. "I am extremely excited and proud [to be selected]," said Jones, "One of the reasons I came to the United States was to a pursue to a professional career and further my international career. Playing for the All Whites is something that I have been striving to reach for a long time. [Being selected] makes all my hard work and sacrifice worth while."

"I guess I must have done something right," Lochhead joked in regards to being named to the All Whites for the second time.

Lochhead established himself as a defensive standout in his first appearance with the All Whites against Iran in a friendly match last November. "I guess I must have done something right," Lochhead joked. "I' am extremely excited due to the prestige of the event and the players we will be playing both with and against." Jones and Lochhead will be joined by Major League Soccer star Simon Elliott whose 51 caps will be the second most on the squad.

Lochhead, Jones and the rest of the team report to camp in Adelaide, New Zealand on May 26th, with the Oceania Nations Cup beginning on May 29th and running through June 6th.