NEW GENERATION LEADS U.S. WOMEN U.S. 3, ICELAND 0.

Byline: Scott French Staff Writer

CARSON - Forget Mia, Brandi, Julie and Joy. Meet Ozzy, Wozzy, Frimpong and Fotop.

A new generation of potential stars is starting to emerge for the U.S. women's national soccer team, competing for roles long inhabited by departed legends. A crowd of 4,378 - and a national-television audience - was provided a glimpse of several Sunday as the Americans overcame Iceland 3-0 on a hot afternoon at Home Depot Center.

Danielle Fotopoulos - ``Fotop'' to her friends, fans and teammates - scored goals in the 64th and 65th minutes and Shannon Boxx added a third in the 69th as the U.S., despite dominating every phase of the game from start to finish, struggled to find the net as on-field temperatures hovered near 100 degrees.

The Americans owned 27-0 shot and 11-0 corner-kick advantages, but the result was secondary for coach Greg Ryan and his staff, who used the game, the weeklong camp preceding it and two prior outings this summer to observe rising talent and several players - such as Fotopoulos - who have been around a while without securing regular roster call-ups.

``I've learned we've got a lot of good players ... to move forward with,'' said Ryan, who took charge of the U.S. women in April after serving as interim coach the previous month. ``I think we'll just see them grow over the next two years'' leading to the 2007 Women's World Cup in China.

Veteran Lori Lindsey and 20-year-old playmaker Angela Woznuk (``Wozzy'') made their national team debuts; midfielder Leslie Osborne (``Ozzy'') and defender Amy LePeilbet, who were in residency prior to the Athens Olympics, saw further action; and Tina Frimpong, a 23-year-old forward-turned-defender who also is eligible to play for Nigeria and Ghana, gave a revelatory performance at left back in her first national team start.

``It was a blast,'' said Frimpong, an All-American forward last fall at the University of Washington. ``I've got a lot to work on, a lot to grow in, but it was fun to start.''

She drew audible gasps from the crowd on several mazy runs past Icelandic defenders - ``I'm more comfortable (in the opponent's box), if you can't tell,'' she noted - and proved a perfect counterpart to Heather Mitts on the right.

``When Tina gets up there around the penalty box, she's not holding back,'' Ryan said. ``She's going to cut it loose.''

Lindsey, a former Virginia All-American and WUSA standout, had been on the field all of 40 seconds when she shouldered Edda Gardarsdottir off the ball and fed Boxx, whose 30-yard shot was knocked down by goalkeeper Maria Agustsdottir. Fotopoulos hammered home the rebound for the first goal.

Scott French, [phone]

scott.french(at)dailynews.com

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Danielle Fotopoulos of the U.S. celebrates her goal in the second half against Iceland on Sunday. Fotopoulos scored two goals in the Americans' 3-0 victory over Iceland.

Victor Decolongon/Getty Images