Women's Soccer

Women's soccer in the United States has recently become really popular, although the team has been around since the early 1980's. Michelle Akers is perhaps the oldest veteran (a member since 1985) of the Women's national team. Although she took a break and did not compete in the 2000 Olympics she said she will come back in the spring of 2001 to compete in the WUSA. Michelle Akers is said to have the most powerful kick. She can blast shots in from 35 yards away from the goal. Although she suffers from from chronic fatigue syndrome, she continues to play. She led the U.S. to the World Championship in the first ever Women's World Cup in 1991. She was a major help to win the gold medal in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. The national team, that just competed in the 2000 Olympics, was formed in the mid to late '80s when most of the team members were either completing college (many at the University of North Carolina). One member, Mia Hamm, is said to be the best player in the world. Mia has loved soccer her whole life and started training wih the United States national team at the age of 15. Mia Hamm is a four time winner of the U.S. Soccer's Athlete of the Year award. Mia is known best for her excellent ball handling skills, her speed, and her attitude towards the game. Brandi Chastain is another londstanding member of the U.S. national team. She is known best for what she did at the championship game of the 1999 World Cup: the U.S. was playing China. At the end of regulation time, there was still a tie, thus they went into a shoot out. There was a tie in the shoot out after China had all five of their players kick and the U.S. had only taken four shots. Brandi Chastain was the last to kick and she scored. She ran back to her teammates and in her excitement, she ripped her shirt off. There are many other soccer players on the U.S. national team. Joy Fawcett has been a memeber of the defense on the team since 1987. She balances an athletic career while raising a family. She also made the assist of the game winning goal in the 1996 Olympics. Tiffeny Milbrett is by far the smallest player on the team. Despite her size, she has contributed to many wins for the team. Most recently, she scored a goal on a header to put the gold medal game into over time in the 2000 Olympics. There are two main goalkeepers for the U.S. team: Briana Scurry and Siri Mullinix. Briana was injured and Siri took over for the Olympics in Sydney. She made some amazing saves.

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