When a team has contributed two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles and three Olympic gold medals to the United States’ haul over the past 20 years, that team probably has produced plenty of stars. That certainly has been the case with the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team. During this golden age in U.S. soccer, who are the Top 15 players to play for the U.S. squad? (The statistics cited in this article are taken from en.wikipedia.com and ESPN.com).

15. Cindy Parlow. She was an Abby Wambach before there was an Abby Wambach. Tall and powerful, Parlow was very capable of heading the ball into the net. Parlow played on the national team in three Olympics and two World Cups.

14. Brandi Chastain. She will forever be remembered for scoring the game-winning penalty kick in the shootout against China in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Not only that, but she immediately dropped to her knees and removed her shirt to celebrate the victory in her sports bra. This spontaneous moment of joy made the cover of Sports Illustrated and Newsweek magazines. An active midfielder and solid defender, Chastain played on U.S. World Cup champions in 1991 and 1999 and Olympics gold medal champs in 1996 and 2004.

13. Kate Markgraf (nee Sobrero). A member of the historic 1999 World Cup winners, Markgraf earned over 200 caps (making the U.S. roster for friendly and competitive matches) in her career. In addition to the 1999 World Cup, Markgraf was on the 2003 and 2007 World Cup teams, as well as the gold-medal winning 2004 and 2008 Olympic squads. The U.S. has earned the reputation as being very well organized on the back line defense, and Markgraf, as a smart defender who was rarely out of position, is one of the main reasons for this positive reputation.

12. Carla Overbeck (nee Werden). She was a reliable defender who played on three World Cup squads, winning in 1991 and 1999, when she was the captain of the team. She also played defense for the U.S. in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

11. Tiffeny Milbrett. One of the great natural strikers in women’s soccer history, Milbrett earned over 200 caps and scored 100-plus goals in her international career. She played on three World Cup teams and two Olympic squads.

10. Hope Solo. She sure got off on the wrong foot. After being asked to sit out the semi-final game between the U.S. and Brazil in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Solo went public with her criticisms of her coach and Briana Scurry, the goalie who replaced her due to having had outstanding previous success against the Brazilians. Although she was probably correct in her analysis, Solo had no business undercutting her teammate and coach in this way, and she was promptly suspended from the team. But she recovered from this embarrassing episode, later leading the U.S. to a 1-0 win over Brazil in the 2008 Olympic gold-medal game and leading the U.S. to the World Cup final game in 2011, while establishing herself as clearly the best goalkeeper in the world.

9. Joy Fawcett (nee Biefeld). Perhaps the most offensively-gifted defender in the history of the national team, Fawcett holds the record for the most goals scored by a defender. The rugged center-back also controlled the middle of the field in the defensive zone. She played on the 1991, 1995, 1999 and 2003 World Cup teams and the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics squads, helping lead the U.S. to four championships in those seven major tournaments. She earned close to 240 caps in her career.

8. Shannon Boxx. Equally superb on offense and defense, the versatile midfielder Boxx has played for the U.S. in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 World Cups, as well as gold-medal winning teams in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. In 2005, Boxx was a finalist for FIFA World Player of the Year, finishing third in the voting.

7. Christie Rampone (nee Pearce). She captained the U.S. team to the Olympic gold medal win in 2008 and remained captain in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup tournament . She is the fourth most capped played in women’s soccer history with over 240 caps and is the active leader in caps as of the summer of 2011. She has played in the 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 World Cups, as well as the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Olympics. A defensive-minded back with strong leadership skills, she is a primary reason the U.S. teams are usually so well organized on the back line.

6. Julie Foudy. The national team’s co-captain throughout the 1990s and the captain from 2000 till her 2004 retirement, Foudy earned 271 caps in her career and scored 45 goals as a midfielder. She was on four World Cup teams, winning in 1991 and 1999, as well as being on three Olympic teams, taking gold in 1996 and 2004.

5. Briana Scurry. Sometimes management by fear actually works. Goalkeeper Briana Scurry did not appreciate opponents getting anywhere near her net, and she let her teammates know this through glares, growls, shouts and scowls. The formula seemed to work, as those in front of her often kept her work at a minimum and allowed her to keep a clean score sheet. With over 170 appearances in international play, she has minded the net in more games than anyone in women’s soccer at the national level. She played on the 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007 U.S. World Cup teams and on the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympic teams. In the 1999 FIFA World Cup championship game against China, Scurry made the only save in the penalty shootout in lifting the U.S. team to victory.

4. Abby Wambach. One of the most prolific scorers in women’s soccer history, Wambach has over 120 goals in just over 160 appearances with the national team. Although forced to miss the 2008 Olympics due to a broken leg, Wambach did help the 2004 Olympic team win the gold medal by scoring the winning goal on a header in extra time to defeat Brazil in the finals. Standing nearly six feet tall, Wambach is the most devastating player in soccer on headers, as she proved again in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup by scoring on a header in stoppage time after overtime against Brazil to help rescue the U.S. from certain defeat, and by scoring the winning goal late in the game against France on a header in the semi-finals. Her 13 goals are the most any American has scored in World Cup play.

3. Michele Akers. A midfielder and a forward, Akers scored 39 goals in just 26 appearances for the U.S. in 1991, which was the year of the first women’s World Cup. She led the team to victory that year as well as in the 1999 World Cup and the 1996 Olympics. For her international career, Akers scored 105 goals for the U.S. in just over 150 appearances. She was the first true great offensive player in women’s soccer.

2. Kristine Lilly. The most capped player in the history of soccer (men’s or women’s), Lilly suited up for the U.S. an astounding 352 times, scoring 130 goals as a forward and midfielder. She first appeared on the U.S. team in 1987 while she was still in high school. She was on the U.S. squad in a record five World Cups (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007), winning in 1991 and 1999. She also played for the U.S. in the 1996, 2000 and 2004 Olympics, winning a gold medal in 1996 and 2004. Her greatest moment came on defense when, in overtime against China in the 1999 World Cup championship game, she headed away a ball that was destined for the U.S. net and saved the team from defeat. Many of her teammates (Foudy, Fawcett, Mia Hamm and Chastain) who had spearheaded the U.S. team to success from 1991-2004, chose to retire after the 2004 Olympics triumph and a 2004 Farewell Tour. However, Lilly decided to keep playing and stayed on the national team for several more years.

1. Mia Hamm. If Pele was the best male player in soccer history, his counterpart on the women’s side would have to be Mia Hamm. In 2004, when selecting his greatest 125 living players in soccer history, Pele chose only two Americans and only two females for the entire list, Hamm and Akers. Hamm scored more international goals (158) than any player in soccer history, male or female. She is the second most capped player in soccer history with 275, trailing only longtime teammate Lilly. As a teenager she helped lead the U.S. to victory in the first women’s World Cup in 1991. Eight years later she led them to another win as a member of the celebrated 1999 team. She also won gold medals in the Olympics in 1996 and 2004. She is quite simply the best player the U.S. has ever produced, and that is why she tops this list of strong candidates.

We would be remiss if we did not give honorable mention to early stars April Heinrichs and Carin Jennings-Gabarre, as well as later stars Heather Mitts, Heather O’Reilly and Cat Whitehill (nee Reddick).

Sources:

en.wikipedia.com

ESPN

Hope Solo (born 30 July 1981, in Richland, Washington) is an American Soccer goalie currently playing for Saint Louis Athletica of Women’s Skilled Soccer and is really a member of the United States women’s national Football team.

Hope Solo fans. Photos, videos, news and all other stuff.

Soccer career

Hope Solo played Soccer using the Three-River’s Football Club in the Tri-Cities. She played forward till the finish of high school, when she switched to goalie. Solo played for several U.S. junior national Football teams prior to joining the full U.S. national team in 2000. She was called a member of the Olympic team in 2004, making the 2004 Olympics in Athens as an alternate. Hope Solo became the team’s starting goalie in 2005. She has recorded various clean sheets and once went 1,054 minutes without having allowing a goal (a streak that ended in a 4-1 victory against France within the Algarve Cup).

As a forward in high school, Hope Solo scored 109 objectives, top her team to three consecutive league titles from 1996-1998 along with a state championship in her senior year.[1] She was twice called a Parade All American.

At the University of Washington, Solo switched to the netkeeper place and was the team’s all-time leader in clean-sheets, saves, and goals-against typical (GAA). She was a 4-time All-Pac-10 pick and a 3-time NSCAA All-American.

Following her college career, Hope Solo was outlined for the now defunct WUSA team Philadelphia Charge in 2003. She also played for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC of Göteborg, Sweden inside the Swedish Premier Division in 2004 and for Olympique Lyonnais within the French 1st Division in 2005.

On September 16, 2008, Hope Solo was 1 of the 3 players drafted for Saint Louis Athletica in the WPS allocation of national team members, with the new league (a revival of the WUSA) starting play in April 2009. Solo let in six goals within the initial 4 games as Athletica got off to a very slow 0-2-2 commence in their initial season, but she (and the rest with the team) stepped up following that, with Solo only letting in eight objectives in her next thirteen games, finishing the season with eight shutouts.

In 2009 was named the WPS netkeeper of the Year.

2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup

Hope Solo was the starting goalkeeper for the United States in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, giving up two goals in 4 games such as consecutive shutouts of Sweden, Nigeria and England. Heading into the semifinal match against Brazil, U.S. coach Greg Ryan benched Solo in favor of 36-year-old veteran U.S. keeper Briana Scurry, who had a robust history of efficiency against the Brazilians but had not played a total game in three months.[2][3] The U.S. lost to Brazil 4-0, ending a 51-game (regulation time) undefeated streak, though playing considerably of the match with ten players immediately after midfielder Shannon Boxx received a second yellow card in the finish of the very first half.

Post-2007 Globe Cup fallout

In an impromptu interview following the match, a clearly upset[4] Hope Solo criticized Ryan’s conclusion. “It was the bad decision, and I feel anybody that knows something concerning the game knows that. There is no doubt in my mind I would have produced those saves. And the truth of the matter is it’s not 2004 anymore. It’s not 2004. And it’s 2007, and I believe you have to live within the present. And you cannot live by huge names. You cannot live previously. It does not matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game inside the Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters, and that is what I feel.”[5][6] Numerous viewed her comments as becoming vital of Scurry’s efficiency, although Hope Solo released an apologetic statement the following day saying that was not her intent.[7] On September 29, 2007, coach Greg Ryan declared that Hope Solo wouldn’t be with the team and wouldn’t play in the third-place match against Norway the following day.[8][9] Team captain Kristine Lilly stated that the selection on Solo was made by the team as a group.[10] The U.S. went on to win against Norway 4-1.

Hope Solo was called to the U.S. women’s national Soccer team roster for the post Globe Cup tour, but she didn’t attend the initial workout ahead of the 1st game against Mexico. The players’ contract using the federation stipulated that any individual on the Globe Cup roster had the appropriate to play inside the tour. Greg Ryan said, “We’re initiating a approach of reconciliation, and in carrying out that you cannot mandate reconciliation. This isn’t a created for Hollywood love story, this can be a actual story, and we’re all operating at that.”[11] She was present for, but did not play in any of, the 3 games against Mexico, becoming substituted by Briana Scurry for the first and third matches, and Nicole Barnhart for the second. The third match against Mexico, on October 20, 2007, marked the finish with the U.S. women’s national team’s 2007 season. The team regrouped in January 2008 to start preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[12] Ryan left the team soon after his contract was not renewed in December 2007 [13]

Beijing Olympics 2008

On June 23, 2008, it was declared Hope Solo could be the starting goalie for the U.S. team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In a reversal of roles from the 2004 Olympics, Brianna Scurry didn’t make the team (though she was an alternate). On August 21, the U.S. women’s team won the gold medal by defeating Brazil 1-0 in added time in no smaller measure due to Solo’s outstanding performance as she stopped an energetic Brazil attack, making save after save.[14]

Personal life

Hope Solo’s parents divorced when she was 6; while she lived with her mother, she stayed close to her father, a sometimes-homeless veteran who remained a superior influence in her life till his sudden death in June 2007.[15] [16] She attended Richland High School along with the University of Washington.

Hope Solo