UNITED STATES WOMEN’S WORLD CUP PROJECTED STARTERS, RESERVES
COACH APRIL HEINRICHS
Age: 39
Caps: 47 Goals: 37
International honors: World champion (1991, as player); Olympic gold medalist (1996, as assistant coach); Olympic silver medalist (2000, as coach)
Personal: A feisty, inspirational player, Heinrichs was one-third of the “triple-edged sword” offense with Michelle Akers and Carin Jennings that carried the U.S. to the first women’s world championship in China in 1991. She was an assistant under Tony DiCicco at the 1995 Women’s World Cup in Sweden and at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996. She has a 53-14-15 record since becoming U.S. coach in 2000.
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NO. 7 SHANNON BOXX
Age: 26 Position: Midfielder
Caps: 2 Goals: 2
International honors: None
Personal: Perhaps the success story in women’s soccer in 2003, Boxx, from Redondo Beach, made the unimaginable leap from never having played for the U.S. to being selected for the World Cup roster. She scored in each of her first two games for the national team, despite playing as a defensive midfielder, and now is considered a likely World Cup starter. Excellent in the air and on the ground, the former Notre Dame standout played for WUSA’s New York Power, tying Kylie Bivins for the league lead in yellow cards this season.
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NO. 6 BRANDI CHASTAIN
Age: 35 Position: Defender
Caps: 171 Goals: 30
International honors: World champion (1991 and 1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: One of the “famous five” who remain from the 1991 world championship-winning team, Chastain will be remembered even by non-soccer fans for her celebratory shirt-removal after scoring the goal that clinched the 1999 title for the U.S. at the Rose Bowl. The move put her on the cover of four national magazines. Now moved from left back to center back, she remains a potent defensive force and attacking threat.
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NO. 14 JOY FAWCETT
Age: 35 Position: Defender
Caps: 216 Goals: 26
International honors: World champion (1991 and 1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: Part of the “famous five” and the best-known soccer mom in the country, mother of three Fawcett will be playing in her fourth World Cup and will be co-captain this time. She scored the game-winning goal on a header in a 1999 quarterfinal, when the U.S. came from behind to defeat Germany, 3-2, in Landover, Md. She has moved from right back to center back; she and Chastain give the U.S. vast experience and composure in the heart of the defense.
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NO. 11 JULIE FOUDY
Age: 32 Position: Midfielder
Caps: 231 Goals: 41
International honors: World champion (1991 and 1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: A holdover from the memorable ’91 team and the vocal leader of the U.S. pack, Foudy, from Mission Viejo, will be playing in her fourth World Cup and participating in her fifth after her stint as an in-studio TV analyst during the men’s World Cup in Korea and Japan last year. Recognized as a natural leader in women’s sports, she served a two-year term as president of the Women’s Sports Foundation. She remains a vital part of the U.S. midfield.
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NO. 9 MIA HAMM
Age: 31 Position: Forward
Caps: 239 Goals: 142
International honors: World champion (1991 and 1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: The world’s all-time leading international goal scorer continues to be the most recognizable name in women’s soccer 16 years after she first donned a U.S. uniform. Engaged to the Red Sox’s Nomar Garciaparra, she has rediscovered her enjoyment of the sport, although she is rumored to be considering retirement after the 2004 Olympics. A new zest for playmaking and defense has turned her into one of the best all-around players in the world.
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NO. 13 KRISTINE LILLY
Age: 32 Position: Midfielder
Caps: 255 Goals: 91
International honors: World champion (1991 and 1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: The “famous five” member sets a world record every time she steps on the field. No player has as many international appearances as the midfielder from Wilton, Conn., who comes into her fourth World Cup having played 255 games in 16 years. She is still among the fittest and cleverest players on the team; it was her defensive header off the goal line in 1999 that denied China the World Cup and set up the U.S. victory.
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NO. 12 CINDY PARLOW
Age: 25 Position: Forward
Caps: 128 Goals: 62
International honors: World champion (1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: At 18, Parlow was the youngest member of the 1996 Olympic team and has since developed into one of the best all-around players on the U.S. squad. Her height (5 feet 11) makes her a threat in the air on offense and a force on defense. She is the best player on the team when trying to shield the ball with her back to goal, and her finishing ability puts her in the same category as such goal-poachers as Hamm and Milbrett.
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NO. 3 CHRISTIE PEARCE
Age: 28 Position: Defender
Caps: 102 Goals: 4
International honors: World champion (1999); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: Less outgoing and less sought-out by the media than others on the national team, Pearce has quietly gone about her work for the last six-plus years and, on July 13, made her 100th appearance for the U.S. An exceptional athlete, she is among the quickest players on the team, an ability that allows her to overlap down the wings from her outside back position and provide unexpected and valuable support to the offense.
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NO. 1 BRIANA SCURRY
Age: 32 Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 120 Goals: 0
International honors: World champion (1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: Unquestionably one of the finest goalkeepers the U.S. has ever produced, Scurry is in the best physical condition of her career and is determined to defend the world championship that her penalty kick saves helped win in 1999. Her kicking game has improved dramatically under Phil Wheddon, the team’s goalkeeper coach, and her reflexes are as sharp as they were when she made her international debut in 1994.
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NO. 15 KATE SOBRERO
Age: 27 Position: Defender
Caps: 97 Goals: 0
International honors: World champion (1999); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
Personal: It is a standing joke on the U.S. team that one of the goalkeepers is more likely to score a goal before Sobrero does. However, the former Notre Dame standout has been one of the world’s best defenders for several years, and no one else on the team can boast of being part of a Detroit Airport mural of famous folks from Michigan. A polished player who is comfortable anywhere on the back line, she likely will start at left back in her second World Cup.
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NO. 20 ABBY WAMBACH
Age: 23 Position: Forward
Caps: 14 Goals: 9
International honors: None
Personal: If any U.S. player is capable of being the surprise of the World Cup, it is the striker from Rochester, N.Y. Unknown on the international scene until just recently, Wambach already is being compared to a young Michelle Akers. She has the size and the power to be a dominant force in the game and the willingness to run through opponents as often as around them. The goals are flowing, and if WUSA’s most valuable player can bring her game up to the next level, she could be the star of 2003.
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THE REST
KYLIE BIVENS -- Age: 24; Position: Defender; No.: 2; Caps: 9; International honors: None
ANGELA HUCLES -- Age: 25; Position: Midfielder; No.: 19; Caps: 24; Goals: 1; International honors: None
SHANNON MacMILLAN -- Age: 28; Position: Forward; No.: 8; Caps: 155; Goals: 58; International honors: World champion (1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
TIFFENY MILBRETT -- Age: 30; Position: Forward; No.: 16; Caps: 191; Goals: 98; International honors: World champion (1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996); Olympic silver medalist (2000)
SIRI MULLINIX -- Age: 25; Position: Goalkeeper; No.: 18; Caps: 40; Goals: 0; International honors: Olympic silver medalist (2000)
CAT REDDICK -- Age: 21; Position: Defender; No.: 4; Caps: 36; Goals: 1; International honors: None
TIFFANY ROBERTS -- Age: 26; Position: Midfielder; No.: 5; Caps: 101; Goals: 7; International honors: World champion (1999); Olympic gold medalist (1996)
DANIELLE SLATON -- Age: 23; Position: Defender; No.: 17; Caps: 40; Goals: 1; International honors: Olympic silver medalist (2000)
ALY WAGNER -- Age: 23; Position: Midfielder; No.: 10; Caps: 47; Goals: 12; International honors: None
