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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The 1999 U.S. Women's National Team
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The 1999 U.S. Women's National Team
Brandon WigginsJul 12, 2018, 01:03 IST
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Reuters
The 1999 Women's World Cup remains one of the most seminal sporting events in American history.
The United States Women's National Team, playing on home soil, in front of a packed crowd at the Rose Bowl in California, gave women's soccer a match for the ages against China, one that went all the way to penalty kicks. U.S. goalkeeper Briana Scurry came up with a crucial save on China's third penalty kick, clearing the way for Brandi Chastain to clinch the World Cup trophy with a successful penalty kick.
The image of Chastain celebrating on the field afterward has since become one of the most iconic in women's sports. And with Tuesday being the anniversary of the U.S. victory, now is the perfect time to look back on the women who participated in that legendary match.
Carla Overbeck was a defender and the captain of the 1999 team, as well as a seasoned veteran who had already won one Women's World Cup, in 1991. She made the first penalty kick.
Joy Fawcett was a defender and another veteran of the 1991 World Cup team. She made the second penalty kick.
Fawcett racked up well over 200 caps total for the U.S.W.N.T. She is currently an assistant for the U.S. Deaf Women's National Team.
Kristine Lilly was a midfielder and another long-time veteran of the U.S.W.N.T., having played on the 1991 World Cup team. She made the third penalty kick.
Lilly went on to set the all-time U.S.W.N.T. record for caps. She remains active in the game, has her own academy, and also founded Team First Soccer Academy with teammates from 1999, Mia Hamm and Tisha Venturini Hoch.
The talisman of the U.S.W.N.T., Hamm was a forward who had already been a member of the 1991 and 1996 teams and scored over a hundred international goals. She made the fourth penalty kick.
Hamm retired in 2004. At the time, she held the record for most international goals scored in women's soccer, and still holds the record for U.S.W.N.T. She currently sits on the advisory board of A.S. Roma, and is also a part of the ownership group of LAFC in MLS.
Brandi Chastain was a U.S.W.N.T. veteran, a member of the 1991 World Cup team, and a defender who hit the winning penalty kick. Her subsequent celebration has become one of the defining images of women's soccer.
Chastain, who retired from the U.S.W.N.T. in 2004, remains one of the most decorated players in the team's history. She returned to the public eye recently when a rather un-flattering plaque of hers went viral, but she handled it like a total pro.
Briana Scurry was the starting goalkeeper for the U.S.W.N.T. She came up with a crucial save during the penalty shoot-out to help clinch the World Cup win.
Scurry retired from the U.S.W.N.T. in 2008. She has since become a speaker and an advocate for concussion awareness in sports.
Julie Foudy was a central midfielder and long-time veteran of the U.S.W.N.T., having played on the 1991 World Cup team. She played the entirety of the final.
Foudy is currently a writer and analyst for ESPN.
Kate Sobrero was a defender and relatively new addition to the U.S.W.N.T., having first been capped the previous year. She played the entirety of the final.
She retired from the U.S.W.N.T. in 2010, with just over 200 caps. She currently works as a broadcaster for ESPN.
Tiffeny Milbrett was a forward and long-time veteran of the U.S.W.N.T. She played virtually all of the final, being subbed off late in extra time.
She went on to reach 200 caps and 100 goals for the U.S.W.N.T. She has since gotten involved with coaching at the youth level.
Michelle Akers was already an icon of women's soccer by this point, having won the Golden Boot at the 1991 World Cup. However, she was substituted out of the final at the start of extra time.
Akers retired not long after the World Cup. She remains one of the most decorated players of all time, and was named "Player of the Century" by FIFA in 2000. She is also an avid supporter of horse rescue programs.
Shannon MacMillan was the U.S.W.N.T. 'super-sub,' fittingly she came on for Parlow in the second half of the final.
MacMillan has since been elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Currently, she is the executive director of a youth soccer club, and has joined an ownership group attempting to bring MLS to San Diego.
Tony DiCicco had already been the U.S.W.N.T. head coach for five years by the time of the 1999 World Cup, and led the team to a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.
DiCicco left the U.S.W.N.T. coaching job after 1999, but remained involved with the game and the U.S. Soccer Federation. He passed away in 2017.
