“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference.”- Serenity Prayer [THE PITCH] I am learning a lot this year, as I stumble down my life path: realizing my power as both an athlete and human being. My experiences […]
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Blog 19: Stretch Yourself
[THE PITCH] I have a secret. In 9th grade, I failed the physical education exemption examination. Even the cheerleaders were able to pass the 10-minute mile runand skip PE… But I was required to participate in three separate high school sports all because I could not touch my toes. In college, when someone told me […]
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Blog 18: 'The Reframe'
[THE PITCH] Honestly, I have been struggling to come up with something fresh to write about this week. No, it’s not that football has suddenly stoppedteaching me life lessons. Rather, I think that three months of treading water, kicking, screaming, and trying to … not just survive … but excel in this awesome, but incrediblychallenging […]
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Blog 16: Ironic twist of fate
[THE PITCH] The U.S. women’s national team’s trip to Sweden gave U.S. Soccer’s Studio 90 crew a chance to catch up with Christen Press, the top scorer for FC Gothenburg with 10 goals in eight Damallsvenskan matches. The former Hermann Trophy winner talks about her adjustment to life and soccer inSweden. She admits she was a […]
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Lucky England, French lucky loss could have been worse
[EURO 2012 WRAP] It took the easiest of goals — a header from inside the six-yard box into an empty net after a cross deflected off two Ukrainian defenders andpast goalie Andriy Pyatov — for Wayne Rooney to celebrate his return to the England national team with the goal thatgave it a 1-0 win over […]
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Long-range volley from Wambach ignites U.S. attack
[SWEDEN-USA] The USA got goals from Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan and second-halfsubstitute Tobin Heath to beat Sweden, 3-1, Saturday in Halmstad in a tune-up for the 2012 London Olympics. Wambach scored her 136th careerinternational goal on a thunderous half-volley from at least 35 yards out that caught Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl out of her goal […]
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Party of One
[THE PITCH] The primary question I am asked by friends from home and prospective American footballers contemplating the idea of playing abroad is what is it like to live … dum da da dum … alone in Sweden? Sometimes, their nervous voices startle me into thinking that perhaps I have overlookedsomething myself! I am, after […]
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100 Days of Sweden
[THE PITCH] 100 days ago I caught a ride on a major twister. Day 1. It really was no miracle. What happenedwas just this … Through an unpredictable force of circumstances, I was carried away from the familiar blue waters of the Pacific. Flying over the Atlantic Ocean, I imagined what my life would belike […]
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Blog 14: My Hunger Games
Teammate Anita Asante fighting for theball. And then, there are The Games we Hunger for. The rivalries bred from competition, the “derbies” as the Swedes call them, the big games… the ones that, even though you’re fighting for the same three points, they mean so much more. When you leave it all on the field, […]
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What's Love Got To Do With It?
[THE PITCH] Falling in love is fun. I relish the rush while preparing for the big date. Everything has to be perfect: the outfit, hair, a puff of perfume…Oh wait! I mean … the right sliders, secure ponytail, a fresh pair of socks… As a 23-year-old with an affinity for melodrama, I have done a […]