U.S. women want their own World Cup identity

In 1999, women's soccer in the U.S. floated on a pink cloud. The FIFA Women's World Cup was held in the U.S. and the USA had the best team. Stadiums across America were filled with soccer moms, dads and soccer girls who embraced the star power of Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain. The U.S. won the championship July 10 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., before a record crowd of 90,185, stamping Hamm and her teammates as soccer legends. On that day, Christie Rampone was a 24-year-old defender on the U.S. team. She didn't play, but figured she'd be a bigger contributor to future titles. On that day, Alex Morgan was a 10-year-old watching the games on TV. She had no thought at the time of becoming a World Cup star herself. Twelve years later, Rampone and Morgan are teammates. They are the oldest (Rampone, 36) and youngest (Morgan, who turns 22 Saturday) players on this year's U.S. women's soccer team, which opens its quest for a World Cup title Tuesday in Dresden against North Korea. Sixteen teams in four groups will vie for the final July 17 in Frankfurt. Group C includes Colombia and Sweden, along with the U.S. and North Korea. Big crowds are expected at nine stadiums around the country, and ESPN and ESPN2 will combine to telecast live all 32 matches. The U.S. is the No. 1 ranked team in the world but, in part because of three losses in the past eight months, is no longer the favorite, ceding that role to host and two-time defending champion Germany. The three international losses — to Mexico, Sweden and England — marked the first time since 2002 that the U.S. had lost two consecutive international matches. The losses came while Hope Solo, 29 and arguably the best keeper in women's soccer, was rehabilitating her right shoulder after undergoing major reconstructive surgery last September. Her presence is important to the World Cup effort, teammates say. "I think she intimidates other teams with all her experience and all the brilliant saves," Rampone says of Solo, who helped the team win Olympic gold in 2008 and played in the 2007 Cup. The U.S. could win, as could a handful of other teams as international women's soccer has become significantly better and deeper in the past decade. Among the other countries that could win — Brazil, Sweden and Norway. On Monday, the U.S. lost a closed-door session to Norway 3-1 at the end of its one-week tune-up training camp in Austria, perhaps casting more doubt on the team's readiness. Darkhorses such as England, Japan and North Korea also are in the running. As for the U.S. team, some players, like Rampone, are near the end of their careers. Some, like Morgan, are just beginning. And some, like leading scorer and star forward Abby Wambach, 31, are seeking a defining moment. It's an intriguing mix, a deep and talented roster, a blend of young and old, of players who have been there, done that and of players who will be in a World Cup pressure-cooker for the first time. Coach Pia Sundhage says, "It's a good mix of experience and younger players. There's a good energy." The only links to the 1999 team? Rampone, who serves as team captain, and the fact that 1999 remains the last time the U.S. women won a World Cup title. Though they won 2004 and 2008 Olympic gold medals, the U.S. women suffered embarrassing semifinal losses in the 2003 and 2007 World Cups. It's time to change that, the U.S. women say, and time to move on. It's not 1999 any more. "It's great to look back, but it's time for us to step up and make a name for ourselves," says Morgan, a dangerous scoring threat who is likely to come off the bench. "We want people to recognize us and, when they think of U.S. players, not think of players from the '99 team. "It's been a long time since the U.S. won a World Cup and it's overdue. We want to bring it back."