There was always the possibility that only by winning the 2011 World Cup would the current U.S. women’s national team finally haul itself out from underneath the shadow of 1999. That, of course, was the magical summer when Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain stole America’s heart with an iconic championship finish in front of more than 90,000 at the Rose Bowl.
On the anniversary of that shootout victory over China 12 years ago, the current U.S. women cast aside that day and that team, permanently carving their own place in history. They even eclipsed their male counterparts, who galvanized the nation when they escaped Algeria in South Africa during last summer’s 2010 World Cup.
All it took was a quarterfinal win — an epic and unforgettable come-from-behind victory over Brazil 5-3 in penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie in what will likely go down as the most compelling women’s match of all time.
No longer will Chastain’s sports bra signify what can be achieved in the always cruel, always dramatic shootout. Instead, she will make way for the steely finish from Northern Virginia’s own Ali Krieger, the lone member of the U.S. team to play professionally outside of the United States — in Germany no less — who clinched a perfect performance by the ladies at the penalty spot.
That won’t diminish a performance by Hope Solo, who put to rest any question of who is the best goalkeeper both in a U.S. uniform and in the world. The same Solo, of course, was benched for the 2007 World Cup semifinal against Brazil and then kicked off the team by then-coach Greg Ryan after the 4-0 loss for publicly questioning the move. She’ll always be outspoken, but her shootout save on Daiane and her called-back save in the second half will never be misinterpreted.
But it was 31-year-old Abby Wambach, the co-pillar alongside Solo on the U.S. roster, who willed Megan Rapinoe’s desperate cross to her head and into the goal after more than two hours on the field. That kept her from being prematurely cast into the wilderness of her looming international retirement on the back of questionable officiating.
The images and memories will always endure, and for the next three days, they’ll be all-consuming — right up until the kickoff of Wednesday’s semifinal against France. The trick for the U.S. women now: making sure they’re not the final ones.
