Come on in, the water's fine: thanks to the WUSA, the women's national team pool is now deeper than ever before

Soccer Digest, Feb-March, 2002 by John Philip Wyllie

U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM coach April Heinrichs expects that in four or five years the members of the her team will almost to a player be athletes developed by the WUSA. Stardom in the WUSA is by no means a guarantee of a career clad in red, white, and blue, but for a number of players previously out of the national team picture, the WUSA has provided a showcase for them to display their talent.

Before the WUSA, top athletes wanting to continue their careers beyond college had few options. For a select group, there was the highly coveted opportunity to play on the national team. For the vast majority, however, it was a choice between the semi-pro W-League, relocating overseas, or forgetting about soccer entirely and joining the nine-to-five world.

Heinrichs spent countless hours in front of the tube last season watching the games she was unable to attend in person. The TV became her most valuable tool for player evaluation--one that would have been useless before the WUSA. Many of those drawing her interest turned out to be players that for a number of reasons had fallen off the national team radar. "We call players up to see what they can do in an international environment," says Heinrichs. "Playing on the national team is a major leap for most of them."

Heinrichs warns against reading too much into any particular player being called into a national team camp. "The new guard is competing, but that is not to say they have arrived," she says. "The next two, three, or four years will be critical to their development."

During the past year, Heinrichs has opened her camps to a growing number of recent college graduates and players still competing for their collegiate teams. An October camp left Heinrichs most impressed with Atlanta Beat teammates Kylie Bivens and Nancy Augustyniak and 1999 World Cup reserve and Carolina Courage striker Danielle Fotopoulos, one of three World Cup holdovers axed by Heinrichs at the start of the 2000 Olympic preparations. "Danielle displayed a renewed commitment to the game and both she and Nancy exhibited the physical qualities that would put them on any team," says Heinrichs. "I was also impressed with their ball control."

The versatile Bivens drew praise for her vision and technical skills. Heinrichs also likes the way Bivens understands possession and she appreciates her ability to serve the ball as well as she receives it. Heinrichs would not be surprised to see this trio in role-playing positions with the national team--although with the number of WUSA stars catching the coach's eye, predicting the make-up of the 2003 U.S. Women's World Cup team is a highly speculative venture.

While a number of young professionals made significant impacts on their WUSA teams in 2001, only two found their way onto the league's postseason Best 11. Bay Area CyberRays goalkeeper Lakeysia Beene secured First Team honors as well as the Goalkeeper of the Year award and her teammate, Kelly Lindsay, earned a place on the league's second team thanks to some solid play on the C-Rays often impenetrable defense. Beene, a former Notre Dame netminder, used the new league as a vehicle to raise her profile from a little known reserve behind Siri Mullinix and Briana Scurry to a legitimate contender to be America's No.1 keeper.

Statistically, Beene and 1999 World Cup heroine Briana Scurry, now with the Beat, had virtually identical seasons. Displaying cat-like reflexes, Beene proved she was as adept at frustrating the world's most prolific goal scorers as her more famous rival. Only 23, Beene may remain in the national team picture for many years to come.

Lindsay's national team career, however, is just beginning. "We are considering Kelly at center back," says Heinrichs. "She's a defensive organizer and she is very steady and consistent."

Lindsay's downside according to Heinrichs is her inexperience playing in a three-back alignment, but Heinrichs likes her attitude and work ethic.

Some of that inexperience is due to a battle with injuries. "I had both of my knees completely reconstructed after my sophomore year of college, so it has been a long journey back into the game of soccer," says Lindsay.

Inclusion in Heinrichs' most recent camp motivated Lindsay to focus on making some improvements in her game. "Mostly, I need to work on my technical game," says Lindsay. "I need to become very composed under pressure, especially in the back when I am organizing the game."

San Diego Spirit youngsters Jaime Pagliarulo, Tara Koleski, and Shannon Boxx didn't have far to go when Heinrichs contacted them for her October camp. Pagliarulo, who saved the Spirit on more than a few occasions with her goalkeeping heroics, faces stiff national team competition from the likes of Beene, Scurry, and Mullinix. Rising stars Hope Solo and Jen Branam provide additional competition. Pagliarulo, however, is no stranger to challenges. She kept Swedish national team keeper Ulrika Karlsson on the bench in the early going last season and saw considerable action even after the highly touted Bente Nordby arrived in San Diego via a trade. Heinrichs rewarded her with invites to three consecutive camps.