Hope Solo

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Hope Solo
Personal information
Full name	Hope Amelia Solo
Date of birth	July 30, 1981 (1981-07-30) (age 26)
Place of birth	Richland, Washington, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth clubs
1997–1999 1999–2002	Richland High School Bombers University of Washington Huskies
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2003 2004 2005	Philadelphia Charge Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC Olympique Lyonnais (ladies)	8
National team2
2000–	USA	52
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:19, 15 July 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 14:35, 30 September 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Hope Solo (born July 30, 1981 in Richland, Washington) is a goalkeeper for the United States Women's National Soccer Team (US WNT). She attended Richland High School and the University of Washington. Her parents divorced when she was 6, yet she remained close to her father, a sometimes-homeless veteran who remained a major influence in her life until his sudden death in June 2007.^{[1] [2]}

Solo played for several U.S. junior national soccer teams before joining the full US WNT in 2000. She was named a member of the Olympic team in 2004, making the 2004 Olympics in Athens as an alternate. Solo became the team's starting goalkeeper in 2005. She has recorded several clean sheets and once went 1,054 minutes without allowing a goal (a streak that ended in a 4-1 victory against France in the Algarve Cup).

As a forward in high school, Solo scored 109 goals, leading her team to three consecutive league titles from 1996-1998 and a state championship in her senior year.^[3] She was twice named a Parade All American.

At the University of Washington, Solo switched to the goalkeeper position and was the team's all-time leader in shutouts, saves, and goals against average (GAA). She was a four-time All-Pac-10 selection and a three-time NSCAA All-American.

Following her college career, Solo was drafted for the now defunct WUSA team Philadelphia Charge in 2003. She also played for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC of Göteborg, Sweden in the Swedish Premier Division in 2004 and for Olympique Lyonnais in the French First Division in 2005.

[edit] 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup

Solo was the starting goalkeeper for the United States in the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup giving up two goals in four games including consecutive shutouts of Sweden, Nigeria and England. Heading into the semifinal match against Brazil, U.S. coach Greg Ryan benched Solo in favor of 36-year old veteran U.S. keeper Briana Scurry, who had a strong history of performance against the Brazilians but had not played a complete game in three months.^[4][5] The U.S. lost to Brazil 4-0, ending a 51-game (regulation time) undefeated streak, while playing much of the match with 10 players after midfielder Shannon Boxx received a second yellow card at the end of the first half.

[edit] Post 2007 World Cup fallout

In an impromptu interview following the match, a clearly upset^[6] Solo criticized Ryan's decision, "It was the wrong decision, and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that. There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves. And the fact of the matter is it's not 2004 anymore. It's not 2004. And it's 2007, and I think you have to live in the present. And you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past. It doesn't matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game in the Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters, and that's what I think."^[7][8] Many viewed her comments as being critical of Scurry's performance, although Solo released an apologetic statement the following day saying that was not her intent.^[9] On September 29, 2007, coach Greg Ryan announced that Solo would not be with the team and would not play in the third-place match against Norway the following day.^[10][11] Team captain Kristine Lilly stated that the decision on Solo was made by the team as a group.^[12] The U.S. went on to win against Norway 4-1.

Solo was named to the U.S. women's national soccer team roster for the post World Cup tour, but she didn't attend the first workout ahead of the first game against Mexico. The players' contract with the federation stipulated that anyone on the World Cup roster had the right to play in the tour. Greg Ryan said “We're initiating a process of reconciliation, and in doing that you can't mandate reconciliation. This isn't a made for Hollywood love story, this is a real story, and we're all working at that.”^[13] She was present for, but did not play in, any of the three games against Mexico, being replaced by Briana Scurry for the first and third matches, and Nicole Barnhart for the second. The third match against Mexico, on October 20, 2007, marked the end of the U.S. women's national team's 2007 season. The team is expected to regroup in January of 2008 to begin preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[14] Ryan, however, will not be involved; it was announced that his contract would not be renewed when it expired in December 2007 ^[15]

v • d • e United States squad - 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Third Place 1 Scurry • 2 Dalmy • 3 Rampone • 4 Whitehill • 5 Tarpley • 6 Kai • 7 Boxx • 8 Ellertson • 9 O'Reilly • 10 Wagner • 11 Lloyd • 12 Osborne • 13 Lilly (c.) • 14 Lopez • 15 Markgraf • 16 Hucles • 17 Chalupny • 18 Solo • 19 Jobson • 20 Wambach • 21 Barnhart • Coach: Ryan

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• U.S. Soccer biography
• Hope Solo Fan Site