Becky Sauerbrunn found her calling on a summer afternoon in 1999.
Sauerbrunn, a St. Louis native who was then 14, was watching the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup with her father when Brandi Chastain sank a penalty kick into the back of the net in Pasadena, Calif., to secure the United States’ second title.
Sauerbrunn described her reaction at the time as “freaking out,” although not quite as dramatically as Chastain’s now famous sports-bra celebration.
“The ’99 game, the championship, the Rose Bowl, that is something I will always remember,” Sauerbrunn said. “That’s actually when I realized that I wanted to play on the national team and a goal of mine would be to win a World Cup.”
On Monday, two days after her 31st birthday, she and three FC Kansas City teammates — forward Amy Rodriguez and midfielders Lauren Holiday and Heather O’Reilly — will have a chance to live out that dream.
The 2015 Women’s World Cup started Saturday in Canada. The U.S. will play its first group-round match Monday against Australia and FC Kansas City’s Katrina Gorry at 6:30 p.m. at Winnipeg Stadium. The Americans also will face Sweden and Nigeria in Group D matches.
“It’s really indescribable,” Sauerbrunn said. “All the hard work you put in and all the sacrifices. The missed proms, the graduations, all the time spent on the field, and to be there and have it all come true is hard to explain.”
This will be the second World Cup appearance for Sauerbrunn, a defender who also played in 2011. She started that year in the place of suspended Rachel Buehler and played all 90 minutes in a semifinal victory over France. She has started all seven matches for the U.S. women’s team this year and is the only player on the roster to have played every minute during those matches.
During breaks in the lead-up to this summer’s tournament, which runs through July 5, the two-time National Women’s Soccer League defender of the year returned to FC Kansas City and cemented herself as a favorite of coach Vlatko Andonovski.
“I said it two years ago and I stand by it today,” Andonovski said. “She is the best defender in the world.
“The way she thinks about the game, the way she plays the game, the way she reads the game, I am not surprised she is the starting defender for the national team and she will be for a long time.”
Fifteen of the 23 players selected by U.S. national team coach Jill Ellis have at least one World Cup appearance under their belts. U.S. captain Christie Rampone is scheduled to make her fifth appearance, which would tie Kristine Lilly for the most World Cups for an American, woman or man. Shannon Boxx and Abby Wambach will be making their fourth appearances, while O’Reilly, Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo will be making their third.
The roster averages 101 caps per player and has played in a combined 122 Women’s World Cup matches. The 2011 U.S. team was beaten by Japan on penalty kicks in the championship game.
“Having the experience is huge in a World Cup,” said Holiday, one of nine players making their second World Cup appearances. “It is such an intense environment and it can be nerve-racking and exciting with a ton of emotion. Having that veteran leadership I hope calms us down and gives us the confidence to be able to play.”
Holiday, known to her teammates by her maiden name “Cheney,” started all six of the team’s games in 2011 and scored against North Korea and France. She also led the way with three assists.
Last season, Holiday was named most valuable player of the NWSL championship game with assists on both of Rodriguez’s goals in FCKC’s 2-1 victory over the Seattle Reign. She went on to win the U.S. Soccer’s Female Athlete of the Year award.
“I think the group from here is phenomenal,” Holiday said. “I think the world of Becky and I think that she is one of the best defenders in the world, if not the best. Amy is playing phenomenal right now up top and HAO (O’Reilly’s nickname, and initials, pronounced “HEY-oh”) is HAO. She brings that level of energy, that grit and that fight.”
O’Reilly is the newest of the FC Kansas City crew, acquired through an offseason trade with the Boston Breakers. She has played in just three matches since coming to Kansas City but has been efficient, scoring one goal in five shots — one of only two goals for team in that span.
She was the youngest player on America’s 2007 Women’s World Cup team and the youngest gold-medal winner on the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.
Then, there is Rodriguez, a 2011 World Cup veteran who missed the inaugural NWSL season in 2013 to give birth to a son, Ryan, then fought her way back onto the national-team roster. She finished the 2014 NWSL season with 13 goals in 22 matches, which ranked second in the league behind NWSL MVP Kim Little.
“I can’t say enough about A-Rod,” Holiday said. “She is one of my closest friends, but the way that she has worked, the effort she has put in and the determination after having a kid and coming back ...
“She has worked so hard to get where she is and now she is back in a competing spot for a starting position in a World Cup. It’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever witnessed.”
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