Hope Solo – Her Journey from Forward to Goalie to International Fame

HopeSolo.com

Hope Solo is a native of Richland, WA where she played soccer at Richland High. Interestingly, she shined as a forward and was a two time All-American which earned her a scholarship to the University of Washington. This is where she switched to goal keeper as freshman; the rest is history. Hope became Washington’s all-time leader in saves, shut outs, and goals against in addition to being named to the All-American team four years in a row.

After graduation, Hope began her professional soccer career and was soon named to the 2004 Olympic team as an alternate.  She then became the national team starter in 2005. After hitting a bit of a rough patch during the 2007 World Cup, Hope was kicked off the team for criticizing then coach, Greg Ryan, because he decided to bench her in favor of veteran Brianna Scurry for the semi-final match against Brazil. The US team lost 4-1 and it was obvious that Scurry could no longer play at an international level.

Greg Bryan was fired as the coach in late 2007 and Solo was asked to rejoin the team in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. Hope has become the face of women’s soccer both here in the United States and abroad since her legendary performance in the 2008 Olympic final against Brazil. She’s been busy preparing for the 2012 Olympics as Team USA aims to repeat their gold medal performance from Beijing. This is going to Solo’s third Olympic appearance, but this time she is definitely the star of the show.

Since the Beijing Olympics, she has been incredibly busy juggling her professional career and her new celebrity. Solo has: been on the talk show circuit, garnered product endorsements, posed nude for ESPN the Magazine, and even competed on Dancing with the Stars. Her new-found fame has been a boon for women’s soccer on the international stage and has greatly boosted interest here at home. But as the London Games draw near, Solo has been all business.

The US women are the favorites coming in to these Olympic games and you best believe that the gold medal is more than a Hope for them. Partnering with other stars like Abby Wambach, Heather Mitts, and Carli Lloyd …  Hope Solo is certainly not alone in her hunt for gold.

“Every tournament is very different than the one before. It doesn’t matter if it’s a World Cup or Olympics. But, you know, in the Olympics you feel like you’re a part of a team that’s much bigger than your 18 players on the roster. It’s your country, it’s your country’s pride. You start being competitive with the amount of medals the American team has over other countries, whereas in the World Cup it’s all about what your players do on the field.” – Hope Solo