June 4, 2015

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BY BRANDON HARRISON
UWBadgers.com

MADISON, Wis. -- When talking about the World Cup and national team soccer in the United States, many reference to the 1999 U.S. Women's National Team that claimed the gold trophy in dramatic fashion and sparked a change in the perception of women's soccer -- soccer in general -- in America.

No need to explain to Kristen Weiss. She was one of those young girls watching with bated breath as Brandi Chastain walked to her mark, placed the ball for her penalty kick that could decide the shootout, then beat China PR goalkeeper Gao Hong with a goal right side that clinched the title on home soil for the United States and sent Rose Bowl Stadium into a frenzy.

"I was the same as all the other little girls were," Weiss said. "That was such a special group of players. We had the Mia Hamm jersey and you wanted to be like them. For me, I was always doing extra training, always trying to watch and continue to learn.

"They absolutely paved the way for what women's soccer is today."

Weiss was one who followed the inspired path, which eventually led her to represent the U.S. herself.

The Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, native became a highly touted prep athlete at Walsh Jesuit High School where she was twice tabbed as a Parade All-American and female athlete of the year. Her prep success translated to her collegiate career at Virginia, where from 2002-06 she won an ACC championship and was a member of the ACC All-Tournament team in 2004.

All the while, she was working at her craft on a national level. Weiss played for the U.S. Under-16, U-17 and U-19 women's national teams. She would work her way onto the full U.S. Women's National Team and was called to participate in the 2001 Algarve Cup, where she earned four caps.

"It's probably one of the most humbling experiences you can have in a sport, to be able to represent your country and be able to pull on the crest and wear it."

"It's probably one of the most humbling experiences you can have in a sport, to be able to represent your country and to be able to pull on the crest and wear it," Weiss said. "You talk about the pride that comes with it. You just think about how many people would love the opportunity to be in your shoes. The fact that you get to have that experience, it's just really humbling.

It was more than just a humbling experience, too, as it also led to indescribable memories.

"You travel and you go on all these amazing trips with your friends. You get to play soccer at the highest level where you're competing for your country. It's indescribably,"Weiss remembered fondly. "You walk out, you've got your hand over your heart, your national anthem plays and you're representing your country. It's just really cool.

"Playing soccer in general for me has brought me so many life experiences and it's brought me where I am today. Those years that I was with international teams were some of the best times of my life."

Now preparing for her third season as an assistant coach with the University of Wisconsin women's soccer program, Weiss has been able to share that invaluable experience, those memories, and pass on the advice she gathered to current Wisconsin pupils going through the same process.

Rose Lavelle has played for U.S. Soccer national teams, most recently a key player in the U.S. U-23 Women's National Team winning the Four Nations Tournament title in Norway this summer. Kinley McNicoll has also represented her country, Canada, at the national level, including serving as captain last summer when Canada hosted the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup -- where Lavelle also played with the USA.

"It's really cool because I've been in their shoes. I know what they're going through. I know the excitement. I know the stress. I know the disappointment. I know what it takes to be at that level as a player," Weiss said. "It's fun to watch them go through it and it's really neat to be a sounding board for them if they need it."

The honor of representing home and country is something that transcends age group and generation, too.

"Rose and I will text each other any time we're wearing the crest and representing U.S. Soccer," Weiss said. "We'll text each other a picture of us wearing the crest and how proud we are to represent the USA. It's just really cool to see them be able to go through it, too."

It will be just as neat for Weiss this summer to watch faces she's familiar with on the U.S. Women's National Team enter the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada with the goal of winning the whole thing.

"Rose (Lavelle) and I will text each other any time we're wearing the crest and representing U.S. Soccer. We'll text each other a picture of us wearing the crest and how proud we are to represent the USA. It's just really cool to see them be able to go through it, too."

"For me, I know a lot of the players. I've either played with them or against them, whether it was with the national teams of the past or even in the college level," Weiss said. "There's some of those players that I played with and it's exciting for me to see them on that national stage."

The U.S. enter with plenty of hype this time around, a change from summers prior to that fateful day in Pasadena, California, when the American women won it all in 1999.

"Going back to those `99ers in the day, they didn't have anything the same that they have now, in terms of facilities, the way that they would bus everywhere and how they were just trying to just grow the sport," Weiss said. "You've got a lot more people interested now and able to follow it easier. You pull up Twitter, you pull up Facebook, there's tweets and hashtags everywhere, it's exciting to see how much interest they've drawn."

While the U.S. enters this summer's World Cup ranked No. 2 in the world, they'll be joined by a handful of other favorites that includes Germany, Japan, France, host Canada and Brazil.

"They have a lot of talent," Weiss said of the U.S. National Team, "and the good thing is, I think they're deeper than they've ever been in terms of the players that they're bringing on and the rotations that they're able to have. That's something that's exciting.

"For Abby (Wambach) and some of them, you've got to think that it's probably their last World Cup. They've got that leadership, and obviously, only one goal in mind. It'll be exciting."