The Life of Abby Wambach

Of all of the sporting events in the entire world, nothing can ever be compared to soccer, which titled is football in all crevices of the earth excluding America. There is just something mesmerizing about the beautiful game, the excitement, the atmosphere, and of course the skill of the player's himself or herself. What do all of these factors add up too you may ask? It leads to one incredible afternoon exampling of teamwork, awesome goals, but also those occasional yellow and red cards.

All avid fans remember that enticing penalty kick by Brandi Chastain in the 1999 World Cup to give the United States Women's National Team a huge win. This also gave the soccer community in America considerably more attention; America definitely needs more of this to happen.

You may also remember, oh...what's her name...? Oh, yeah, Mia Hamm, only one of the best women soccer players in the history of the game. I'm thoroughly convinced that she herself has contributed various amounts of exposure and, along with her skill, has drawn so much more attention to the pitch and the world of soccer.

With these two, along with a few more, soccer players retiring from the field, there are gaps developing on the Women's National team that need to be filled. Rolling in to fill the void are great players like Abby Wambach. Abby has transformed the sport even further and will one day be compared to the best.

Abby Wambach, born Mary Abigail Wambach, began her career very early, starting with a small soccer ball and a big dream. Born in New York in 1980, left few areas to play and enhance her abilities. Knowing this, Abby stayed in the Big Apple and grew up to make her high school very proud. She attended Our Lady of Mercy High School near Rochester, New York, and graduated in the late 1990s; but not before she became the NCSAA Player of the Year and lettering in basketball as well as soccer.

After receiving her diploma, Abby obtained a scholarship to play soccer at the University of Florida. Here she led the soccer program to a National Championship and received an All-American award in which she proudly represented her school. In 1999, (still at Florida) Abby Wambach still holds the highest scoring player record from her four years on the team.

As she continued to make her presence known, Abby was happy to get a spot on the WUSA team Washington Freedom at the turn of the millennium. She even received the Most Valuable Player award along with Mia Hamm and other teammates that contributed to Abby's success.

Due to the major success in college and the WUSA, Abby was invited to a tryout for the Women's National Soccer Team in 2003. With a tremendous amount of hard work, Abby celebrated when she saw her name on the National team's roster, something she'd never thought she could have ever accomplished. Later in the year, Abby scored a critical goal in a World Cup game to put the U.S. in a great spot to go for the gold. Abby Wambach has over 80 international goals and numerous starts for the National Team's matches.

The following year, while still on the team, Abby and her teammates traveled to Greece for the historic Olympic games where she again scored a few goals and played in her first game versus Brazil, which the United States were victorious in. That year would prove to be one of the greatest of her short-lived career, which is still powerfully going.

Since her exciting debut wearing the red, white, and blue, Abby and the Women's National Team has flown over records, shutouts, and played good old-fashioned soccer. They have received titles and significant recognition that they deserve, and still deserve for plenty of generations to come.

Currently, the Women's National Team is participating in the World Cup being held in China. Abby, as well as the rest of the team, has played great so far in the tournament and they will play their last group game on Tuesday morning; Abby may keep her scoring drive alive against Nigeria. She had 2 goals in the shaky North Korea game and 1 in their second group game versus Sweden.

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Wambach