Four Red Stars rocking Team USA in Women's World Cup
The U.S. Women's National Team faces China tonight in the FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinals, and with four Chicago Red Stars on the roster, their teammates back home offer a unique perspective of the team's chances.
Red Stars defender Abby Erceg returned to practice in Chicago this week after the New Zealand National Team, which she captained, was eliminated in the group stage.
Her team's final game was a 2-2 tie against China, giving her insight on the U.S.'s upcoming opponent. Like many others, she's picking Team USA to win.
"China is really good at sitting back in a block, so they're hard to break down," Erceg said. "All the U.S. needs to be able to do is break down that block and the floodgates will open.
"When China is behind and they can't sit in that block, the game will be all over ... the U.S.A. should take it."
The Americans boast stars such as Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan, but Red Stars center back Julie Johnston and forward Christen Press have also made marks in their first World Cup experiences.
Press scored a goal in the U.S. victory against Australia and totaled 150 minutes of play in games against Colombia, Sweden and Australia.
Johnston, the second-youngest player on the team, has been crucial to the American defense, playing 90 minutes in all four games and taking 4 shots in the process.
The ability of Press and Johnston to make an influence right away is impressive - being on the game's biggest stage at the Cup can be a shock at first, the veteran Erceg said.
"Being my third World Cup, it wasn't as overwhelming as before," Erceg said. "Sometimes you can get a little caught up in where you are and what's going on, so this time it was more business."
Defender Lori Chalupny and midfielder Shannon Boxx round out the Red Stars representing the U.S. Like Erceg, the two are no strangers to international attention - they've been earning caps for the National team since 2001 and 2003, respectively.
Red Stars rookie forward Sofia Huerta, who leads the team and the NWSL in goals so far this season, said it's a thrill to watch her teammates get on the field in Ottawa, especially Johnston, whom she played with at Santa Clara.
"All of us have that goal to be on the U.S. team, so to see teammates who we care about and who we've played with and who have shown us a lot playing at the highest level is obviously great," Huerta said.
"Personally, for me, seeing Julie Johnston is maybe greater than the rest, because I've played with her for so long and I'm happy to finally see her conquer her goals. She's been one of the best players on the team and is really having a good tournament."
The faceoff between the U.S. and China is a rematch of the 1999 Women's World Cup Final, when Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, and other stars led America to a shootout win. That historic game was the most-attended women's sports event in history.
Red Stars midfielder and Naperville native Vanessa DiBernardo, who was a Big Ten star at Illinois, said she's glad to see the National Team's success rekindling some of that soccer hype.
"It's fun to see the women's game getting a lot of publicity," DiBernardo said. "We have the TV on all the time at our apartment, watching, so it's just fun and we want that to grow with our league and hopefully get more people at our games."