Red Stars defender had a blast on World Cup stage
Ten days after playing China at the FIFA Women's World Cup, Chicago Red Stars defender Abby Erceg was back at practice in Oak Brook on Thursday, watching from the sidelines and picking up stray cones after a drill.
Erceg was the captain of the New Zealand National Team that was eliminated in the group stage at the Cup. The team fell to the Netherlands 1-0 in its first game, tied host nation Canada 0-0 in the second, and tied China 2-2 in its third and final contest.
Four of Erceg's Chicago Red Stars teammates are on the roster for the U.S. National Team when it takes on China in a quarterfinal matchup tonight (6:30 p.m. FOX). Two Red Stars players, Christen Press and Julie Johnston, should play significant roles in today's contest.
The 2015 Cup was the 25-year-old Erceg's third with New Zealand, which failed to escape the group stage in all three tournaments but reached the knockout stage in the 2012 Olympics.
Erceg, who has 116 international caps and five international goals in her career, shared her thoughts with the Daily Herald on her World Cup experience.
Q. What was the atmosphere like at the Cup in Canada?
A. It varied. Obviously we had Canada in our group, so there was a lot of hype around the team and we had a lot of exposure playing in our group games, so that was really, really cool. With the crowds, we had a little bit more media than usual.
I hadn't been to Canada before, so it was cool to go around and see the country. Canadians were really nice as well, which I liked. If we had our maps out while we were walking around, people would stop and help us and ask if we were lost. I had a good time while I was there.
Q. What was your favorite moment over the course of the Cup games you played?
A. Because of the history we had with Canada, that game was exciting, and playing my old coach was really cool (John Herdman, who left New Zealand to coach Canada in 2011). There were a lot of people there. We didn't lose to them, which was really great as well.
Whenever you play the home nation, they've got the 12th man in the crowd, so it was really good for us to get that result. It was an enjoyable game, I think it was 50/50. Both teams had chances, but that was definitely my favorite part of the tournament.