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Hall
of Fame honors the 1986 U.S. Women's National Team
winners of the first match in the program's history |
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Bottom
row, Left to Right - Kristen Bowsher, Suzy Cobb, Kim Wyant, Gretchen Gegg,
Janine Szpara, Barbara Wickstrand,
Stacey Enos, Cindy Gordon
Middle row, Left to Right - Kim Crabbe, Lauren Gregg, Emily Pickering, Lori Henry,
Marcia McDermott, Pam Baughman-Cornell,
Lorraine Figgins, Ann Orrison, April Heinrichs
Back row, Left to Right - Head Coach Anson Dorrance, D. Trainer, Joan Dunlap,
Betsy Drambour, Sharon Remer, Michelle Akers, Chris Tomek, Debbie Belkin, Lisa
Gmitter, Assistant Coach Hank Lueng, Dr. Roger Rogers |
| Among
those pictured above, Lori Henry, April Heinrichs,
Michelle Akers, Debbie
Belkin, Coach Anson Dorrance and
future Assistant Coach Lauren Gregg went on to receive
the National Soccer Hall of Fame Medal of Honor in recognition
of their historic 1991 World Cup championship. April
Heinrichs, later to be the coach of the Women’s National Team,
and Michelle Akers, were inducted into the Hall of Fame
in 1998 and 2004 respectively.
After
a losing record of .125 in 1985, when it was first
formed, the 1986 Women’s National Team won its
first game ever when it beat Canada 2-0 in Blaine,
Minnesota.
Few would have predicted that this would presage the
U.S. team’s domination of women’s soccer
throughout the world. The 1986 team initiated the winning
tradition
with a .714 record. From 1985 thru 2006 the team won
an astonishing 272 out of 361 games played and its
overall
record during that period was .807. The U.S. Women’s
team is the only one to finish among the top three
teams in all seven world championship events for women’s
soccer (four Women’s World Cups and three Olympic
Games). Prior to this World Cup (2007), the U.S.
is 20-2-2 in 24 career WWC games and
12-1-3 in Olympic play.
In 1991, the U.S. won the inaugural FIFA Women’s World
Cup in China with a 2-1 victory over Norway. The championship
was the first for the USA in a FIFA competition and started
the women’s team on the way to its preeminent position
in women’s soccer. Although losing to Norway in
the 1995 World Cup semifinals, the U.S. team rebounded
to win
the 1999 World Cup, beating China 5-4 in penalty kicks
in front of 90,185 at the Rose Bowl. And in World Cup
2003 the U.S. team came in third. The U.S. team claimed
the
inaugural gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games with a
2-1 victory over China before 76,489 fans. Once again,
however,
they were defeated 2-1 by their arch-rival Norway in
the 2000 Olympic Games. But, as with the World Cup, they
rebounded
four years later to defeat Brazil in the final of the
2004 Olympic Games, to claim their second gold medal.
We
salute the 1986 team which paved the way for the brilliant
future of the
Women’s National Team. |
The 1986
team was honored at the 2007 Presidents Dinner
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