Becky Sauerbrunn

Becky Sauerbrunn

Sauerbrunn in 2012
Personal information
Full name Rebecca Elizabeth Sauerbrunn
Date of birth (1985-06-06) June 6, 1985
Place of birth St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current team
 FC Kansas City
Number 4
Youth career
J.B. Marine S.C.
College career
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2007 Virginia Cavaliers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2005 Boston Renegades 11 (1)
2006–2007 Richmond Kickers Destiny 21 (2)
2008–2010 Washington Freedom 50 (1)
2009 → Røa IL (loan)
2011 magicJack 13 (0)
2012 D.C. United Women 4 (1)
2013– FC Kansas City 52 (1)
National team‡
United States U-17
United States U-19
United States U-23
2008– United States 105 (0)
Medal record
Olympic Games
2012 London Team
FIFA Women's World Cup
2011 Germany Team
2015 Canada Team

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 5, 2015.
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of April 10, 2016

Rebecca Elizabeth Sauerbrunn (born June 6, 1985) is an American professional soccer defender who currently plays for FC Kansas City in the National Women's Soccer League and is a member of the United States women's national soccer team. She played during one semifinal match of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, a 3–1 win against France, and during three matches in the 2012 Summer Olympics, including the semifinal and gold medal matches. She was a starting player for the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Sauerbrunn is considered by many to be one of the best defenders in the world, and has won the NWSL Defender of the Year title every year since its formation.

As of 2016, Sauerbrunn is captain of FC Kansas City, and co-captain of the US National Team.

Early life

Sauerbrunn was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to Scott and Jane Sauerbrunn. She has two older brothers, Grant and Adam.[1]

Sauerbrunn attended Ladue High School and was a four-year letterwinner in soccer, volleyball and basketball. She was named soccer team captain playing as a sweeper and central midfielder. During her senior season, she scored 21 goals and made 19 assists. She was named 2003 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year, 2002 and 2003 Parade All-American, 2001 NSCAA Youth All-American, and 2002 NSCAA Adidas (U-17) All-American. Sauerbrunn was also a member of the J.B. Marine Club team and helped the team to four state cup championships and the 2000 regional championship.[1][2]

University of Virginia

Sauerbrunn attended the University of Virginia and was a member of the Virginia Cavaliers women's soccer team from 2003 to 2007. With the Cavaliers, she became the only three-time NSCAA All-American in school history, and was named First-Team NSCAA All-American and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a redshirt senior in 2007. She graduated from University of Virginia in 2007 where she majored in English. In her senior year, she was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar Athlete of the Year.[3]

Playing career

Club

Sauerbrunn played for the Washington Freedom during the 2008 W-League season and was subsequently selected by the club as the third overall pick in the 2008 WPS General Draft ahead of the 2009 launch of the new Women's Professional Soccer league. She played every minute of every game for the Washington Freedom in 2009 and 2010, then stayed with the team when it moved to Florida and became MagicJack.

Following the suspension of the Women's Professional Soccer league, she joined the D.C. United Women in 2012, though her availability was limited due to her national team obligations.[3][4]

On January 11, 2013, Sauerbrunn was one of three members from the United States women's national team that was allocated to the new NWSL club FC Kansas City, along with Nicole Barnhart and Lauren Cheney.[5] Sauerbrunn was awarded Defender of the Year in the league's inaugural season. In the 2014 season she was named Defender of the Year for the second year in a row and co-captained league champions FC Kansas City.

In September 2015, Sauerbrunn received the NWSL Defender of the Year award again, becoming the first player to win an NWSL end-of-season award in three consecutive seasons.[6]

International

Sauerbrunn in 2015

In her senior United States debut against Canada in 2008, Sauerbrunn was substituted after sustaining a broken nose.[7]

After Rachel Buehler was red carded in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup quarter–final win over Brazil, and therefore was suspended for one match; Sauerbrunn started in the semi–final win over France.[8]

She was part of the United States team at the 2012 Summer Olympics, making three appearances totaling 35 minutes, including the semifinal and gold medal matches.[9][10]

During the 2015 FIFA WWC, she played all 630 minutes for the United States.[11]

The omission of her name from many post-World Cup awards lists was considered by many journalists and fans to be a snub.[12][13][14]

In January 2016, Sauerbrunn was named as the new co-captain of the national team, alongside Carli Lloyd.

Honors and awards

Individual

Team

In popular culture

Sauerbrunn was featured along with her national teammates in the EA Sports' FIFA video game series in FIFA 16, the first time women players were included in the game.[16] In September 2015, she was ranked by EA Sports as the No. 10 women's player in the game.[17]

Following the United States' win at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Sauerbrunn and her teammates became the first women's sports team to be honored with a Ticker Tape Parade in New York City.[18] Each player received a key to the city from Mayor Bill de Blasio.[19] In October of the same year, the team was honored by President Barack Obama at the White House.[20]

References

  1. 1 2 "Becky Sauerbrunn player profile". University of Virginia. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Q&A with Becky Sauerbrunn". Ladue News. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Becky Sauerbrunn profile". US Soccer. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  4. ↑ Breen, Matt (July 14, 2012). "Becky Sauerbrunn, U.S. women hope Olympic success spurs renewed interest in pro league". Washington Post. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  5. ↑ "NWSL announces allocation of 55 National Team Players to Eight Clubs". US Soccer. January 11, 2013.
  6. ↑ "FCKC'S BECKY SAUERBRUNN VOTED DEFENDER OF THE YEAR" (Press release). NWSL. September 21, 2015.
  7. ↑ Grant Wahl (July 15, 2011). "U.S. stars Abby Wambach, Hope Solo talk gnarliest soccer moments". SI.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Sauerbrunn to step in for Buehler". Fox News. July 13, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Becky Sauerbrunn 2012 Olympics bio". NBC. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Sauerbrunn's limited time is as good as gold". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  11. ↑ http://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/teams/team=1882884/statistics.html
  12. ↑ Kassouf, Jeff (February 19, 2016). "How does Sauerbrunn keep getting snubbed?". The Equalilzer. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  13. ↑ Wahl, Grant (February 18, 2016). "Becky Sauerbrunn's latest honor snub raises eyebrows". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  14. ↑ Carlisle, Jeff (July 3, 2015). "Sauerbrunn At The Heart Of U.S. Defense". ESPN. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  15. ↑ "FC Kansas City Earns 2014 NWSL Championship". FC Kansas City. August 31, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  16. ↑ Barnes, Katie (September 28, 2015). "Why 'FIFA 16' is a Landmark for Women". ESPN. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  17. ↑ "FIFA 16 Player Ratings - Top 20 Women". EA Sports. September 8, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  18. ↑ "U.S. women celebrate World Cup with ticker-tape parade in New York City". USA Today. July 11, 2015. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Team USA parades NYC's "Canyon of Heroes"". CBS News. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  20. ↑ Wagner, Laura (October 27, 2015). "Obama To U.S. Women's Soccer Team: 'Playing Like A Girl Means You're A Badass'". NPR. Retrieved January 3, 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Becky Sauerbrunn.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.