Shooting for More
A
ust about every time you
turn around these days,
the U.S. National Team is reach
ing one milestone or surpassing
another.
You can look it up: On Nov. 19,
the U.S. reached soccer's prom
ised land - the World Cup - for the
first time in 40 years. On Dec. 9,
the U.S. took part in its first ever
World Cup draw. And on June
10, the Americans will partici
pate in the world's greatest sport
ing spectacle for the first time
since 1950, when they meet
Czechoslovakia in Florence, It
aly.
It has been one incredible ride
for U.S. soccer, in general, and
the National Team, in particular.
Whether the United States takes
it to another level remains to be
seen, but getting there certainly
has been a great adventure.
The first voyage of this amazing
journey took place in a sea of red
(an enthusiastic, overflow crowd
of 35,000 wore the national col
ors) in Port of Spain, Trinidad and
Tobago on Nov. 19. There, a de
fensive midfielder named Paul
Caligiuri hit the shot heard around
the world - a 25-yard shot that
landed past goalkeeper Michael
Maurice - to lift the U.S. to an
incredible 1 -0 win.
"This game will have a tremen
dous impact on the sport in the
United States," Caligiuri said in a
jubilant post-game locker room
"It was the single most important
game we ever won.
"It proves to the rest of the world
we can play and we can qualify.
We all knew what was on the line
- the future of soccer in the United
States."
The U.S. compiled a 5-1 -4 rec
ord in those 10 qualifying games,
while signaling the emergence of
a number of young standouts:
Captain and sweeper Mike
Windischmann, who played ev-
photo by Jon Van Woerden erY minute and anchored a de-
