St. Louis Well Represented at Women’s World Cup
St. Louis has a long, storied relationship with soccer in the United States. The city was a force in the men’s game for decades. This was not, however, the case for women’s soccer. Not until 2007 did St. Louis have a true representative in Women’s World Cups. That woman was defender Lori Chalupny, and she made herself known. Chalupny started every match for the United States and scored two goals. The first was a quick strike in Group B play against Nigeria. Chalupny scored in the first minute and supplied all the offense the US needed to sink the Nigerians. She would also score later in the tournament; Chalupny scored in the 58th minute against Norway in the third-place match to seal the bronze medal for the United States.
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Due to a history of concussions, Chalupny would not see time on the national team during the 2011 Women’s World Cup. St. Louis would instead be represented on the defense by Becky Sauerbrunn. Sauerbrunn would only start the semifinal win against France after Rachel Buelher was red-carded in the quarterfinal. Sauerbrunn would reach a starting role in 2015. In December 2014, Chalupny would be called back up to the national team after passing concussion tests.
In the 2015 Women’s World Cup, St. Louis would be represented by both Sauerbrunn and Chalupny. Sauerbrunn saw time on the starting 11, while Chalupny would be relegated to a substitute. While Chalupny would not see time on the field, Sauerbrunn was a vital piece of the Women’s World Cup winning squad. Sauerbrunn was called “the most underrated player” on the team by fellow defender Meghan Klingenberg and was the anchor of the back four that was so dominant in the Women’s World Cup this year.
Becky Sauerbrunn and Lori Chalupny have had roles in what is perhaps the most important United States Women’s National Team in history. It is fitting that two of the team’s players come from St. Louis, a city that has, and continues to, influence the growth of the beautiful game in the United States.
Next: The Mistreatment of Women in Soccer
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