When the U.S. Women’s National Team won the 1999 FIFA World Cup, that same year defender Heather Mitts made her first national soccer appearance and midfielder Carli Lloyd collected the first of her two national high school player of the year awards in Pennsylvania.
Much has changed for the Atlanta Beat’s Mitts and Lloyd in a dozen years. Since that World Cup title, they have become two of the sport’s premier players, staples for a U.S. team that captured Olympic gold in Athens and Beijing.
“The World Cup is like the Super Bowl for us,” Mitts said. “Playing in that type of atmosphere is so exciting.”
Combined, Mitts and Lloyd have made more than 200 appearances for the national team. They hope to use this experience to help the Americans end their World Cup dry spell. The international tournament runs June 26-July 17 at various German sites.
On Tuesday, the Beat teammates leave Atlanta to join the U.S. Women’s National Team for training in Austria. From there, the team will travel to Dresden, Germany, for a match against Korea DPR on June 28 to open FIFA World Cup play. The match will be broadcast on ESPN and begins at 11:45 a.m. ET.
Games will be held in nine different cities with the 16-team field divided into four groups for preliminary play. After facing Korea, the U.S. squad will meet Colombia and Sweden.
The U.S. Women’s National Team qualified for the FIFA World Cup when it captured the 16th and final berth after beating Italy in a two-game qualifying playoff. This spring, Mitts, Lloyd and their 20 U.S. teammates stayed busy preparing for Germany.
“The gap is close with the teams internationally,” Lloyd said. “You can’t take any team lightly.”
Lloyd and Mitts became national team teammates when Lloyd joined the squad six years ago, and the pair has developed a strong relationship on and off the field. In 2007, Mitts joined Lloyd in her training with current Beat coach James Galanis in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
“We get along great and we’re pretty easy going,” Lloyd said.
They signed with the Beat during the offseason; Lloyd in December, Mitts in January.
“It’s been exciting to come to the Beat and be familiar with James and one of your best friends,” Mitts said.
The past few months have been busy for the reunited Mitts and Lloyd, who have been constantly on the road, traveling between their soccer teams. During the week, they train with the national team; on weekends, they join the Beat for WPS games. Both attended a three-week training camp for the U.S. Women’s National Team in Palm Springs, Fla., early last month.
“It’s been a lot more challenging then any of us expected with the travel. ... We make it work,” Mitts said.
In seven games with the Beat this season, midfielder Lloyd has scored two goals while Mitts has started the four games in which she has played. For the U.S. squad, Lloyd has scored 27 career goals while Mitts, a defender, has scored twice.
Mitts and Lloyd, by having each other to share in the experience, have been able to deal with the long hours, travel and exhaustion.They rely on each other for support.
“It’s still the game of soccer whether you’re playing with the Beat or the national team,” Lloyd said. “It’s been great having Heather here with me.”
