This summer is a special one for the United States Women’s National Team.
As the U.S. sets out to defend its 2015 World Cup title and win the fourth World Cup in program history in France, the team is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its iconic triumph in 1999 World Cup, which ended in a memorable win over China in a penalty-kick shootout.
Brandi Chastain delivered the unforgettable moment by burying the deciding goal and ripping her shirt off and falling to her knees in celebration in front of 90,000 adoring fans at the Rose Bowl.
The nailbiting finish helped cement the 1999 World Cup in U.S. sports history and launch women's soccer into the mainstream, with Chastain’s sports-bra celebration garnering the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Chastain was not the only hero of the game, though.
Kristine Lilly helped prevent a potential goal from China in extra time by heading the ball away from the end line on a corner kick that got behind goalkeeper Briana Scurry.
Mia Hamm, already a star, buried her penalty kick to tie the shootout at 4-4 going into the final round. Scurry had her moment next, making a diving stop against China’s Ling Yiu to set up Chastian's heroics.
Chastain had hit the crossbar in a shootout during a 2-1 exhibition loss to China four months earlier, and when U.S. women’s assistant coach Lauren Gregg submitted a list to head coach Tony DiCicco of five players to take the penalty kicks, Chastain was not among the top five, but an alternate instead.
But DiCicco had a hunch about Chastain and sent Gregg over to talk to her. After Chastain said she could make the kick, the coaching staff placed her as the fifth kicker ahead of star midfielder Julie Foudy. The rest is history. Chastain, using her left foot, beat China goalkeeper Gao Hong to her left side for the game-winning goal.
The victory was a transformative moment in women’s sports, catapulting the U.S. women’s soccer program into an international powerhouse and its players into household names across the country. That team paved the way for the current crop of U.S. Women's National Team players to compete in this summer's World Cup.
By John Healy