Chalupny Shines on World Stage
Last night was a breakout World Cup performance for Lori Chalupny. She scored a goal in the first minute and didn’t stop running until the final whistle blew. She was dangerous on several occasions and actively tracked back to help her team defend.
For Chalupny, it was just another day at the office, one in which she just happened to score the winning goal that took the U.S. out of Group B in first place.
“The goal yesterday, being my first World Cup goal, was an amazing feeling and I’m glad that I was able to help the team win,” said Chalupny.
Chalupny was the obvious choice for Player of the Match, but was overlooked in favor of Nigeria’s Perpetua Nkwocha, in what could only be a consolation prize for going home without a win.
Chalupny’s University of North Carolina and U-19 teammate, Heather O’Reilly also impressed with her speed and work rate. She ran down seemingly impossible to retrieve balls to the end line and cut them back to create nice scoring chances for her teammates, and was an active participant in team defense.
“I just think that I’m not the biggest player. I’m not the most tactically aware player, but work ethic is something that you can always bring. That’s just been part of my upbringing, and playing at University of North Carolina, its just ingrained is us that you can have the worst day technically, but as along as you leave it on the field and use your work ethic you can walk away feeling good about yourself,” O’Reilly explained when asked about her work rate and competitive fire.
Chalupny agreed.
“Not only at UNC, but also on the youth teams, the U-19 team, it’s just kind of been an attitude and a mindset that we’ve grown up with. That’s something that I look forward to in the games; running around and playing defense,” she said.
Chalupny, O’Reilly and the U.S. team escaped group play with no suspensions or major injuries. They’ve been getting better every match, but haven’t quite hit their stride yet. They take on England in a quarterfinal on Saturday, which promises to be an exciting match – especially for the Fair Game US and Fair Game UK crew who will be watching together in Tianjin. The trash talk has already begun!
Photo by Robyn McNeil
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