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It is in Becky Sauerbrunns job description to frustrate and stymie on defense, to prevent players from going where they wish on a soccer field. She does this well. Many suggest that the player who was the centerpiece of a unit that helped the U.S. womens national team win the World Cup just one year ago does those things better than any defender in the world.It is also in her job description as one of the teams co-captains, a role the 31-year-old inherited only this year, to do the opposite off the field. After more than 100 appearances for her country, Olympic and World Cup titles already in her inventory, hers is a voice of experience.?A captain for a group of Olympic aspirants noticeably younger (average age 27.8 years old) than the team that won the World Cup a year ago (average age 29.5 years old), she took it as her mission in recent months to help those players adapt to the pressure of trying to make the final roster of 18 players -- and prepare for any outcome.?Thats crippling, Sauerbrunn said shortly before the roster was announced. Thats crushing to a lot of players. If, by chance, they dont make it, whats their response? Are they going to be like Crystal Dunn, where she absolutely lights the league on fire [after being left off the World Cup roster] and gets called back in and is fighting for a starting spot? Or is it somebody thats kind of like, OK, I guess the national team just isnt in the cards for me.?Its making sure they know the journey is long. Youre going to have a lot of ups, youre going to have a lot of downs. But its absolutely 100 percent worth it to be here, so never give up on that dream.She is a qualified guide. They are the same questions she asked herself not so long ago.?Her own ticket to Brazil was a formality long before U.S. coach Jill Ellis this week named the roster that will compete in the Olympics. She is in her own right as indispensable as any player. With her as defensive anchor in the World Cup, the first major tournament in which she was a full-time starter, the United States came within seconds of a record shutout streak en route to a title. At the She Believes Cup earlier this year against England, France and Germany, three of the top five teams in the world, the United States allowed only one goal and won all three games.?The FC Kansas City captain was the National Womens Soccer Leagues defender of the year in each of that leagues three completed seasons.Even snubs, as when she was omitted from the World Cup all-tournament team and what amounts to FIFAs all-world team this year, reinforce her status through the outcry such omissions elicit. She so perpetually figures in conversations about underrated players that she almost defies the label.?What people dont realize is just how easy she makes things, Carli Lloyd said after the most recent omission. And I think that might make people not recognize her as much out there.?Yet it was just six years ago, when the U.S. team -- then under the direction of Pia Sundhage who now coaches Sweden -- gathered for the training camp that would determine the roster for World Cup qualifying, that Sauerbrunn instead made her way to the movies with her boyfriend on the other side of the country. Instead of Sundhages distinctive Swedish accent, she spent the night listening to Blake Livelys somewhat less authentic interpretation of a Boston accent in The Town.?Sauerbrunns debut for the national team more than two years earlier was by that time rapidly receding in the rearview mirror, followed not by more appearances and more camp invitations but by silence. Then employed by the Washington Freedom in the now-defunct Womens Professional Soccer, Sauerbrunn was 25 years old. Not so old to be without hope of completing her journey, but running out of time to get her foot in the door. ?True to the character of a contemplative and almost hyper-rational former English major at the University of Virginia, she attempted to reason rather than rage against reality. She told herself she would be the best professional she could be in whatever time remained in the short shelf life of an athletic career. Perhaps that was her ceiling. Perhaps international soccer wasnt her fate.?That surely wouldnt have been a tragedy. To emerge from among the millions of girls playing soccer to compete at a regional level, where she first became a defender, and for youth national teams, to then be among the sliver to play Division I soccer and the smaller subset to play professionally, was already success. Logically, rationally, that should leave anyone fulfilled.? ?None of which explained the feeling she had after she put together one of the best defensive efforts of her life to help stymie Brazilian superstar Marta in a WPS game of that era, with Sundhage in attendance. What she felt was not the glow of satisfaction at a job well done.?I remember seeing Pia there and Pia not acknowledging my presence, Sauerbrunn said. And just being so crushed and thinking, OK, Im trying to convince myself that the national team isnt in my cards, but clearly I still want it so, so bad.?I was attempting [to readjust my expectations], but I was failing.That was the struggle right up until she checked her phone before the movie that night and saw a message waiting for her. There had been an injury and Sundhage wanted to know if she could be at the training camp. She boarded the plane the next morning, expecting to be camp fodder, little more than extra body to make drills works. But she survived the first cut. Then she not only made the roster for qualifying but also the 2011 World Cup itself, in which her lone appearance was a start in the semifinal win against France in place of suspended starter Rachel Buehler.?A year after feeling like she was so far on the outside that she might need to accept that it would be her home, she was very much on the inside of the national teams future plans.?Becky, defensively, certainly caught Pias eye and my eye because she was willing to take risks, she was very alert, said Ellis, then an assistant under Sundhage.?Missing in their eyes had been two components. First, though not uncommon among young defenders trying to make the national team, Sauerbrunn too often let her undeniably talented actions speak louder than her words. She didnt communicate well enough. Second, she didnt comfortably play the kind of long, driven passes that Sundhage wanted out of the position.? ?The latter came with repetition. It wasnt something she did naturally, more inclined to shorter passes, technical and precise to build possession through the midfield. It still isnt her first instinct, but she accepted that she needed to show it in her skill set.The other continues as a work in progress, the captaincy the latest test.?Its a little bit of leaving my comfort zone and demanding [from] players around me, Sauerbrunn said. I think its gotten better. I dont know if the players are listening to me more or if its just Ive never really talked as much, so now theyre listening.Its not that Sauerbrunn never had anything to say.?She has a calmness about her that, I think as a coach, I enjoy. Ellis said. I enjoy the conversations because its always a thoughtful conversation. I know Im not getting exactly what she thinks I need to hear.Much of what Sauerbrunn does with her voice is still hidden from our view, the conversations with teammates and even the marshaling of resources on the field difficult to decipher from a distance. Where it is most readily evident is in the sphere of social justice. Alongside names more familiar to headlines and faces more familiar to cameras -- Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Hope Solo -- she is one of five players to file jointly a federal complaint against U.S. Soccer alleging wage discrimination.?I feel very strongly about the equal pay complaint, so it came pretty naturally, Sauerbrunn said. Now that Ive been on the team for so many years, Ive been through different CBA negotiations and I kind of know a little bit more about whats going on.Six years ago she wasnt sure if there was a place for her in international soccer. Now she is as valuable a defender as anyone, a voice both her team and the sport needs.?When she tells young players the journey may be long, she knows of what she speaks.?And when she tells them its worth the miles, she speaks from experience, too.?In 2010, when I was fighting my way back on, it was trying to prove that I deserved to be on the team, Sauerbrunn said. And in a sense, Im still proving that to this day. Ive been made a co-captain, and I have this feeling that I have to prove to everyone that I deserve that honor.?So every day Im just as hungry as I was in 2010 to prove that I deserve to be where I am.Which soon enough will be in the soccer stadiums of Brazil.?Nike Vapormax Plus Norge . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Nike Joyride Run Norge . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.vapormaxnorge.com/vapormax-dame-norge/vapormax-svart.html . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Vapormax Flyknit Herre Norge . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Nike Vapormax En Gros .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court.A week ago, the Colorado Rapids controlled their own fate in the race for the Supporters Shield and the home-pitch advantage that comes with earning MLSs best overall record.But a 1-0 loss at Portland combined with a 2-1 win by FC Dallas on Oct. 16 put the Rapids behind the proverbial eight-ball: even if they beat Houston on Sunday afternoon in the two teams regular season finale at Dicks Sporting Goods Field in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado needs FC Dallas to lose to gain the leagues top record.The Rapids are unbeaten at home this year, winning 11 times and drawing five matches. Colorado is attempting to be just the fifth team in MLS history to go through the season without a home loss.Weve made sure weve had a good week of practice and well need to bring a lot of good energy into the game, Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni said. We respect Houston and we have to approach this game with 100 percent focus. We will put our best foot forward and we will do everything we can to win this game and then think about the playoffs.Colorado (15-6-12, 57 points) had its three-match winning streak come to an end with its loss on Oct. 16 while the Dynamo had their winless streak extended to four matches with a third defeat in that time when they suffered a second consecutive shutout in a 1-0 home loss to the LA Galaaxy on Oct.dddddddddddd16.The Rapids have claimed 38 of 57 possible points at Dicks Sporting Goods Park, which is the most they have ever won on home soil. A win on Sunday would take them to 41 points at home, equaling the league high for a season (LA Galaxy, 2011 and FC Dallas, last year).The teams are meeting for the second time this season and the second time in the past three weeks. Colorado beat Houston 3-2 on Oct. 8, when Dominique Badji scored twice and Shkelzen Gashi hit for a late winner for the Rapids, who overcame a pair of goals from the Dynamos Mauro Manotas.The Dynamo havent won at Dicks Sporting Goods Park since 2008, with the Rapids winning the last three meetings in Commerce City.Houston (7-14-12) is on course to have its worst regular season in franchise history. The Dynamo own just 33 points, which equals their lowest total in their 11 seasons in MLS. That previous low season came in 2010, when the league employed a 30-match regular season schedule, four less than this season.The Dynamo failed to qualify for the playoffs for a third straight season and will register their fewest-ever wins in season. Houstons previous low was in 2010, when it managed a 9-15-6 record. ' ' '