Brandi Chastain is a female soccer legend and one of the most iconic faces for the women’s game within America. You may know her from leading Santa Clara University to the NCAA College Cup Final Four twice, winning the 1993 FIFA Women’s World Cup, taking home two Olympic gold medals along with one silver, or maybe you remember her from when she scored the game-winning penalty kick to win the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Chastain has proven to be a legend and a soccer icon by overcoming overlying obstacles and heavy tasks during her pursuit to glory. She has sparked inspiration to millions through defying odds and becoming a great.
We recently caught up with Chastain as she talked about how the Capital One Cup is helping thousands of student-athletes, the draw selection ahead of next summer’s Women’s World Cup, her thoughts on the current United States Women’s National team, and her opinion on the turf field controversy.
The Capital One Cup is an annual program that tracks NCAA Division I college athletic programs and their success from the start of the fall sports seasons through the end of the spring sport seasons. Capital One forms rankings of the overall top NCAA Division One athletic programs. At the end of the year during the ESPYS in July, the Capital One Cup is awarded to the overall top NCAA Division One men’s and women’s athletic programs. Along with a stunning trophy, an incredible $400,000 in scholarships are also awarded to student-athletes by the Capital One Cup.
Brandi Chastain is one of the six members that make up the Capital One Cup Board of Advisors. Chastain explained that she is very proud to be playing a role in the Capital One Cup and is enthusiastic about it.
“I love college sports,” Chastain stated. ” And the Capital One Cup recognizes all that’s great in college sports.”
One of the reasons why Chastain loves this program is because it allows sports like soccer to be part of the national spotlight alongside football and basketball. No wonder she said that she was very excited and honored to be working with the Capital One Cup.
Brandi Chastain also shared some insider thoughts on the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, saying that it will be an exciting World Cup thanks to the high level of competition within group play.
“The way I see it is there are six great groups,” Chastain told ISN. ” Many people are saying the United States’s group D is the toughest, but I feel that group E and F are just as difficult.”
It’s clear to her that next summer’s World Cup will be filled with excitement and entertainment from the first kick to the final whistle. The San Jose, CA native complimented the USWNT’s ability to score through a very talented attack. She also pointed out that the team’s biggest strength is their willpower and competitive mindset.
When asked Chastain said that there were several keys to the U.S. winning it all.
“They will have to defend well in 1 v 1 situations and the back four has to contribute to the possession and the attack.”
She also added that like every team, the U.S. must focus on one game at a time, as it wouldn’t turn out well if they would happen to look past an opponent. This is the World Cup after all, not an exhibition match or meaningless friendly.
Along with all of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup hype and excitement comes a great deal of hot topics and controversies, none hotter than the idea of artificial surfaces for the WWC.
Chastain started out by saying that she would definitely rather play on grass and the later went on to say that ” the Women’s World Cup should not be used as an experiment for the turf fields.” She didn’t feel that the Womens World Cup is the right time and/or place to experiment or try to use turf fields. Simply put, she said that the Women’s World Cup should be played on grass.”
Along with being a soccer superstar for the U.S., Brandi Chastain has proven to be more than that. She has devoted her life to her love of the beautiful game and now has taken on large roles to give back to the student-athletes who are giving everything they have to sports like she once did. Whether it is playing soccer, being a soccer analyst, or working with the Capital One Cup, Brandi Chastain has and will continue to change the world of sports for the better.
To learn more about the Capital One Cup, please visit www.capitalonecup.com.
Jared Ewings is the founder and soccer analyst for the U.S. Soccer Report. He has 13 years of soccer experience under his belt and is currently playing at the semi-professional level. The U.S. Soccer Report is all things American soccer brought to you. With their soccer experts they bring American soccer news through Twitter, their blog, and eventually a podcast show. Ewings analyzes, talks, and writes about all of the top leagues within the United States such as the MLS, NASL, USL PRO, and the MASL.
