Photo by ISIphotos.com
By CHRISTA MANN
Women's Professional Soccer named midfielder Lori Chalupny Week Seven's WPS Player of the Week after her game-winning goal brought St. Louis Athletica its first WPS win with a 1-0 decision over FC Gold Pride (Bay Area).
Chalupny made the journey back to her hometown in St. Louis with the WPS National Player Pool Allocations and has, through her consistent work ethic and game experience at the highest levels of both collegiate and international soccer, become an obvious fit for the the position of Athletica team captain.
In addition to a leadership role on the WPS scale, Chalupny is also the co-captain of the U.S. WNT and is a well-seasoned player in across international lines.
Some of her recent accolades include an Olympic Gold Medal in Beijing and a second place finish at the 2009 Algarve Cup in Portugal.
To name a few of her other career highlights, Chalupny scored a goal against Japan in the 2008 Olympic semi-final and also scored a goal against China in the 2007 Four Nations Tournament Championship. She played 90 minutes in every game of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, and she was a part of 2005 Algarve Cup Championship win where the U.S. back line kept four consecutive clean sheets.
Although her international exposure began as early as 2001, her success in college from 2002-2005 is what truly defined her as a player.
At the University of North Carolina, Chalupny scored 30 goals, had 32 assists and won an NCAA title with the undefeated 27-0-0 team in her sophomore year. With those stating only a few of her impressive stats, there is no surprise that the Tar heel midfielder was selected First Team All-ACC in three different seasons and was twice named an NSCAA First Team All-American.
Chalupny's numerous achievements with the country's best Division I women's college soccer program along with her continued success with the U.S. WNT are only a testament to what lies ahead in her career.
Because even when her teams fall on tough times (as was the case last week for St. Louis), Captain Lori Chalupny somehow finds a way to rebuild confidence and to re-inspire the common goal.
What do you think about the WPS Player of the Week? Agree or disagree that Chalupny deserved the honor? Share your thoughts below.
Chalu continues to be class. She has brought it every game in a variety of positions. Top class. She is the most fouled player in WPS (although, after last week’s Sol game, Kelly Smith is only 1 foul suffered behind).
She has always been class and my daughter’s favorite player