St. Louisans Sauerbrunn, Chalupny have taken separate paths home to USWNT game at Busch
ST. LOUIS -- The United States women's national team friendly against New Zealand carries plenty of importance as the first of four games on home soil leading up to the 2015 World Cup in Canada.
But Becky Sauerbrunn and Lori Chalupny have even more reason to be excited, with Sauerbrunn going so far as to call it "a dream come true." The two native St. Louisans will be wearing their country's colors in front of family and friends Saturday afternoon when they step onto the field at Busch Stadium, where ticket sales of more than 32,000 have already broken the record for a stand-alone women's friendly in the United States.
"I couldn't be more proud of the way that the city has responded and we had a great reception at the airport," says Chalupny, who also joined Sauerbrunn in greeting fans at Tigin Irish Pub downtown Thursday night. "A bunch of girls came out and welcomed us and it's just been fantastic. Can't ask for anything more."
Chalupny threw out the first pitch at a Cardinals game in 2009 after winning an Olympic gold medal, and Sauerbrunn remembers walking around the field as part of a ceremony honoring scholar-athletes at the old Busch Stadium. Saturday's game will be a decidedly different experience for the two former members of J.B. Marine Soccer Club, where they frequently trained together, even though Chalupny, now 31, and Sauerbrunn, 29, were in different age groups.
They haven't played near their hometown since last March, when Sauerbrunn's professional club, FC Kansas City, tied Chalupny's Chicago Red Stars 1-1 in a preseason match at St. Louis Soccer Park. FCKC would go on to win its first National Women's Soccer League championship with plenty of help from Sauerbrunn, the league's Defender of the Year for the second straight season.
She says that success and what she's been able to learn from coach Vlatko Andonovski has carried over to international competition, transforming Sauerbrunn into a constant in the middle of the US backline. The Ladue High School graduate has even worn the captain's armband on multiple occasions, an honor she describes as "unbelievable."
"I'm taking more of a leadership role now with the backline, especially with Christie (Rampone) kind of being injured and in and out," says Sauerbrunn, the only player to be on the field for every minute of the United States' six games in 2015. "So it's kind of fallen on my shoulders to just make sure everyone's organized and in the right spots."
That's a dramatic change from the 2011 World Cup, when Sauerbrunn says she was mostly a "rah-rah girl" even though she started in the semifinal win over France due to a red card. Now the other American defenders look to Sauerbrunn for guidance -- including Chalupny.
Watch the USWNT take on New Zealand at 3 p.m. Saturday on FOX Sports 1.
Chalupny, a former Nerinx Hall All-American and St. Louis Athletica star, made her national team debut as a 17-year-old midfielder in March 2001 and scored twice in her first World Cup, in 2007. She also frequently wore the captain's armband while leading the United States to a runner-up finish at the 2009 Algarve Cup, a prestigious annual tournament in Portugal.
Later that year, shortly after she switched to outside back, Chalupny's history of concussions caught up to her and put a halt to her international career. Although she kept playing professionally, she wanted to get back to the US team.
"It was kind of on my mind all the time and then once a year or two passes, you kind of have to stop thinking about it, just focus on where I was at," Chalupny says. "But I've always followed the team and been a huge supporter and then kind of just recently started thinking about it again, with the World Cup coming up. And at this point in my career I was like, 'Well, I'm going to get one more chance.'"
She passed a rigorous set of concussion tests in 2014 and finally rejoined the team last December in Brazil, where she started three games. Chalupny got a somewhat rude awakening as she tried to adjust to a much faster international game than the one she left in 2009.
The last two months have been much better, and she finally played a full 90 minutes in a 0-0 draw against Iceland in the Algarve Cup last month. Coach Jillian Ellis says Meghan Klingenberg likely has the upper hand in the battle for starting left back this summer, but that doesn't mean Chalupny won't get her chance.
"We expect a lot out of our outside backs as far as getting forward, getting high up the pitch," Ellis says. "I think we want her to get forward. She's very special in the final third, but also her primary responsibility's defending."
Whether it's three rotating starters or one frequent substitute, Ellis expects to use three outside backs heavily in Canada, and Chalupny says she'll be ready. Even though she plays midfield for Chicago, her experience in the back should make it a relatively easy adjustment.
She will also enjoy the familiarity of playing alongside Sauerbrunn, who says she got her first two international caps while Chalupny was still on the US roster. Their roles have been reversed heading into Chalupny's first match in the United States in nearly six years, with Chalupny trying to find her spot and Sauerbrunn playing as the established leader.
As far as they're concerned, it couldn't be happening in a better place.
You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.
