When Christie Rampone returned from surgery for a ruptured ovarian cyst last summer, her team was in danger of missing the playoffs, and she wasn't sure if she was still pregnant.
Less than a year later, Sky Blue FC is the defending champion of Women's Professional Soccer, and Rampone has a healthy baby girl.
Sunday's game against the Philadelphia Independence will be Rampone's first this season after giving birth to her second daughter, Reece, in March. And she's hoping she won't have to ``deal with too many bumps in the road this year.''
Some doctors thought the ruptured cyst resulted from stress. Rampone was captain of a team in which one coach was fired and another abruptly resigned.
Her husband, Chris Rampone, said the last thing he wanted for his wife was more pressure. But when management asked, the veteran U.S. national team defender agreed to step in as player-coach.
The only teammate who knew about her pregnancy was Natasha Kai, who lives with Rampone and her family near the team's New Jersey base.
``The team had enough to deal with already. ... I didn't want anyone else to worry about me,'' Rampone said.
She took over with two games left in the regular season and led Sky Blue to the league's inaugural championship.
She had played while pregnant before - between national team obligations - when her first child was born in 2005. At least this time, she was living in her home state and only minutes away from family.
Her husband didn't have many worries about her playing while pregnant. His only concern came in the championship game when his wife and Brazilian star Marta of the Los Angeles Sol got in a shoving match, and Rampone fell with her stomach touching the ball.
``It's not good to see when your wife is three months pregnant,'' he said.
Coming back to soccer has been tougher this time. Rampone spent six weeks on bed rest and then struggled to get in shape. Losing the baby weight is taking longer than with her first child, Riley, but she feels stronger than she did after Riley's birth.
``Each week gets better and better,'' she said. ``I haven't had a setback.''
In September, Sky Blue hired Pauliina Miettinen, who had been a coach in Finland. The team is off to a 3-2-2 start and tied for third in the seven-team league.
Rampone said it wasn't easy to give up control now that she's had some experience as a coach. She spent a lot of time as a coach watching tape of other teams and continues to do that. Rampone said she acts as a link between her teammates and Miettinen because she understands the roles of coach and player.
She will consider coaching again after she's done playing. But first there's the 2012 London Olympics and then she wants to keep playing professionally as long as she can contribute.
``Hopefully, I'll recognize that before someone else does,'' Rampone said.
Rampone has left her mark on the national team with 216 appearances. She also has left a mark on the WPS and has a legacy in mind.
``I'm trying to get it out there to keep it around,'' she said. ``That was my goal: before I retire, make (women's) soccer a little more successful.''
