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U.S. Women’s National Team head coach Pia Sundhage and select players discuss the match against Canada and Abby Wambach’s 100th career goal.

News and Notes from Rochester, N.Y. on the eve of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s showdown with Canada

The 1999 Women’s World cup was an inspirational moment in my soccer career. I was 13 at the time and I vividly remember the final game against China. I watched the game with all of my club teammates, huddled in front of the TV. With our faces painted and decked out in red, white, and blue, we were rooting for the USA with all our heart. There were so many people at the Rose Bowl and the excitement in the air was almost palpable.

The USA’s last “open” training of the 1999 Women’s World Cup was held on July 8 at Pomona-Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., about 30 miles east of the Rose Bowl, where two days later the Women’s World Cup Final would be staged. As the U.S. bus rolled down the 210 Freeway, no one had any idea what was awaiting them.

Seems that everyone has a story about where they were on the day of the final. One person said they were on a family camping trip and stopped into a bar in the "middle of nowhere" to watch. Another said that they were with their team huddled around the TV. Others have said that they were the luckiest people alive because they were in that Rose Bowl stadium. For me, and my teammates, it was just another day at the office.

In 1999, the U.S. Women’s National Team accomplished many remarkable feats. One was winning one of the most prestigious awards in sports and earning a place in SI cover history.