Defender Becky Sauerbrunn’s reputation preceded her at FC Kansas City and she has not disappointed.
She and the rest of the FCKC backline boast the third-best defensive record in the NWSL and are tied for the league lead with six shutouts.
The St. Louis native broke in with the U.S. Women’s National team in 2008 and has been part of two Gold Medal winning sides.
The NWSL’s Ben Meyer-Abbott recently got a hold of the U.S. international to find out more about her in this week’s NWSL Player Q & A.
BMA: You’ve talked in the past about how much the 1999 U.S. Women’s National Team meant to you. What impact did they have on you?
BS: Watching the 99ers win that World Cup was the moment when I knew I wanted to be on the team and I wanted to accomplish and feel what they had done. From then on I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I owe a lot to those girls – not just for inspiring me, but also for the work they’ve done with the team and how they pioneered the way and won the love of the country that’s carried over through the generations. They started what we’re now reaping the rewards of and I’m very appreciative of everything those 99ers have done.
BMA: Of all the things that could have happened during your international debut in 2008, did you think breaking your nose was a possibility?
BS: Not at all. I had just come from college where I had played almost every single minute, aside from like 10 minutes – no injury, no illness or anything. And then to have my dream come true and play for my country for the first time at the senior level and I break my nose – it’s almost like it had been waiting for that one moment.
BMA: How did it happen?
BS: A ball was coming in and I think it might have been [Melissa] Tancredi on Canada who tried to flick it on behind and she just kind of flicked my face. I thought I was ok and there was a set piece and I was lining up for it and I reached up to my nose and it felt like my nose was across my face. I got subbed off and they reset my nose in the locker room.
BMA: How did they reset your nose?
BS: The doc, bless her heart, was great. She said, “We can reset it now or we can reset it later at the hotel. But I’m going to warn you it’s going to be much worse later.” So I decided to do it then. She reached around my nose and felt where there was cracking and said, “I’m going to count to three.” And of course she did it on two because that’s what they do and she just pushed it in and that was it. It was crunchy. That’s all I remember.
BMA: What’s the most meaningful place you visited in your travels with the U.S. Women’s National Team?
BS: The most powerful place we’ve been, for me, was in the Sendai Province in Japan where most of the destruction from the Tsunami hit. Our bus driver had been through it and he was telling us about it. That was the most powerful and meaningful place I’ve visited. Just seeing the devastation was humbling. There were whole sections that were just foundations of houses and nothing else because the rest of the houses had been washed away. Then there were parts where you’d see piles and piles of houses and debris where entire neighborhoods had been pushed away. It was just terrible.
BMA: FC Kansas City boasts one of the best defensive records in the league. What’s it been like partnering with Canada international Laruen Sesselmann in the center of the FCKC backline?
BS: It’s been really fun. Center back isn’t her natural position; she’s normally a left back. But she’s taken to the position really well and I think we’ve got a good understanding and complement each other really well. She’s very hardnosed and goes strong into tackles and I’m kind of more of a problem solver. A lot of credit should also go to our goalkeepers Nicole Barnhart and Bianca Henninger as well as to Merritt Mathias on the right and Leigh Ann Robinson on the left. Our defensive unit works very well together.
BMA: Who are the toughest forwards to go up against in the NWSL?
BS: Alex Morgan [on Portland FC] and Lisa De Vanna [on Sky Blue FC]. Alex is just so opportunistic and a natural goal scorer – you really have to be on your game with her. If you make a weak back pass, she’s on it. If you make a bad touch, she’s going to tackle it away from you. You just have to know where she is because she will absolutely capitalize on any of your mistakes. As for Lisa, her speed and athleticism are so hard to deal with. She keeps getting better too at adding different aspects to her game, which makes her an even more complete forward. She’s been scoring some amazing goals – obviously that bicycle kick she had was phenomenal.
BMA: You’ve done a lot of work with Signature Sports Medicine. What is it and what do you do with them?
BS: It’s an orthopedic group all over the St. Louis area and in Kansas and Illinois. I go out to local clubs and we talk about how it’s important to warm up properly and what types of stretches you should be doing – little drills you can do that prevent injuries, especially among female athletes.
BMA: Do you have any tips?
BS: A proper warm up is so important – five to 10 minutes of actually moving and getting into dynamic stretching as opposed to static stretching helps get your body ready for the physical experience when you’re actually working out. Afterward it’s important to get a really good stationary stretch. These are things that are really easy to do, but a lot of people chose not to because maybe they’re not the most fun things. But they’re important.
BMA: What was your reaction when you found out the NWSL had been created?
BS: I was extremely excited. This country needs a domestic league. The U.S. Women’s National Team benefits from having a wider pool of players to draw from. To have a league where you’re training day-in and day-out and going up against quality competition makes creates more quality players and makes the pool bigger. We absolutely need to have a league that keeps feeding the national team to help make us the best in the world.
BMA: What’s the response been like from the fans in Kansas City?
BS: K.C. is already a soccer city with the support they give to Sporting Kansas City and also with the indoor professional team, the Comets. There are a lot of young girls and young women who are playing and coming out to the games and bringing their friends and I think our attendance has been quite good. Our front office has done a wonderful job of marketing us and we’ve done a good job of marketing ourselves. It’s been great.