The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team represented by global superstars Hope Solo and Abby Wambach were honored today at the March of Dimes Annual Sports Luncheon in New York.
Both women were instrumental in helping the U.S. earn a silver medal in the 2011 World Cup in Germany. The U.S. reached the finals, falling to Japan in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw.
Hope Solo was the goalkeeper of the U.S. team that won the gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
Ms. Solo’s success in soccer has come with family struggles that others can relate to. Her father (a Viet Nam war vet) taught her soccer and experienced being homeless at various times. He died in 2007. LE asked Hope to offer any advise to others from her experience with her father. She said: “So many of us are from different walks of life. And at the end of the day it’s about love. I mean you’re not always going see eye to eye, not always going to be in agreement with different ways of living but I think acceptance is the key to all happiness. I know that I accepted my father for everything that he was — good decisions and bad decisions, it all circled back to love. And I think that’s why I have such a great relationship with him”
Photograph: Stephen Wise
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