FAIRFAX, Va. - Kate Sobrero has no trouble admitting the truth.
Kate Sobrero (right) ranks as one of the best one-on-one defenders in the world. (AP Photo)
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When her big moment with the United States women's soccer team came, she fainted and remained unconscious for half an hour. The eighth wind sprint in a routine fitness test at her first US team training camp proved an unimaginable setback. It knocked her out and effectively removed her from the pool of potential national team players.
By her own recounting, Sobrero needed three years to recover from the humiliation suffered before a squad of her soccer idols. She turned down invitations to play for the national team, excusing herself with nagging injuries. She lacked the maturity and confidence to play with the big girls. She thought contentment would come with a college degree and career.
But despite the talent-rich state of American women's soccer, Sobrero was not forgotten. Just two years ago, US coach Tony DiCicco repeatedly penciled in her name on potential team rosters. Another offer to attend training camp with the senior US squad came after Sobrero finished her final season at Notre Dame. She accepted.
Tonight against Germany in the 1999 Women's World Cup quarterfinal, Sobrero will start on defense.
''Here I am with all the people that I worshiped and I pass out in front of them,'' she said. ''That really affected me a lot harder than it should have. Once I got over that hump and started playing and feeling confident at this level, that's when I realized it was so much fun. I was not ready to give the whole team concept up because there's nothing like being on a team.''
Sobrero, 23, now ranks among the best one-on-one defenders in the world. While nursing a sprained ankle in a first-round match against Nigeria, she was tireless covering the first-half rushes from opposing forwards.
In the 25th minute, her patient defense was textbook. Crouched low, her eyes focused on the feet of the speedy Super Falcons, Sobrero criss-crossed the penalty area, backpedaled, and slowed the attack of Rita Nwadike. The Nigerian forward had no room to turn, shoot, or pass. With Nwadike contained, US midfielder Julie Foudy came back and stripped the ball.
Sobrero's success as a national team starter has been sudden as compared with the lengthier careers of her teammates. Her playing resume lists less than two years experience with the US. The defender debuted against Argentina last April, started for the first time against Japan in May, and finished 1998 with 13 appearances (nine starts). Leading up to the World Cup, Sobrero started 13 of the 14 US tuneups in which she played and logged nearly 1,200 minutes playing time. Only the ankle sprain has slowed her progress, forcing the fullback to miss the Americans' final first-round contest against North Korea at Foxboro Stadium.
''I think Kate Sobrero can become the best defender in the world,'' said DiCicco. ''I don't have a long list right now of defenders that are better than her. She's fast. She's tenacious. She's courageous.''
The coach's praise comes after Sobrero proved herself on the US Under-20 National Team and fought through a broken jaw. When Sobrero reentered the developmental pool, she spent time as an overage player on the under-20 squad. The team, which prepares players for the senior level, and coach Lauren Gregg restored Sobrero's confidence, bridging the gap between her college career and top-flight international play.
At Notre Dame, Sobrero started all 96 games of her career and earned All-America honors three times. She led the Fighting Irish to the 1995 NCAA championship, collected defensive MVP honors at the Final Four, and was featured on the cover of Soccer America after the title run. But until her senior year, Sobrero's memories of the national team remained linked to her fainting first impression.
''She'd had a tough start with the women and she's someone who as a young player I thought had world-class dimensions,'' said Gregg. ''So we brought her in as an overage player. What I loved about her is every time she came in a month apart, she was a better player. I said, `Tony, this girl is evolving by leaps and bounds before our eyes.' In that environment, she was allowed to make mistakes and grow.''
As a result, Sobrero made the unusual transition from overage player to national team starter. She has achieved her most recent success despite returning to the national team training camp in January 1998 and suffering a second physical setback. But this time it did not affect her confidence.
Having just scored a goal in a scrimmage, Sobrero got the notion that she might be a scorer. A ball was served just in front of Sobrero inside the penalty area. Attempting to reach the ball, she slid and her jaw hit the knee of backup goalie Tracy Ducar. She lost a tooth and was bleeding from her mouth and nose after the collision. Her head was cradled by her idol Michelle Akers.
''When I woke up, I was out of it,'' said Sobrero. ''She's holding my head and I'm like, `Oh wow! Hi.''' I was kind of delirious. All of a sudden, I go in for X-rays and they're like, `Oh, [the jaw is] broken.' They wheeled me off to surgery.''
Teased Foudy: ''She's a little demented. She's not all there. She's a few feathers short of a duck. She's like one of those really smart people who's pretty dingy. She's always tripping into things. She's a total klutz. That's like a common joke on the team.''
After her jaw was wired shut for six weeks, Sobrero returned to play in the Goodwill Games and start all three games at the US Women's Cup last year. Returning from the broken jaw, she displayed the toughness gained as the youngest child in a family with three older brothers. When she was 14, her brother Tim broke her leg during a soccer game in the backyard of their Bloomfield Hills, Mich., home.
''Thank God for good insurance,'' she joked. ''Otherwise my parents would have taken me out of sports years ago.''
Her most recent injury - the ankle sprain - has drawn considerably more attention and sympathy than her broken leg. Sobrero finally understood the scope of the World Cup when interview requests concerned her injury more than her play. Then in Chicago, her college teammate Julie Maund gathered a cheering section in the Soldier Field parking lot and sent well wishes via a cell phone held above the crowd. According to Maund, a father offered her money to talk directly with Sobrero.
''I bought a journal to keep track of all this,'' said Sobrero. ''I seriously write 10 pages a day. But I really can't even put it into words. I just never believed it could happen. I'm pretty much surprised [at starting]. There's all these great players and I just got lucky. He put me in the starting lineup and let me work on it and gain my confidence. I don't know if I should still be starting now, but I'm comfortable with where I'm at. I'm happy.''
When her next big moment with the women's national team comes, Sobrero has made sure she will be standing proudly.
