Tiffeny Milbrett is one of Women’s Professional Soccer veterans.  The F.C. Gold Pride forward was a integral member of the 1999 U.S. women’s national team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup and while she can’t believe how the time has ‘flown’ by she is focused on helping build the new league and passing on the passion for the game to the next generation.

Tiffeny Milbrett is one of Women’s Professional Soccer veterans.  The F.C. Gold Pride forward was a integral member of the 1999 U.S. women’s national team that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup and while she can’t believe how the time has ‘flown’ by she is focused on helping build the new league and passing on the passion for the game to the next generation.

By Lars Lifrak

For FC Gold Pride forward Tiffeny Milbrett it’s hard to believe it’s been ten years since the historic 1999 Women’s World Cup. 

“I can’t believe how much it’s flown,” said Milbrett after the Gold Pride’s recent game at St. Louis.  “It’s been a blur.”

It was that tournament that sparked a fan interest in women’s soccer that continues today.  The U.S. Women averaged nearly 70,000 fans each time they played, culminating with the crowd of more than 90,000 that showed up for the United State’s penalty shootout victory over China in the championship match.

The stars of the team became household names; Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Milbrett’s Gold Pride teammate Brandi Chastain.  It was Milbrett who led the team in goals scored and in her career she is one of only four players to score 100 career goals for the red, white and blue.*

Milbrett is truly a living legend, but more importantly she’s one of the few who is still playing at a high level.  That's something that is not lost on Milbrett’s teammate and current national team member Rachel Buehler.

“She has done so much for the game in this country and she uses that in a good way to help guide us,” said Buehler.  “But at the same time she is such a humble and normal person so she seems just like a normal teammate, just one with a lot of experience.”

As the players conducted their post game interviews on the field, hundreds of fans clamber for autographs, most of them young girls clearly under ten years old.  They weren’t born in 1999.  The biggest player for them this night is St. Louis goalie Hope Solo.  They chant “Solo, Solo” as Milbrett watches off to the side.

“Most of them don’t even know my name, but that’s ok”, chuckles Milbrett.  “They know (national team members) Leslie Osborne, Lori Chalupny and Hope Solo now and that’s great.”

At the age of 36, this “founding mother,” if you will, of American women’s professional soccer Milbrett is ten to fifteen years older than most of her teammates.

“The thing that is so shocking to me is when they talk about ‘I was 10 when you guys won’ or ‘I was eight when I had my first poster of the national team’” chuckled Milbrett.  “But that’s great.  What’s important now is these (WPS) games are what the next generation will be talking about when they get older.”

There is still a bit of a chance we could see Milbrett with the national team again.  U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage attended the game and said of Milbrett, “She has not told me she isn’t interested in playing.  As far as I’m concerned anyone out there is a potential national team player.  It will come down to performance.”

Told of that statement Milbrett said, “That’s all you can hope for as a player of any age.  She doesn’t have her mind set about anybody and she’ll give opportunities to players who are performing.”

Milbrett has been performing well for the Gold Pride.  Most of the time she comes off the bench, but she has played in every game and leads the team in goals scored.  As for the future she plans to play “a few more years” as long as she can compete at an acceptable level in her own eyes.

“The biggest thing for me has always been to be on a successful team that day in and day out is fighting for each other.  As you get older you realize there are so many things you can’t control.  Winning a championship or winning games or even scoring goals, I can’t control all of that.  So the ultimate dream is to have a very closely knit team with a coaching staff that are good soccer people and I have that here.”

*(US Forward Abby Wambach has 99 career goals as of the writing of this column.)

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