[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 133 (Friday, October 5, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1819]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      SOCCER HALL OF FAME HONOREES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. SHERWOOD L. BOEHLERT

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 5, 2001

  Mr. BOEHLERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about an exciting 
event that will be taking place next week in my Congressional District. 
On October 8, 2001 the U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame, on Oneonta, New York, 
will award the National Soccer Medal of Honor to a truly remarkable 
group of individuals, the Championship 1991 U.S. Women's National 
Soccer Team.
  The National Soccer Medal of Honor is a special honor created by the 
members of the Society of American Soccer History (SASH), and Board of 
Directors of the National Soccer Hall of Fame to be awarded on special 
occasions when an individual has so influenced the sport of soccer in 
the United States as to effect the course of its history. The medal is 
rarely bestowed. In fact, the October 8th presentation will be only the 
third in the last twenty years!
  The amazing accomplishment of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team 
in China in 1991 opened the door for tremendous gains in the world of 
women's soccer for the United States. A few such achievements include; 
a first Women's world championship tournament and World Championship 
title, the addition of women's soccer as an official Olympic event 
played for the first time at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, a 
foundation for the most successful women's sporting event in history-
the 1999 Women's World Cup hosted in the United States, and last but 
far from least, the creation of the first women's professional soccer 
league in the U.S.--the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) which 
is in its inaugural season.
  On this tenth anniversary of the unprecedented accomplishment of a 
group of 18 American soccer players, their coaches and support staff at 
the first ever Women's World Championships in China, the National 
Soccer Medal of Honor will be presented once again to the 1991 U.S. 
Women's National Team:
  Michele Akers, Amy Allman, Tracey Bates-Leone, Debbie Belkin, Brandi 
Chastain, Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy, Wendy Gebauer, Linda Hamilton, Mia 
Hamm, Mary Harvey, April Heinrichs, Lori Henry, Shannon Higgins-
Cirovski, Carin Jennings-Gabarra, Kristine Lilly, Megan McCarthy, Kim 
Maslin-Kammerdeiner, Carla Overbeck, Head Coach Anson Dorrance, Coach 
Tony DiCicco, Coach Lauren Gregg.
  This honor is to be awarded at the Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, 
New York. The new $7 million museum opened in 1999 on the Hall's 61 
acre soccer campus to rave reviews. The highly interactive, youth-
oriented museum tells the story of soccer in the USA from the earliest 
games played on the Boston Common to the latest scores and standings. 
They have been host to international teams from the USA, Brazil, 
Russia, Mexico, New Zealand, Canada, Chile and Saudi Arabia as well as 
local collegiate and high school championships. The Hall of Fame also 
offers a summer long tournament series for premier and club teams in 
every age category. Mr. Speaker, I have visited the National Soccer 
Hall of Fame numerous times. With each return visit, I encounter 
something new and exciting.
  Mr. Speaker, in closing I would like to bid all those who will attend 
this ceremony and the honorees my best wishes for the success of their 
event and applaud their desire to honor such a phenomenal group of 
athletes--the 1991 U.S. Women's National Team.

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