Soccer team's Hucles a forward thinker
BEIJING -- Angela Hucles wasn't sure what her role would be on the U.S. women's soccer team after she started only one of the 18 games she played during the pre-Olympic buildup.
That she would emerge as the team's leading scorer never crossed her mind -- but teammate Shannon Boxx saw it coming.
"I got asked the question before we got here, 'Who on your team do you think the world is all of a sudden going to know her name?' And I said, Angela Hucles," Boxx said Tuesday about the midfielder-turned-forward, who has scored four goals in the team's march to the gold medal game Thursday against Brazil.
"She's been on this team for a good amount of years and has accepted her role, whatever that is, for the coach. And for her to come out and change positions and play as well as she has is just such motivation for us around her. She's fighting for this team and she's playing for us, and that only makes you want to be better for her."
Hucles' contributions have been pivotal in the wake of the broken leg that kept prolific forward Abby Wambach out of the Games. Hucles blamed herself for missing two prime scoring chances in the U.S. team's quarterfinal victory over Canada, but she scored twice in a 4-2 semifinal victory over Japan and is finding that her timing and instincts are getting sharper.
She played forward at the University of Virginia but has played midfield since she graduated, in 2000. "It's been a few years," said Hucles, who played two games for the U.S. in Athens four years ago.
"I haven't been in the position where I've been able to shoot this much and have those opportunities, but at the same time, it's still the game of soccer.
"I'm happy just whenever I get to play. I love the sport. Just to be a part of the Olympics is a huge thing, much less to be able to play in an Olympic final match. I love to be able to score goals if that's what's asked of me. Any way I can contribute I'm happy to do that."
-- Helene Elliott
Photo: U.S. midfielder Angela Hucles celebrates scoring against Japan on on Monday. Credit: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images
