Oh, baby: Christie Rampone’s happy secret

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When New Jersey Sky Blue FC (an earlier version of this post misidentified Sky Blue FC as based in Chicago; it is based in New Jersey) player-coach Christie Rampone didn’t join her teammates in drinking a few cocktails to celebrate their victory over the L.A. Sol in the inaugural WPS championship game last weekend, they were more than a little annoyed.

But Rampone, a defender who is captain of the U.S. women’s national team, a veteran of three Women’s World Cup tournaments and three-time Olympian, had a good reason for abstaining.

Rampone, 34, was 11 weeks pregnant with her second child, a fact she concealed from her teammates until she had to explain why she wasn’t celebrating as enthusiastically as they were.

‘It was a personal choice. I don’t want anyone worrying about me and thinking, ‘She looks a little bit tired,’ ‘ Rampone said Thursday.

‘It was an awesome moment to tell them.’

Rampone, who lives in New Jersey, plans to play in the WPS All-Star game this weekend in St. Louis before taking a pregnancy leave. She had to turn down a chance to train with the U.S. women’s team but planned to return next season.

Before deciding to play through the early stages of her pregnancy, Rampone consulted her doctor and other national-team veterans who had played during pregnancy, such as Kate Markgraf. The medical advice was straightforward. ‘Up until Sept. 5, I was good to go as long as I stay hydrated,’ said Rampone, who also kept the news from Sky executives.

She asked Markgraf about how her legs felt and whether she had enough energy. Rampone said she has had only two bad days in her pregnancy so far, and neither affected her on the field. ‘I wanted to make sure I wasn’t hurting my team,’ she said.

The team’s turmoil helped distract her from focusing on herself. She took over the coaching role in late July and helped lead the Sky to an unexpected title. ‘The last thing on my mind was my pregnancy,’ she said.

The only real question is whether the unborn child -- whose gender she plans to discover at 20 weeks -- will get his or her name on the championship trophy or earn a playoff share.

‘There’s definitely going to be a lot of stories,’ she said. ‘This baby won a championship in the womb.’

-- Helene Elliott