Sports

Local Soccer Star Gearing Up for World Cup Final

Lake Forest's Amy Rodriguez, 24, is playing in Sunday's World Cup.

This weekend, look for a familiar face on your TV screen as local soccer star Amy Rodriguez represents the United States in Germany at the FIFA Women's World Cup Final.

The 24-year-old from Lake Forest is an alum of Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where she captained the Rancho Santa Margarita school's soccer team the same year she competed in the U-19 World Championship.

Rodriguez, who plays forward and is known for her lightning-fast speed, also shone in her collegiate career at the University of Southern California, where she became the fourth all-time leading scorer in school history with 31 goals and 17 assists—twelve of those goals game-winners, according to U.S. Soccer.

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Rodriguez, known as A-Rod to her teammates, has already made her mark as a member of the 21-player 2011 World Cup squad.

Her lone goal against Italy in the 1-0 victory in November 2010 earned the team the 16th and final berth in the FIFA World Cup.

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At the moment, the team is in Germany, preparing to wrest a third title from Japan in Frankfurt on Sunday.

To win the championship, head coach Pia Sundhage has said the team needs to be "tactical" and "bring the American attitude."

After defeating France 3-1 in Moenchengladbach and clinching the team's spot in the final game, Sundhage pointed to her players' "heart" as the decisive factor in the victory. "At times, we didn't play well today, but we found a way to win. Credit to the players’ heart and that's what makes it so wonderful to coach for this team." 

Scheduled to start at 8:45 p.m. in Frankfurt, the World Cup will go live locally at 11:45 a.m. Sunday.


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