Women’s Soccer Alum Laura Wambach Reminisces About Her Time at Xavier, Growing up in a Competitive Family and Her Sister’s Time on Team USA

CINCINNATI - GoXavier.com caught up with former women's soccer standout Laura Wambach as she prepares to watch her sister, Abby Wambach, compete as part of the U.S. Women's National Team in the FIFA World Cup Finals on Sunday. The 1991 Xavier graduate is a sixth grade science teacher and mother of four-year-old twins who currently resides in upstate New York.

A native of Pittsford, N.Y., Wambach comes from a family of seven children, including four brothers, as well as an older sister, Beth, and younger sister, Abby. A standout soccer player at Florida, Abby plays professionally and has been a member of the U.S. National Team since 2002. Wambach joined the Musketeers' soccer program in 1988 after playing four years of varsity soccer, basketball and softball at Our Lady of Mercy in Rochester, N.Y.

During her career, Wambach appeared in 58 matches for the Musketeers, scoring 15 goals during a four-year period where Xavier collected 41 wins. Wambach's XU career culminated in a 1991 campaign during which the Musketeers finished 14-3-2 with wins over Michigan State, Texas A&M and Arkansas. The 1991 squad's 14 wins still matches the highest win total in program history.

What stands out the most about your time at Xavier?

LW: My best memories from Xavier were playing with the team, having that shared interest with a great group of friends. We ended up being 20th in the country, despite our limitations. We were the underdogs and I think we ended up being successful because of the team we were.

Do you still keep in touch with your teammates?

LW: Thank goodness for Facebook, I can still keep in touch with the girls from the team. I'm pretty busy with four-year-old twins and I'm about eight hours away, but many of them still live in the Cincinnati area. Who knows, maybe we can coordinate schedules and have a mini reunion some time.

Do you have any connections to Xavier Soccer or the University?

LW: I was a player at Xavier at the same time the head coach (Woody Sherwood - Xavier '91) was playing for the men's team, so that's a cool connection to have. We still cheer for the Musketeers; I especially like to keep up with the team during basketball season.

I loved my entire experience at Xavier, the athletics experience, the educational background. Cincinnati is a great soccer town. It's really cool to see how the sport has grown. Even from the time when I was playing in college, when there were maybe 75 teams on the college level, to when Abby played at Florida there were over 200. A lot of times, women's teams only get noticed when they're competing on the world stage, but I think when people tuned in to the US team's game against Germany, they saw that this is really exciting soccer. All we can hope is that the game keeps growing and women's sports continue to get noticed. It's really exciting to see.

On the sports information questionnaire you filled out as a freshman, you listed some of your favorite activities as windsurfing and playing guitar. Do you still windsurf?

LW: I do! Our family has an island in Canada, so we still go up there and that's where we learned. I'd like to say Beth taught me, but really she just left me out there and after a few hours, I found my way back in. Rumor has it that if, or when, they win, Abby is going to buy. I still like to play guitar too!

And is Spud Webb still the sports star you admire most?

LW: I'm short, I'm kind of the runt of my family, so I always appreciated how he could overcome his height and was able to dunk. I'm becoming a big fan of the younger players on the U.S. National team as I've watched their careers develop. Abby and Megan (Rapinoe) have been friends for a while, so I've had the chance to know her since before she was on Team USA so it's been really cool to watch what she can do.

You grew up in a family with several high level athletes (In addition to Abby's soccer career, Wambach's older sister, Beth, played basketball at Harvard), how do you think that impacted you and your siblings?

LW: We were born in a different era, where there wasn't the electronics to keep you busy. Our mom would say "go out and play" and we'd come in for lunch, but the rest of the days, we'd be outside playing, competing against each other. I attribute that to our parents, who valued that physical activity and competitiveness. Even at board games, our family is competitive.

Beth and I were three-sport athletes (basketball, soccer, softball). I don't think Abby played softball, but we all were two or three sport athletes. Now, people are so focused on one sport but I think we benefitted from cross training, plus taking a mental break from the sport from season to season.

What has it been like watching your sister as she competes on the international level?

LW: In 2004 I was the only sibling who was able to go to Greece for the Olympics and see her score the gold-medal header. (In the gold medal game against Brazil, Abby scored in the 112th minute on a header to give Team U.S.A. a 2–1 victory.) I think it's really cool that I was able to be there when it all began, and now as it is coming to a close.

They've been using a different strategy on this team, using her differently, bringing her in later in games. It's an adjustment for her but it demonstrates the importance of every member of the team. I'm really proud of how well she's adjusted to playing a different role and how her leadership makes every player feel important, which is a value she is sharing with her team and our family.

I think all of our siblings are trying to get to the World Cup. Since Beth was at Harvard, following our siblings has been like a family function or event, like a wedding, that's been ongoing through the years. It's a little bittersweet because this is the last one, so it's like it's coming to an end.

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