April Heinrichs

There is a color photograph, taken one night long ago in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, that shows 18 American women gathered around a trophy that is as tall as the tallest of them. Clutching it tightly is a dark-haired player, wearing the all-blue uniform of the United States national team. A red ribbon is draped around her neck, and at its end dangles a gold medal. But it's her eyes you notice first. They are staring straight at the camera. Intent. Focused. Challenging. The eyes of April.

Tuesday's introduction of April Heinrichs as the new UC Irvine women's soccer coach was notable for what was not said. UCI Athletic Director Bob Chichester never mentioned "world champion" or "Olympic gold medal winner." Heinrichs' name can stand alone. "Her reputation precedes her," Chichester said of the coach who stepped down in January after five years in charge of the U.S. women's national team.

The Chinese had a nickname for them: "the Triple-Edged Sword." The first edge was Michelle Akers-Stahl, the striker whose 10 tournament goals propelled the United States to victory in the first FIFA Women's World Championship in China in 1991. The second edge was Carin Jennings, the Palos Verdes winger whose speed and dazzling moves earned her MVP honors in the tournament and whose flying blonde ponytail earned her cartoon tributes in the Chinese press.

Per Matthias Hogmo, coach of the Norwegian women's Olympic soccer team, knows the U.S. only too well. The countries have played each other five times in 2000 and Norway holds a 3-1-1 advantage. It will come as no surprise to Hogmo, therefore, to learn that the Americans will play out of a 4-4-2 formation, with four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards, when the teams meet Thursday night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The probable U.S.

The defending gold medalist U.S. Olympic women's soccer team plays the first of three "send-off" games today when it faces Russia at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The match will be televised live by ABC at 11 a.m. Although it is only a "friendly," Coach April Heinrichs will use the game to give her starting lineup the chance to fine-tune its play before the Olympic opener against Norway on Sept. 14 in Melbourne, Australia.

Carin Jennings scored three goals in the first half and April Heinrichs scored two in the second to send the United States into the final of the first women's world soccer tournament, beating Germany, 5-2, Wednesday night in the semifinals. The United States, which has never won a world soccer title at any level, will play Norway in Saturday night's final. Norway beat Sweden in the other semifinal, 4-1.

April Heinrichs continues to march to her own music. Two days after losing her debut as coach of the U.S. women's national team, 3-2, to Norway, Heinrichs on Tuesday named the roster for her second game--a closed-door contest against the same Norwegians today at Florida Atlantic University. Notable by their absence are six starters from the 1999 Women's World Cup-winning team: Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, Brandi Chastain and Kate Sobrero.

The Olympics are right down the road, and April Heinrichs likes what she sees. Her team is unbeaten in six soccer tournaments this year, and players from the 1999 World Cup squad are coming back from injury. "Our best soccer is still in front of us," said Heinrichs, coach of the U.S. women's national team. "I'm just very pleased with this team. They've met every challenge. It's amazing. This title just makes us very focused on the Olympics."

As a soccer player, April Heinrichs was forthright and decisive. Those traits stood her in good stead when she captained the U.S. national team to victory in the first women's World Championships in China in 1991. Not much has changed. It has been only three weeks since Heinrichs was named to replace Tony DiCicco as national coach, but already she is starting to stamp her imprint on the team. It took only a few days for her to show that she is unafraid of making changes.

Two losses in a row. That's the grim statistic staring the new-look U.S. women's national soccer team in the face this morning. It's not a pretty sight. For the first time in seven years, the U.S. women, the reigning world and Olympic champions, suffered back-to-back losses. On Wednesday afternoon, Norway repeated what it had done Sunday at Fort Lauderdale, outplaying the U.S. team on both ends of the field while recording a 2-1 victory in a closed-door match at Florida Atlantic University.

There is a color photograph, taken one night long ago in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, that shows 18 American women gathered around a trophy that is as tall as the tallest of them. Clutching it tightly is a dark-haired player, wearing the all-blue uniform of the United States national team. A red ribbon is draped around her neck, and at its end dangles a gold medal. But it's her eyes you notice first. They are staring straight at the camera. Intent. Focused. Challenging. The eyes of April.

The defending gold medalist U.S. Olympic women's soccer team plays the first of three "send-off" games today when it faces Russia at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The match will be televised live by ABC at 11 a.m. Although it is only a "friendly," Coach April Heinrichs will use the game to give her starting lineup the chance to fine-tune its play before the Olympic opener against Norway on Sept. 14 in Melbourne, Australia.

Sometime in the next two weeks, April Heinrichs has to make the most difficult decisions of her career. The U.S.

The Olympics are right down the road, and April Heinrichs likes what she sees. Her team is unbeaten in six soccer tournaments this year, and players from the 1999 World Cup squad are coming back from injury. "Our best soccer is still in front of us," said Heinrichs, coach of the U.S. women's national team. "I'm just very pleased with this team. They've met every challenge. It's amazing. This title just makes us very focused on the Olympics."

Two losses in a row. That's the grim statistic staring the new-look U.S. women's national soccer team in the face this morning. It's not a pretty sight. For the first time in seven years, the U.S. women, the reigning world and Olympic champions, suffered back-to-back losses. On Wednesday afternoon, Norway repeated what it had done Sunday at Fort Lauderdale, outplaying the U.S. team on both ends of the field while recording a 2-1 victory in a closed-door match at Florida Atlantic University.

April Heinrichs continues to march to her own music. Two days after losing her debut as coach of the U.S. women's national team, 3-2, to Norway, Heinrichs on Tuesday named the roster for her second game--a closed-door contest against the same Norwegians today at Florida Atlantic University. Notable by their absence are six starters from the 1999 Women's World Cup-winning team: Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly, Joy Fawcett, Brandi Chastain and Kate Sobrero.

Per Matthias Hogmo, coach of the Norwegian women's Olympic soccer team, knows the U.S. only too well. The countries have played each other five times in 2000 and Norway holds a 3-1-1 advantage. It will come as no surprise to Hogmo, therefore, to learn that the Americans will play out of a 4-4-2 formation, with four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards, when the teams meet Thursday night at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The probable U.S.

Sometime in the next two weeks, April Heinrichs has to make the most difficult decisions of her career. The U.S.

As a soccer player, April Heinrichs was forthright and decisive. Those traits stood her in good stead when she captained the U.S. national team to victory in the first women's World Championships in China in 1991. Not much has changed. It has been only three weeks since Heinrichs was named to replace Tony DiCicco as national coach, but already she is starting to stamp her imprint on the team. It took only a few days for her to show that she is unafraid of making changes.

On her first day as coach of the U.S. women's national soccer team, April Heinrichs finds herself beset by problems: * There's the contract dispute with U.S. Soccer that has left all 20 members of the 1999 Women's World Cup-winning team "unemployed," to quote Hank Steinbrecher, the federation's secretary general. * There's the difficulty of finding an assistant coach or two, and whether to consider former assistants Lauren Gregg and Jay Hoffman, both of whom wanted the job that is now hers.