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Hope Solo Biography & Facts

Hope Amelia Stevens (née Solo; born July 30, 1981) is an American former soccer goalkeeper. She was a goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team from 2000 to 2016, and is a World Cup champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist. After playing at the collegiate level for the University of Washington, she played professionally for the Philadelphia Charge in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). When the WUSA folded after her first season, she traveled to Europe to play for the top division leagues in Sweden and France. From 2009 to 2011, she played in the Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) for Saint Louis Athletica, Atlanta Beat and magicJack. After the WPS ceased operations in early 2012, she played for the Seattle Sounders in the W-League. She most recently played for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. Solo is regarded as one of the top female goalkeepers of all time and currently holds the U.S. record for most career clean sheets. She was the starting goalkeeper for the majority of the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup and helped lead the U.S. national team to the semifinals having given up only two goals in four games, including three consecutive shutouts. After a controversial move made by head coach Greg Ryan to bench Solo in favor of veteran goalkeeper Briana Scurry for the semifinal, in which the United States was defeated 4–0 by Brazil, Solo made headlines with post-game remarks that resulted in many teammates shunning her. She later rebounded to help the United States win gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. During the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, her exceptional skill was highlighted especially during a quarter-final match against Brazil, which the U.S. won on penalty kicks. Although the team lost to Japan in a match that ended in penalties, Solo received the Golden Glove award for best goalkeeper as well as the Bronze Ball award for her overall performance at the tournament. Following her performance at the 2011 World Cup, Solo participated in the television show Dancing with the Stars and posed for various magazines, most notably the "Body Issue" of ESPN The Magazine. After the 2012 London Olympics, where she received her second Olympic gold medal, she published her bestselling autobiography Solo: A Memoir of Hope. As the starting goalkeeper at the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, Solo helped the U.S. win the national team's third World Cup championship since 1991. The final against Japan was the most-watched televised soccer game ever in the United States. As of August 6, 2016, Solo holds several U.S. goalkeeper records including appearances (202), starts (190), wins (153), shutouts (102), wins in a season (26), consecutive minutes played (1,256), and longest undefeated streak (55 games). Early life Solo was born in Richland, Washington on July 30, 1981, to Judy Lynn (née Shaw) and Jeffrey Solo. Her father, an Italian-American Vietnam War veteran, who was in and out of her life as a child and teenager, taught her how to play soccer at a young age. When Solo was seven, her father picked her and her brother Marcus up to go to a baseball game in the nearby city of Yakima, but ended up driving over three hours west to Seattle, where they stayed for several days at a hotel. Solo described how it seemed like a vacation at first, but soon realized it was not. Police later found them at a downtown bank and arrested Jeffrey for alleged kidnapping. Although her parents had divorced when she was six and she lived with her mother, Solo maintained a close relationship with her father after reconnecting with him during her college years at the University of Washington. He continued to be a major influence in her life until his death of a heart attack in June 2007. As a forward at Richland High School, Solo scored 109 goals, leading her team to three consecutive league titles from 1996 to 1998 and a state championship during her senior year. She was twice named a Parade All American. Solo also played club soccer for the Three Rivers Soccer Club in the Tri-Cities. Washington Huskies, 1999–2002 After being heavily recruited by several colleges around the country, Solo attended the University of Washington from 1999 to 2002 where she majored in speech communications. With the Huskies, she switched permanently to goalkeeper under the lead of head coach Lesle Gallimore and goalkeeper coach and former national team player, Amy Griffin. Solo described the transition in her memoir, "In high school, I had been the forward who won games. It was a huge mental adjustment to learn that my job was to save games. To anticipate what was needed. Before, I would stand in goal, the ball would come toward me, and I'd use my athletic ability to make the save. But thanks to Amy's tutelage and my time with the national team, I was becoming a much better tactical goalkeeper. I learned how to read my opponents' runs toward goal, how to position my defenders, how to see the angles... The intellectual side also made goalkeeping so much more interesting. It wasn't just ninety minutes of waiting for my defense to make a mistake. It was ninety minutes of tactics and strategy. The personality traits that had been shaped by my childhood—resilience and toughness—were assets at the position." Solo became the top goalkeeper in Pac-10 history and finished her collegiate career as Washington's all-time leader in shutouts (18), saves (325) and goals against average (GAA) (1.02). She was a four-time All-Pac-10 selection and was named an NSCAA All-American as a sophomore, junior and senior. During her sophomore year, Solo was named Pac-10 Player of the Year becoming the first Washingtonian and first goalkeeper ever to receive the award. As a senior, she was the only goalkeeper nominated for the Hermann Trophy. Club career WUSA and European professional leagues, 2003–05 Following her college career, Solo was selected in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2003 WUSA Draft by the Philadelphia Charge. She spent most of her first professional season on the bench playing in eight games. Solo started the last three games of the season and earned her first professional shutout against the Atlanta Beat. She also shut out eventual league champions, the Washington Freedom led by top scorers, Mia Hamm and Abby Wambach. After the WUSA folded following the 2003 season just six days before the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, Solo moved to Gothenburg, Sweden in February 2004 to play for Kopparbergs/Göteborg FC in the Swedish Premier Division, the top division of women's soccer in Sweden. For ten months, she played in two games a week, making 19 appearances in goal for Göteborg in 2004. In 2005, she played for Olympique Lyonnais in the French First Division. She made seven appearances for the French club. Solo said of her experience in Europe, "I played in Europe and it was a great experience, not just because o.... Discover the Hope Solo popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Hope Solo books.