During this year's Olympic women's soccer competition, members of the Dartmouth community will have a hometown athlete to cheer for as Kristin Luckenbill '01 will travel to Athens as a member of the U.S. women's soccer team.
On July 1, U.S. National Team Head Coach April Heinrichs announced the roster of 18 players who will compete in the 2004 Olympic Games. Luckenbill, a native of Paoli, Penn., was one of two goalkeepers named to this year's squad.
Luckenbill made her first appearance with the national team on April 24 when the team competed against Brazil in Birmingham, Ala. After substituting in for veteran goalkeeper Briana Scurry in the 66th minute of play, she earned her first cap -- a statistic given to a player for making an appearance in an international competition -- and became the first Ivy League player ever to accomplish this feat.
During her time at Dartmouth, Luckenbill, commonly referred to as "Lucks" or "Lucky," started in 70 consecutive games and was a three-time All-American and a four-time All-Ivy team selection. In 1997, she was named Ivy League Rookie of the Year. She also holds two school records for the 29 career shutouts and 0.73 goals against average she recorded during her collegiate career.
"Lucky is a tremendous player," former varsity women's soccer player Kate Nugent '06 said. "Before entering Dartmouth, I used to follow the women's soccer team, and Lucky served as a role model for my own goalkeeping future. I know she will experience great success on the Olympic team."
After graduating from Dartmouth, Luckenbill spent three years playing in the Women's United Soccer Association for the Carolina Courage. In 2002, she was named WUSA goalkeeper of the year.
While seven of the 18 members of this year's Olympic team will be competing in their third Olympic games, this marks the first time Luckenbill will compete with the U.S. women in a world championship competition. The team's veterans include Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and team captain Julie Foudy.
With only four caps in comparison to the team average of 104, Luckenbill is clearly lacking international competition experience.
Nevertheless, Heinrichs said she has full confidence and admiration for the newcomer.
"Kristin Luckenbill's core strengths are big saves in big moments. If you look at her career at Dartmouth, she was very renowned for keeping Dartmouth in games and escalating Dartmouth's program on her shoulders," Heinrichs said on the U.S. Soccer website.
Dartmouth varsity women's soccer head coach Ben Landis knows first hand about Luckenbill's talent ability.
"She is by far the best goalkeeper to come through the Ivy League on the women's side," Landis said.
Landis, who worked with Luckenbill for a year when he was an assistant coach, was not surprised by Luckenbill's selection and even added that she has a legitimate chance to see some real action in Athens. This feat would be a major accomplishment, according to Landis, as Luckenbill is competing for playing time with Scurry, a veteran goalkeeper.
Landis added that Luckenbill knows where she comes from and continues to keep in touch with the team and college. She is a regular at alumni events and even comes back to play in alumni soccer matches.
Luckenbill and the rest of the U.S. women's team will try to add another gold medal to the one the U.S. women captured in the inaugural Olympic women's soccer competition in 1996.
In their last two pre-Olympic matches, the U.S. women will face-off against Australia in Blaine, Minn., on Wednesday and China in Hartford, Conn., on August 1.
The U.S. Women's Olympic soccer team will compete against Greece, Brazil and Australia in the first round of group play. The team will face host country Greece on August 11 at 6 p.m. in one of the first events of the 2004 Olympic Games.
