The U.S. has been finding the net despite Michelle Akers’ absence.
Michelle Akers didn’t come here to sit around.
The U.S. star came to score, as she did at the last World Cup in 1991, when she struck 10 times and won the Golden Boot.
But sitting is what she must do. Not just during interviews — when she must discuss her injuries — or during the long train rides, but also during the games.
Akers, a most fervent trainer, has only practiced once since arriving in Sweden.
Fortunately, her teammates are compensating. They’ve taken the U.S. into the semifinals, keeping alive hopes of a title defense and a chance for the world’s top player to see action again.
She played some seven minutes against China in the June 6 opener, but sat out the rest of that match with a mild concussion and a sprained medial collateral ligament in her right knee. That forced her to miss the other two Group C games and the quarterfinal.
While trying to clear a Chinese corner kick, an opponent headed Akers in the back of the head. Akers accurately described it as being “ram-rodded.” She injured her knee when she fell awkwardly to the ground.
“I was real confused about what happened afterward, who I was and where I was,” she said.
Akers had a cut in the back of her head, which bled onto her jersey in the China game, but no stitches were needed. A CAT-scan after the game didn’t indicate serious injury, but it was bad enough to keep her on the bench. And that’s a place where Akers doesn’t sit comfortably.
“During the national anthem against Denmark,” Akers said, “I was about ready to lose it. We walked off the field and then I noticed the team had No. 10 on their socks and ‘Akers.’ They told me that they were playing for me. That made me cry.” Without Akers keeping possession up front, her U.S. teammates have been seeing more of the ball in their defensive third than they would like.
In her absence, Mia Hamm has drawn a lot more attention, as has Carin Gabarra, who has problems of her own. The Naval Academy coach has had back spasms since her arrival in Sweden.
The trio, dubbed the “three-edged sword” four years ago, has only scored one goal, which was Hamm’s in the China game.
“For me,” said sweeper Carla Overbeck, “it was just so disheartening when she got hurt just because she’s put so much effort into preparing for this tournament.
“Teamwise, some people are just going to have to step up, like Tiffeny Milbrett. She’s scored two [first-round] goals, and basically everyone’s taking Michelle’s responsibility.
“Not just one person’s trying to carry the team, it’s all 11 people out there.”
Players like reserve forwards Milbrett — she also scored in the quarterfinal —
and Debbie Keller have stepped up. Even defenders Overbeck and Joy Fawcett have contributed on the offensive end.
In the past few years, the U.S. has had to learn to score and win without Akers, who has been saddled with Epstein-Barr Syndrome — a condition that makes one feel constantly fatigued and causes other ailments — since after the 1991 World Championship.
So while the frontline has been hampered in Akers’ absence, midfielder Kristine Lilly tallied twice in the quarterfinal and leads the team with three goals. Keller hit the crucial goal against Australia that gave the U.S. first-place in Group C and the luxury of avoiding Sweden in the quarterfinals.
It’s too late for Akers to repeat her leading Golden Boot feat of 1991, but thanks to her teammates, she may be able to lift the trophy again.
by Soccer America Associate Editor Dean Caparaz