ST. LOUIS – St. Louis native Becky Sauerbrunn competed in a series of two friendlies against Colombia with the US Women’s National Team last week. It was the first time she played with the team with the title of captain.
After being a member of the national team since 2008, she was named captain on January 17.
“At the end of the day I just want to do what’s best for the team and if the coach thought that for me to be captain would be something that would help us be successful, then I gladly take on that task,” Sauerbrunn said.
She said the team’s goal against Colombia was to score a lot of goals and not let them score any. They were able to achieve that with a 4-0 finish on Monday, January 18 and a 6-0 finish on Friday, January 22.
The SheBelieves Cup is up next on the USWNT’s schedule. Their first game is against Canada on February 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET. They will play Brazil on February 21 at 3:00 p.m. ET and then they’ll play Argentina on February 24 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
There have been five SheBelieves Cups so far with the USWNT winning three of them.
“We expect ourselves to win, I think the world expects us to win,” Sauerbrunn said. “We kind of love that pressure and I think we really come through and do our best work when we’re under that kind of pressure as well.”
Sauerbrunn said throughout the pandemic she feels very fortunate that her team has been able to train, even though it has been a limited amount.
Also during the pandemic, Sauerbrunn moved NWSL teams from the Utah Royals to the Portland Thorns. She said the pandemic was purely coincidental and that it had nothing to do with her move. The move had been put in motion a couple of months before she officially became a member of the Portland Thorns.
As far as the Tokyo Olympics being pushed back, Sauerbrunn said she was comfortable with that decision. A definitive answer from the International Olympic Committee has not yet been given on if the Tokyo Olympics will be held in 2021, but Sauerbrunn said the USWNT is going to prepare as if it is going to happen.
“If the world decides it’s not the time or place to have it for safety reasons, I understand and I think it’s whatever’s best for everybody,” Sauerbrunn said.
Sauerbrunn graduated from Ladue High School and in 2019 they named the field after her. But due to scheduling conflicts and the pandemic, she hasn’t been able to see the field since it’s been named for her.
“I’m really thankful for Ladue and all the memories and experiences that I had there,” she said.
