Kristine Lily
When we
were born Kristine Lily was already a star midfielder on the USA soccer team and
she still is. She was born on July 22, 1971, in New York City, New York. She is
5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 128 pounds. Her hometown is Wilton, Connecticut.
There is a sign when you drive into Wilton that says "Welcome to Wilton –Hometown
of Kristine Lilly." She graduated from the University of North Carolina in
December 1993 with a degree in radio, television and motion picture production.
She scored her first international goal in her first appearance was against
China on August 3, 1987. She was only 16 years old.
Lilly was a member of the gold medal winning U.S. National Team at the 1996 Olympic Games. Kristine played every minute of the USA's five matches at the 1996 Olympic tournament. She has worn out plenty of opponents in twelve years on the U.S. National Team. She just keeps on going. Her coach (Tony DiCicco) says, "She is an inspiration to the whole team with her work rate." Kristine says, "Out of everything in soccer, I learned a long time ago the one thing I could control is my fitness. It's something I take pride in." Her teammates call her the energizer bunny.
Kristine joined the team as a skinny 16-year old from Wilton, Connecticut. Kristine has had more international appearances (200+) than any player, male or female, in the U.S. soccer history. She is winner of the 1991 Hermann Trophy and finalist in 1992. She played in 1994 for Tyreso Football Club in Sweden along with U.S. National Team teammates; Michelle Akers, Julie Foudy and Mary Harvey. She played with the Washington Warthogs in the CISL during the 1995 season.
We admire Kristine because we love to play soccer and she is a really good player.
Image courtesy of U.S. Soccer Communications Department
by Lara & Jenna, fourth grade, 2001
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