With the U.S. Women’s National Team victory tour coming to an end in December, it’s a great time to look back at the historic 1999 World Cup champs and find out what they’re up to these days.
Briana Scurry
Briana Scurry was the starting goalkeeper and played every minute. She allowed only three goals in six games and recorded four shutouts. During the penalty shootout in the final against China she made the one save the Americans needed her to make.
She retired in 2010 after suffering a concussion that gave her serious headaches and depression. She’s now an activist for concussion awareness and supports US Soccer’s heading ban for players 10 and under.
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Saskia Webber
Saskia Webber didn’t play a single minute of the 1999 World Cup, but she was well known amongst fans for her red, white and blue hair. During her senior year at Rutgers she was named the country’s top goalkeeper, which led her to being the backup goalkeeper in the World Cup.
Once she hung up her boots she turned to television and acting. She was the host of On Q Live on the now defunct Q Television and played a role in the Country Fried Christmas movie. Webber is also a supporter and a representative of the Gay Games.
Tracy Ducar
Like Webber, the three time NCAA Championship winner, Tracy Ducar didn’t play a minute in the World Cup.
Currently Ducar helps run Dynasty Goalkeeping, weekly summer camps geared toward developing high level goalkeepers. The camps are strictly for female goalkeepers from high school and college. The camps are hosted in North Carolina where participants go through a week long training program to help players develop.
Christie Rampone
During the entire run to the final of the tournament, defender Christie Rampone stepped onto the field once in the 73rd minute of the team’s 3-0 win against North Korea in the third game of the group stage.
Rampone is the only member of the 1999 squad that is still active to this day. She was on the team that won this year’s World Cup, participating in two games for the national team, including coming on as a substitute in the 86th minute of the final against Japan. Born in Florida, but raised in New Jersey, she now plays her club soccer with Sky Blue FC.
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Carla Overbeck
Defender Carla Overbeck was the captain of the team throughout the tournament. She helped form a solid defense that only allowed three goals. Overbeck was the first person to step up to take a penalty kick in the final against China.
Currently Overbeck, a former NCAA champion with North Carolina, is an assistant women’s soccer coach at Duke University. She’s been there since 1992 and has helped the Blue Devils reach the NCAA tournament 20 times and the College Cup twice.
Joy Fawcett
Defender Joy Fawcett played every minute of the 1999 World Cup and scored the winning goal against Germany in the USA’s 3-2 quarter-final game. She scored the second penalty kick in the shootout against China in the final. Fawcett played a total of four World Cups, including the 1991 tournament, where she and the USA won the first Women’s World Cup.
Today Fawcett uses her time to raise her three daughters and to help kids through Pure Game, a nonprofit organization. At Pure Game she mentors children through educational and leadership programs. She uses the game to teach kids life skills and to work hard to accomplish their goals.
Kristine Lilly
Kristine Lilly is a true legend in the game. Two time winning World Cup Champion in 1991 and 1999, she also won gold in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics. With 352 caps, she’s the most capped player in the history of the sport. During the 1999 World Cup she scored two goals and scored the third goal in the penalty shootout against China. Lilly made a crucial goal line save during extra time, when she blocked a header from a Chinese player.
Today Lilly dedicates her time to a number of charities including the Women’s Sports Foundation and the Special Olympics. Alongside former teammates Mia Hamm and Tisha Venturini-Hoch founded Team First Soccer Academy, where they visit teams across the nations to pass their knowledge on to the next generation of players. She also founded the Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy geared toward not only teaching soccer, but also teamwork and sportsmanship.
Lorrie Fair
The young Lorrie Fair wasn’t a starter for the national team in 1999, but she saw a lot of action, coming off the bench four times during the tournament.
Today she dedicates her time giving back to the game. Since her retirement she has worked with organizations such as Right to Play and Show Racism the Red Card. In 2010 she co-founded Kickabout and has worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She is also currently active in the U.S. State Department Sports Envoy Program that uses sports to support U.S. missions to help women and girls around the world.
Tiffeny Milbrett
Before the World Cup started Tiffeny Milbrett was already a 1996 Olympic gold medalist. She played in every game and was the USA’s highest goal scorer in the tournament with three goals.
Currently Milbrett is coaching the Mountain View Los Altos Soccer Club U-13 girls’ team. In addition, she spends her time coaching not only teams, but smaller groups and individuals.
Tiffany Roberts
During the tournament Tiffany Roberts started against North Korea and came on as a sub against Germany.
After retiring Roberts got into coaching. Currently she is the head coach of the women’s soccer team at the University of Central Florida with her husband Tim Sahaydak, as an associate head coach. Before moving to Florida, Roberts and her husband were co-head coaches of the women’s soccer team at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Brandi Chastain
Brandi Chastain’s celebration after scoring the winning penalty kick was as historical as her goal. Once the ball was in the net Chastain ripped off her jersey while falling to her knees. The iconic image was put on the cover of Newsweek and Sports Illustrated. Chastain also scored a goal in the USA’s quarterfinal game against Germany.
After hanging up her boots in 2010, Chastain continued to work with the sport. She worked as a commentator for NBC Sports during the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics and ESPN for the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Alongside Julie Foudy and Marlene Bjornsrud, Chastain founded the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative (BAWSI), a non-profit organization geared toward helping female athletes reach their full potential. Currently she’s an assistant coach at Bellarmine College Preparatory.
Sara Whalen
Sara Whalen played in three games throughout the tournament, one as a starter against North Korea in the group stage.
Whalen’s playing career came to an end in 2002 while playing for the New York Power when she tore ligaments in her knee including her ACL. It took Whalen about a year and a half by the time she could walk normally again. While going through rehab she got her Master’s in psychology at Fordham University and her doctorate at Fairleigh Dickinson. Now she works with children and families in a group practice in Connecticut.
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Shannon MacMillan
Shannon MacMillan started one game against North Korea, in USA’s 3-0 win against North Korea; she came in as a sub in all the other games.
In 2010 she was named the Director of the Del Mar Carmel Valley Shocks, a non-profit organization that offers recreational programs and camps for kids age five to nineteen. Before this she was an assistant coach for UCLA’s women’s soccer team.
Michelle Akers
During the 1999 World Cup Akers started in five games and scored two goals for the national team. She was also a member of the 1991 women’s national team that won the inaugural women’s World Cup and won a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics. She is one of the greatest female soccer players of all time and was named FIFA Female Player of the Century in 2000.
These days Akers lives in Georgia on an 8-acre farm rescuing horses and training athletes.
Kate Markgraf
Out of the six games played by the USA national team, Markgraf played in five games and was one of the youngest players on the team. Not only did she win the World Cup, but she went on to win a gold medal in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Markgraf was on the ESPN team that covered the 2011 and 2015 Women’s World Cups. In 2012 she joined former U.S. Men’s National Team player Tony Sanneh in Ethiopia to conduct a soccer clinic on behalf of the State Department and U.S. Soccer.
Tisha Venturini-Hoch
1996 Olympic gold medalist Tisha Venturini-Hoch only played in two games during the tournament, but took advantage of her time and scored two goals as a starter in the team’s 3-0 against North Korea in the group stage. Venturini then came on during extra time in the final against China.
Venturini now puts her experience to good use as one of the founders and coaches of Team First Soccer Academy.
Julie Foudy
Julie Foudy played in each game of the World Cup, five of them as a starter. She scored once in the USA’s 3-0 win against Denmark in the group stage. She had a very successful career with the national team, winning the inaugural World Cup in 1991 and gold medals in the 1996 and 2004 Olympics.
After retiring from the game, Foudy has had a successful career in broadcasting. She has covered three men’s World Cups, three Women’s World Cups, and Euro 2008 all for ESPN. Foudy was also on the NBC Sports team that covered the 2008 Summer Olympics. Foudy also founded the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy, a summer soccer and lacrosse camp for girls ages of 12-18. The camp is geared toward forming leaders on and off the field with the help of sports.
Cindy Parlow
Cindy Parlow played in every game of the World Cup, scoring two goals during the tournament. She also won two Olympic gold medals with the national team.
As a coach Parlow found success with the Portland Thorns FC in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). She was the team’s first coach during their inaugural season in 2013 and became the first head coach to win the NWSL Championship. Today Parlow is at the forefront of an initiative called Safe Soccer, which is geared toward educating parents, players and coaches on the positives of only allowing players to header the ball in high school.
Mia Hamm
Mia Hamm is by far the most famous player on the 1999 World Cup roster. During the tournament she played in every game and scored two goals. Hamm scored the fourth penalty kick during the shootout in the final. She was also on the team that won the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991 and she has two Olympic gold medals from 1996 and 2004.
After soccer Hamm founded the Mia Hamm Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes awareness and raises funds for families in need of a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. She began this initiative after her adopted brother Garrett Hamm died of complications from aplastic anemia. Hamm also announced that she is a co-owner of a future Major League Soccer team in Los Angeles and she is now a member of A.S. Roma’s board of directors.
Danielle Fotopoulos
Danielle Fotopoulos didn’t get to see much action during the World Cup. She only came off the bench in the 88th minute during the USA’s 2-0 semi-final win against Brazil.
Now Fotopoulos dedicates her time to coaching, she’s currently the coach of Eckerd College’s Division II women’s program. She was also a coach at Louisiana State University and University of Florida.
Tony DiCicco
Tony DiCicco was the national team’s head coach during the World Cup. DiCicco also coached the national team that won the gold medal in the 1996 in the Olympics in Atlanta and the 2008 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Today DiCicco divides his time between SoccerPlus, a soccer camp he founded in 1982, and his job as a soccer analyst for Fox Sports.
