Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus #1 Stanford on December 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1
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Final
Women's Soccer
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vs #1 Stanford
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Carla Overbeck on the Women's World Cup
7/12/2011 2:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.— Duke University Assistant Women's Soccer Coach Carla Overbeck talked with GoDuke.com this week about the 2011 World Cup and her experiences playing on the women's national team.
An assistant with the Blue Devils for 19 seasons, Overbeck was a captain on the 1999 USA World Cup Champion squad as well an instrumental player on the U.S. team that won the 1991 World Cup in China. Overbeck was a member of the gold medal winning team at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. She also participated in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia and the 1995 World Cup.
Overbeck drained the opening penalty kick in the 1999 World Cup final against China and played the entire 90 minutes as a defender.
GoDuke.com: What were your thoughts on Sunday's match between the U.S. and Brazil?
Carla Overbeck: It was truly unbelievable. I was so proud of how the team responded to the controversy throughout the game, especially when Buehler was red-carded and they had to play a man down. They continued to fight and didn't drop their heads.”
GoDuke.com: Did it bring back many memories with your World Cup days?
CO: When I was sitting there watching it, tons of people were texting and calling saying how they couldn't believe it was this exciting of a game, just like the one back in 1999. It definitely did bring memories back and I was so proud of fighting through what they did to beat Brazil.
GoDuke.com: What is the thought process of a player when the match heads to penalty kicks?
CO: As a player, you want that responsibility to take a penalty kick. When I had to do it in 1999 as one of the captains you want to take the first one and make it just to take the pressure off your teammates and to let them know we are going to win this thing. Just watching that was unbelievable how calm and professional the U.S was because they are younger and I don't think they have been in a lot of situations like that. But every single person made their shots and you could just tell by their confidence stepping up that they were going to make it. Hope Solo, what an incredible save she had and she's one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The pressure is on the striker to finish but if the goalkeeper can steal one that's great. That's just what she did and that's just what her team needed for the momentum and confidence to finish off the penalty kicks.
GoDuke.com: How do you think the U.S. has played so far and what will be a key for them as they head into the semifinals on Wednesday?
CO: I haven't had a chance to watch them play that much throughout the year. I think they learned something in Sunday's game; they do need to go after it and they do need to attack. When they were down a man, so many times you see the players rally and decide that “it's up to us let's go after it.” It was unbelievable how composed they were. Kreger started the sequence that led to that game-tying goal. She had the presence of mind to knock it to the midfield and they ended up setting up Abby for the goal. I loved the sense of urgency they played with, but it was controlled.”
GoDuke.com: What was it like in 1999 when you and your team won in penalty kicks to win the World Cup?
CO: It meant so many things. There were nay-sayers saying that we couldn't play in big stadiums and that people weren't going to watch women's soccer. They said to go to high school stadiums because that's what we would fill up. Every stadium we played in we sold out. We were under pressure each game as the favorites so we felt pressure that every game we had we had to win. Playing in front of over 90,000 people in the Rose Bowl in California that day you thought “it can never get better than this.” Going into penalty kicks you could tell we had the confidence that we were going to win.”
GoDuke.com: Like what happened this past Sunday with the USA/Brazil match, how is it to have thousands of fans in the stadium become USA fans and starting to cheer for you and your team during a game since not always the USA is the crowd favorite?
CO: The crowd is a huge advantage when you have it in your favor. It was really funny watching that game on Sunday when the crowd was neutral at first, but I think they too saw the things that happened to the United States and how they weren't fair I felt. It was interesting to see the crowd turn in our favor. As a player when you feel that it gives you an extra boost of energy. Just sitting here talking about it is giving me chills right now. I can't talk about how uplifting it is for the team. In 1999 we had 90,000 people cheering for us and it was just incredible.”
GoDuke.com: What is it like playing for your country?
CO: It's a big deal representing your country. You feel a sense of pride. I think Americans are proud people anyways, we love to win. They didn't have to come out and watch us play, but they chose to and they chose to support our team and get behind our team. We could feel it. You have a sense of pride putting that USA jersey on. When we put that jersey on we had the feeling that no one was going to beat us. That team grew up together. We were sisters, we were friends, we were teammates and we all got along. I know that's hard to believe for 20 women but we actually did. We had a respect for each other and for our opponents and we all will cherish those memories with a life time.”
GoDuke.com: How much do you keep in touch with those teammates now?
CO: I talk to three or four of them on a regular basis. We get together at least once a year. With Mia moving back into the area I'm watching her kids right now while she's in Germany. We are very close and I think that's one of the reasons we did so well. We had this bond that can never be broken. We went through so many things together, both good and bad times, trying to grow the sport of soccer.
GoDuke.com: How much do you follow the U.S. and international soccer now that you are retired from soccer?
CO: I try to watch games as much as I can but this past year I haven't had a chance to watch them play that much. I saw them play Japan and was impressed with the way they play. Mia, Julie and Brandi wanted to leave a legacy behind; determination and hard work. I love that the U.S. team continues to play that way. It was evident by the way they go after it. I was sitting on the couch watching with Jackson and Carson (her children) and was just so proud of them. How they have overcome all this controversy and adversity. Getting the stop penalty kick called back, having a player thrown out on a foul, I love that the national team lives on.
GoDuke.com: How has the game changed since you finished playing?
CO: Now I think the coach of our Women's national team, Pia Sundhage, has tried to get the U.S. team to possess the ball a bit more, where as in the past we would attack at all costs almost. Sometimes we would go forward and attack when it wasn't always on. So I think she is trying to get them to possess the ball a little bit more and then attack when it's on. I think our style of play back then scared teams. You heard lots of talk at these big tournaments that people didn't want to play the United States. I think it's because we were just relentless in the way that we attacked. Probably, Pia realized that it takes a lot out of you and it's a little bit risky. I think she's more of a possession coach.
GoDuke.com: How do you see the progress of the game the last 10 years?
CO: I think it's come a long way. What people did even before our national team came around, how they fought for women and the rights of women to play soccer. Our national team benefited from that so we have to thank all these women that have worked so hard before us to put us up on that stage. Back in the day we would go to other countries and people would laugh and say “women play football?” We would say “yeah we do, this team's pretty good.” Other teams would come with us because our society accepted us playing soccer. We helped other countries talk to their federations and let them know that this is our jobs. Not to mention our women's professional league that's hear in this country. Lots of teams have players playing in that. I was amazed at how many players on other teams have been parts of our league.
An assistant with the Blue Devils for 19 seasons, Overbeck was a captain on the 1999 USA World Cup Champion squad as well an instrumental player on the U.S. team that won the 1991 World Cup in China. Overbeck was a member of the gold medal winning team at the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. She also participated in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia and the 1995 World Cup.
Overbeck drained the opening penalty kick in the 1999 World Cup final against China and played the entire 90 minutes as a defender.
GoDuke.com: What were your thoughts on Sunday's match between the U.S. and Brazil?
Carla Overbeck: It was truly unbelievable. I was so proud of how the team responded to the controversy throughout the game, especially when Buehler was red-carded and they had to play a man down. They continued to fight and didn't drop their heads.”
GoDuke.com: Did it bring back many memories with your World Cup days?
CO: When I was sitting there watching it, tons of people were texting and calling saying how they couldn't believe it was this exciting of a game, just like the one back in 1999. It definitely did bring memories back and I was so proud of fighting through what they did to beat Brazil.
GoDuke.com: What is the thought process of a player when the match heads to penalty kicks?
CO: As a player, you want that responsibility to take a penalty kick. When I had to do it in 1999 as one of the captains you want to take the first one and make it just to take the pressure off your teammates and to let them know we are going to win this thing. Just watching that was unbelievable how calm and professional the U.S was because they are younger and I don't think they have been in a lot of situations like that. But every single person made their shots and you could just tell by their confidence stepping up that they were going to make it. Hope Solo, what an incredible save she had and she's one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The pressure is on the striker to finish but if the goalkeeper can steal one that's great. That's just what she did and that's just what her team needed for the momentum and confidence to finish off the penalty kicks.
GoDuke.com: How do you think the U.S. has played so far and what will be a key for them as they head into the semifinals on Wednesday?
CO: I haven't had a chance to watch them play that much throughout the year. I think they learned something in Sunday's game; they do need to go after it and they do need to attack. When they were down a man, so many times you see the players rally and decide that “it's up to us let's go after it.” It was unbelievable how composed they were. Kreger started the sequence that led to that game-tying goal. She had the presence of mind to knock it to the midfield and they ended up setting up Abby for the goal. I loved the sense of urgency they played with, but it was controlled.”
GoDuke.com: What was it like in 1999 when you and your team won in penalty kicks to win the World Cup?
CO: It meant so many things. There were nay-sayers saying that we couldn't play in big stadiums and that people weren't going to watch women's soccer. They said to go to high school stadiums because that's what we would fill up. Every stadium we played in we sold out. We were under pressure each game as the favorites so we felt pressure that every game we had we had to win. Playing in front of over 90,000 people in the Rose Bowl in California that day you thought “it can never get better than this.” Going into penalty kicks you could tell we had the confidence that we were going to win.”
GoDuke.com: Like what happened this past Sunday with the USA/Brazil match, how is it to have thousands of fans in the stadium become USA fans and starting to cheer for you and your team during a game since not always the USA is the crowd favorite?
CO: The crowd is a huge advantage when you have it in your favor. It was really funny watching that game on Sunday when the crowd was neutral at first, but I think they too saw the things that happened to the United States and how they weren't fair I felt. It was interesting to see the crowd turn in our favor. As a player when you feel that it gives you an extra boost of energy. Just sitting here talking about it is giving me chills right now. I can't talk about how uplifting it is for the team. In 1999 we had 90,000 people cheering for us and it was just incredible.”
GoDuke.com: What is it like playing for your country?
CO: It's a big deal representing your country. You feel a sense of pride. I think Americans are proud people anyways, we love to win. They didn't have to come out and watch us play, but they chose to and they chose to support our team and get behind our team. We could feel it. You have a sense of pride putting that USA jersey on. When we put that jersey on we had the feeling that no one was going to beat us. That team grew up together. We were sisters, we were friends, we were teammates and we all got along. I know that's hard to believe for 20 women but we actually did. We had a respect for each other and for our opponents and we all will cherish those memories with a life time.”
GoDuke.com: How much do you keep in touch with those teammates now?
CO: I talk to three or four of them on a regular basis. We get together at least once a year. With Mia moving back into the area I'm watching her kids right now while she's in Germany. We are very close and I think that's one of the reasons we did so well. We had this bond that can never be broken. We went through so many things together, both good and bad times, trying to grow the sport of soccer.
GoDuke.com: How much do you follow the U.S. and international soccer now that you are retired from soccer?
CO: I try to watch games as much as I can but this past year I haven't had a chance to watch them play that much. I saw them play Japan and was impressed with the way they play. Mia, Julie and Brandi wanted to leave a legacy behind; determination and hard work. I love that the U.S. team continues to play that way. It was evident by the way they go after it. I was sitting on the couch watching with Jackson and Carson (her children) and was just so proud of them. How they have overcome all this controversy and adversity. Getting the stop penalty kick called back, having a player thrown out on a foul, I love that the national team lives on.
GoDuke.com: How has the game changed since you finished playing?
CO: Now I think the coach of our Women's national team, Pia Sundhage, has tried to get the U.S. team to possess the ball a bit more, where as in the past we would attack at all costs almost. Sometimes we would go forward and attack when it wasn't always on. So I think she is trying to get them to possess the ball a little bit more and then attack when it's on. I think our style of play back then scared teams. You heard lots of talk at these big tournaments that people didn't want to play the United States. I think it's because we were just relentless in the way that we attacked. Probably, Pia realized that it takes a lot out of you and it's a little bit risky. I think she's more of a possession coach.
GoDuke.com: How do you see the progress of the game the last 10 years?
CO: I think it's come a long way. What people did even before our national team came around, how they fought for women and the rights of women to play soccer. Our national team benefited from that so we have to thank all these women that have worked so hard before us to put us up on that stage. Back in the day we would go to other countries and people would laugh and say “women play football?” We would say “yeah we do, this team's pretty good.” Other teams would come with us because our society accepted us playing soccer. We helped other countries talk to their federations and let them know that this is our jobs. Not to mention our women's professional league that's hear in this country. Lots of teams have players playing in that. I was amazed at how many players on other teams have been parts of our league.
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