ORLANDO — Last month, a few days before the U.S. women’s national soccer team played its first match of the year, Coach Vlatko Andonovski summoned defender Becky Sauerbrunn for a meeting.
He needed a captain, not just for two upcoming friendlies against Colombia but for the Olympics this summer and perhaps beyond. During Andonovski’s first 15 months in charge, several players, including Sauerbrunn, had filled the role, but the captain’s armband needed a full-time home.
Andonovski’s decision was not unexpected — to anyone other than Sauerbrunn. Midfielder Sam Mewis calls her “my moral compass.” Defender Casey Krueger says “she sets the standard.