Hope Solo and Me

By: Keri Flickinger

Hope Solo and I grew up together in a very small town. We both were born on July 30, 1981. We would play around in my backyard. We would have little 1v1 (me verses her) in soccer. We would get in little fights, but we were still the best of friends!

“Hey Hope! Do you want to come over to play for a little?” I asked.

“Yeah, but let me ask my mom,” replied Hope. So Hope asked her mom and she said yes. Then she came over and we talked about what we wanted to be when we grow up.

“I want to play on the field,” exclaimed Hope.

“I want to play goalie,” I replied.

It’s been a few years now and hope and I were in our first year of high school. I had already quit soccer by then and hope had been selected for the USA woman’s soccer team!!!! I was so proud of her! We have been best friends since Pre-school and now I'm watching her be selected for the USA woman’s soccer team!! I was so happy!!!!!! Hope wasn’t playing the field anymore, she was playing goalie!! She became the top goalkeeper in the whole league!! We both were so happy! Hope, by now, was dating at this time. She was dating Jeramy Stevens. I didn’t date yet.

“Are you coming to my game tonight Keri?” Hope asked.

“I will do anything it takes to come to my best friend’s game! I hope you play goalie. You make a GREAT one!!” I exclaimed.

“Thanks Keri!” Hope said with so much happiness!! So I went to hope’s game and saddly the coach benched her for the 2007 World Cup.  She told the coach that few years earlier, she played 1054 minutes without letting one goal in! I think that that changed his mind big time!!!!

Ok so now that hope told the coach that she played 1054 minutes without letting in a goal, she was finally aloud to play in games!! The next year (2008) they played in the 2008 World Cup again. This game, she played the whole game!!

“I’m so happy for you! Your are playing in the 2008 World Cup soccer game! Its so amazing to watch you do your thing!” I was almost in tears when I said this!!

“Thanks Keri! I know that if you kept playing that you would be as good as me!! Hope said. She had to have shoulder surgery, but she didn’t let this stopped her. She kept playing no matter how much it hurt. When she was taking medicine for her surgery, she found out that she was accidently taking drugs. I supported her all the way through this. Saddly this stopped her from playing soccer.

“Don’t worry hope. Ill be there for you. I wont let anything bad happen to you,” I told her this and that I would be there for her all the time.

“I wish this surgery never happened in the first place. It stopped me from what I love doing the most- playing soccer,” Hope exclaimed.

The next year, 2012, at the Olympics at London, 80,300 fans showed up to watch the game!! It was the biggest crowd ever!!

“I think the huge crowd was good luck because you just won the 2012 World Cup. The best part is that you played goalie the WHOLE time and you only let in one goal!!!!” I said with so much proud in Hope!

“I know! I’m so prod of my team! I’m glad I learned to play goalie too!” Hope replied.

Hope got married to Jermay Stevens two months after winning the Olympics. (November 12, 2012)

“Hope, I remember the time when we loved to play soccer in my backyard!” I exclaimed.

“I know! I miss those days!!” said Hope.