Kara Elise Lang Romero (born 22 October 1986) is a former Canadian
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
player and current
sports analyst
A sports analyst is a person looking through technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological performance metrics /sup> working with the sports coach and sports science team to improve athlete performance. They will often use Video motion ...
, who represented her country in two
FIFA World Cups
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' (French language, French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsa ...
and the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, and played club soccer for
Vancouver Whitecaps Women
The Vancouver Whitecaps FC women was a Canadian soccer club based in Vancouver, British Columbia that played in the USL W-League, the second tier of women's soccer in the United States and Canada. The team was formed in 2001 under the name Vancou ...
. She is the youngest woman to be named to Canada National Women's Team, making her National Team debut on 1 March 2002 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal at age 15.
Lang retired on 5 January 2011 at the age of 24 due to recurring knee and ACL injuries.
Lang began a comeback in 2013, with her ambition being to help Canada in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, but suffered a third ACL injury in February 2014, effectively ending her comeback. She now has two sons and a daughter with professional baseball player
Ricky Romero.
She was inducted into the
Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame
The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Ha ...
as a player in November 2015.
Personal life
As of 2015, Lang is married to former baseball player
Ricky Romero. The couple are parents to two sons and a daughter.
Early life
Lang was born in
Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
and raised in
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton. At its Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census population of 213,759, it is List of tow ...
.
Her mother is originally from
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
.
Ethics
Lang transitioned to vegetarianism as a teenager and, inspired and mentored by national teammate
Amy Walsh
Amy Heather Walsh (born September 13, 1977) is a former midfielder for the Canada women's national soccer team. From 1997 to 2009, she played 102 matches for the national team. In May 2017, Walsh was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fam ...
, became vegan by the time Amy returned to the Canada squad.
Career
College career
Lang was ranked as the #1 recruit in the 2005 recruiting class, and chose
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
. Lang was named as a preseason All-American, which is a notable achievement for a freshman. The UCLA Bruins, under head coach
Jill Ellis
Jillian Anne Ellis (born 6 September 1966) is an English-American soccer coach and executive who is currently the president of San Diego Wave FC. Ellis coached the United States women's national soccer team from 2014 to October 2019 and won two ...
, compiled an overall record of 22–2–2 in the 2005–2006 season, was ranked 4th nationally, and won the Pac-10 title on the strength of excellent team defence.
Lang started her college career with a splash, scoring a hat-trick in her second game. In the 2005 NCAA tournament, she scored eight goals in six games.
Lang's UCLA Bruins met the University of Portland in the
NCAA final, where she came up against one of her international teammates,
Christine Sinclair; Portland won the title with a 4–0 win. She finished her first year at UCLA with 17 goals and six assists in 24 games, finishing second in team scoring behind
Danesha Adams
Danesha LaVonne Adams (born June 6, 1986) is an American retired soccer forward and midfielder. She is an assistant coach for the Houston Cougars. She played for Portland Thorns FC in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). She previously ...
.
Lang took a medical
redshirt
Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi
* Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...
in the 2006 season after tearing an
ACL during the offseason, and will have three more years of athletic eligibility at UCLA.
2007; played in 17 matches starting 16. Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 selection. Scored both goals in a 2–1 overtime victory over Portland on 28 September, her first college match since the 2005 NCAA Final (missed the entire 2006 season with an ACL injury). Ended the season with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Tallied the game-winning goal in a 2–0 victory over Washington State on 9 November. Scored the Bruins' second goal in a 3–2 double-overtime victory over Portland in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Academic selection.
2008; played in 24 matches, starting in 23, scoring five goals and assisting on nine. Helped UCLA to an unbeaten season of 18–0–2 (9–0 in conference play). Earned second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII honours. Scored a goal and 2 assists in the 1st round of the College Cup. Lost 1–0 in the semi finals to UNC.
International career
![Kara Lang2003](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/Kara_Lang2003.jpg)
Lang is one of the youngest players to score a full international goal. She scored against
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
at the
Algarve Cup
The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious an ...
on 3 March 2002 at age 15 years, 132 days. Her senior debut, two days earlier, was a Canadian record for youngest senior women's
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
.
At the 2002 FIFA U-19 World Championships, held in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
, as a 15-year-old, Lang scored three goals in six games and added a crucial penalty-kick goal under intense pressure in the semi-finals against
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Canada lost in the final against their rivals in the United States.
At the age of 16, Lang played in all six of Canada's games at the
FIFA Women's World Cup 2003
The 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial championship of women's national soccer teams organized by FIFA. It was held in the United States from September 20 to October 12, 2003, at s ...
. Lang scored two goals in the World Cup (a tally each against Japan in the group stage, and against Sweden in the semi-finals). Lang's memorable free-kick goal in the semi-finals came in the 64th minute to give Canada a 1–0 lead against Sweden, but they would lose the game 2–1 and eventually finish in 4th place at the event.
Lang was an integral part of the 2004
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football,, ; french: Confédération de football d'Amérique du Nord, d'Amérique centrale et des Caraïbes, . Dutch uses the English name. abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typese ...
U-19 Qualifying tournament in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, where she played as a central defender at the request of head coach
Ian Bridge
Ian Christopher Bridge (born 18 September 1959) is a football coach and former professional who played as a defender. A former player for the Canada national team, he has coached the Canada women's national team among other teams.
Club ca ...
. Lang proved to be a dominant force in defence paired with
Emily Zurrer
Emily Jane Zurrer (born July 12, 1987) is a Canadian soccer player who played for Swedish club Jitex BK in the Damallsvenskan and the Canada women's national soccer team. She previously played for Seattle Reign FC in the National Women's Soccer ...
, and Canada captured the tournament title with a 2–1 extra-time victory over the United States. Despite high hopes, Canada lost in the quarterfinals against China in the
2004 U-19 World Championships in Thailand after being down a player for almost the entire game.
In the 2006 CONCACAF U-20 Qualifying tournament, Lang set a record for fastest goal (four seconds) when she scored from the opening kickoff against Mexico on 22 January 2006.
Lang participated in the
FIFA Women's World Cup 2007
The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but t ...
in China.
On 6 August 2008, Lang scored the winning goal for Canada in a 2–1 victory over Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Canada lost in the quarter-finals to United States.
Lang scored one goal in Canada's thrashing of Guyana for 8–0 during the
2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup qualifying tournament. She went on, along with her teammates, to win the tournament v Mexico in the final (1–0) on 8 November 2010. Unfortunately, this was her last appearance playing soccer, as recurring ACL and knee injuries, forced her to retire. She made the official announcement at an Oakville Soccer Club Press Conference on 5 January 2011, in front of young fans, coaches, soccer club affiliates, and press. "I have gotten everything out of this sport, and I have given this sport all that I have," she said about her retirement. Teammates
Diana Matheson
Diana Beverly Matheson (born April 6, 1984) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played for the Canada national team from 2003 to 2020 and multiple professional women's teams over the course of her career. She is best known for ...
,
Robyn Gayle
Robyn Krista Gayle (born 31 October 1985) is a former Canadian soccer player who was both a CONCACAF champion and Olympic bronze medal winner. She played her club career in Canada and the United States, including two years with the Washington S ...
,
Carmelina Moscato
Carmelina Moscato (born May 2, 1984) is a Canadian soccer Manager (association football), coach and former professional Soccer player, player. She currently coaches Liga MX Femenil club Tigres UANL (women), Tigres UANL. She played as a centrebac ...
and
Melanie Booth
Melanie Lynn Booth (born August 24, 1984) is a Canadian retired soccer player. She last played for Sky Blue FC in the National Women's Soccer League and for the Canada women's national soccer team.
Early life
Booth was born in Burlington, O ...
also noted that Lang was one of the most 'enthusiastic, hilarious, courteous and spontaneous people' that they ever knew, and were proud not only to have called her a teammate, but one of their best and lifelong friends.
Broadcasting career
In 2011, Lang transitioned to the broadcast booth as a television
sports analyst
A sports analyst is a person looking through technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological performance metrics /sup> working with the sports coach and sports science team to improve athlete performance. They will often use Video motion ...
for
Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was r ...
covering the
2011 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the even ...
. Lang continued working for Sportsnet after the World Cup.
Staying with Rogers, beginning in August 2012, Lang joined the team of the new nightly show
Soccer Central
''Soccer Central'' was a soccer news program that was broadcast by the Canadian sports channel Sportsnet. The program was first introduced on August 17, 2012 as ''Fox Soccer News''; the program was originally produced for U.S. cable channel Fox ...
on
Sportsnet World
Sportsnet World is a Canadian English language discretionary digital cable and satellite specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications operating as a national sports channel complementing the Sportsne ...
in Canada. The show was broadcast as Fox Soccer News in the USA. She left the show in early 2013 to pursue her comeback to the National team and a few months later it was cancelled. In 2014 Lang joined the MLS on TSN broadcast team covering the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC as a sideline reporter. In 2015, she was also an analyst for TSN's coverage of the
FIFA Women's World Cup
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association ( FIFA), the sport's international governing bo ...
.
Statistics
National team statistics
Major tournament statistics
Club and college statistics
See also
* ''
''
Notes
External links
Official Kara Lang Website* /
Canada Soccer Hall of FameOfficial UCLA profileNCAA Women's Soccer "Kara Lang", JDG, Player Magazine, 2003"Inside Track", Teddy Katz, CBC Radio, 2003 (audio)*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lang, Kara
1986 births
Women's association football forwards
Canada women's international soccer players
Canadian soccer commentators
Canadian expatriate women's soccer players
Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Canadian people of English descent
Canada Soccer Hall of Fame inductees
Footballers at the 2007 Pan American Games
Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Living people
Olympic soccer players of Canada
Pali Blues players
Pan American Games competitors for Canada
Sportspeople from Oakville, Ontario
Soccer people from Ontario
Soccer players from Calgary
UCLA Bruins women's soccer players
Vancouver Whitecaps FC (women) players
2007 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Canadian women's soccer players
2003 FIFA Women's World Cup players
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games
Pan American Games medalists in football