Saskia Johanna Webber (born June 13, 1971) is a retired American soccer

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

who previously played for the

United States women's national soccer team The United States women's national soccer team (USWNT) represents the United States in international women's soccer. The team is the most successful in international women's soccer, winning four Women's World Cup titles ( 1991, 1999, 2015, an ...

as well as the

New York Power The New York Power was an American professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first professional soccer league for women in the United States. The team played at Mitchel Athletic Complex in Uniondal ...

and

Philadelphia Charge The Philadelphia Charge was an American women's professional soccer team that played in the Women's United Soccer Association. The team played at Villanova Stadium on the campus of Villanova University near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History ...

in the

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...

. She is currently a host for Q Televisions's ''On Q Live''.

Early life

She began playing soccer and other sports when she was six. Webber attended Princeton High School in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

Rutgers University

Webber was a four-year starter on the women's soccer team at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

from 1989 to 1992. During her senior year, she helped lead the team to four consecutive East Coast Athletic Conference tournaments and three championships MVP of ECAC Tournament. She was named a two-time All-Eastern Region selection and a First-Team NSCAA All-American the same year. She also won the Missouri Athletic Club Goalkeeper of the Year Award and was a finalist for the Hermann Trophy. As a senior, she received the Sonny Werblin Award, the highest athletic honor at Rutgers and was the first female soccer player to be inducted into the Rutgers Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998.

Playing career

Club

Webber played three seasons for OKI F.C. Winds in the Japanese Women's Professional

L. League The , commonly known as the , is a semi-professional women's association football Women's association football, more commonly known simply as women's football or women's soccer, is a team sport of association football when played by women o ...

from 1996 to 1998. In 2001, she joined the

in the

, the first professional women's soccer league in the United States. During the inaugural season, she played 12 games and posted a record of 4–5–3. She played a total of 998 minutes and made 44 saves while allowing 18 goals for a 1.62 GAA. The following season, she was traded to the

. After the WUSA folded in 2003, Webber joined her former national team teammates, Brandi Chastain,

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra (; born March 17, 1972) is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the ...

Kristine Lilly Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey (; born July 22, 1971) is an American retired soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport (men's or wome ...

to participate in the 2004 WUSA Soccer Festivals.

International

Webber first appeared for the

on August 14, 1992 at the age of 21 in a game against Norway. In 1993, she was the team's starting goalkeeper for most of the year playing a total of 12 matches. She was on the U.S.

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

team serving as a reserve member. She was the back-up goalkeeper for the 1999 Women's World Cup champions. During 1999, she played in seven games posting a record of 5–0–1. She was a fan favorite on the 1999 U.S. Women's World Cup soccer team and was known for her red, white, and blue hairstyles.

Coaching career

Saskia has been an assistant coach at the North Carolina State and Rutgers University. During the 1990s, Saskia was Assistant Director of Soccer Plus camps and ran goalkeeper training at North Carolina State summer camps.

Television & film career

During the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Saskia reported and did commentary for ESPN on women's soccer. She was a television host for Q Television's ''On Q Live'' and appeared in the film,

The Kentucky Fried Movie ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' is a 1977 American independent sketch comedy film, produced by Kim Jorgensen, Larry Kostroff, and Robert K. Weiss, and directed by John Landis. Among the numerous star cameos are George Lazenby, Bill Bixby, Henry G ...

. She has openly discussed her sexuality and has been a representative for the

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was star ...

, as well as covered athletes preparing for the competitions.L.A.'s Most Wanted
/ref>

References

External links

Interview with Saskia Webber on Afterellen.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Webber, Saskia Living people 1971 births Rutgers Scarlet Knights women's soccer players American women's soccer players New York Power players Philadelphia Charge players United States women's international soccer players Olympic soccer players of the United States 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players Women's United Soccer Association players Soccer players from New Jersey Lesbian sportswomen LGBT association football players People from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Middlesex County, New Jersey Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players OKI FC Winds players Expatriate women's footballers in Japan American expatriate women's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Japan Women's association football goalkeepers Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics American people of German descent LGBT people from New Jersey American LGBT sportspeople African-American women's soccer players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American women