TAKE ME OUT, COACH!
The images of Brand Chastain and her teammates celebrating after winning the 1999 World Cup on penalty kicks are among the most iconic in sports history. Power, elation, and emotion on a showcase in a way that was groundbreaking for women’s sports at the time.
But for Markgraf, one of the youngest and least-capped players on the 99ers roster, there was another powerful feeling at the moment Chastain’s spot kick struck the back of the net: relief.
“In the first overtime, I went up to [USWNT head coach Tony DiCicco], and said ‘Please take me out, I can’t take a penalty kick. Please take me out.’,” Markgraf recalled. “And he’s like, ‘Don’t worry. I got you, I’ll take you out.’ But he was never going to take me out. He was lying to me so I could just forget about it and get through the second overtime period.”
In fact, Markgraf made a 50-plus yard run to snuff out a China attack at the very end of overtime in that World Cup Final to preserve the tie.
When the second overtime closed scoreless and match headed towards penalties, Markgraf was slated to kick tenth, one slot ahead of goalkeeper Briana Scurry. Yet a pivotal save by Scurry on China’s third penalty kick and successful attempts by the first four kickers for the WNT – Carla Overbeck, Joy Fawcett, Kristine Lilly, and Mia Hamm – set up decisive penalty for Chastain.
The rest is history.
“It was the biggest relief more than joy,” said Markgraf. “But then my second reaction was, ‘Oh my god, we did this.’”
