"He just looked at me and said, 'Okay, it's 2:30. I'm going to see you tomorrow at 2:30. I'm going to start kicking your butt harder than ever.' And I looked at him. 'What are you talking about? I didn't make residency. The Olympics in '96 was only a 16-player roster. You know, they still have to cut eight to 10 players from the roster.’
"He just said, 'Look, you will have an opportunity. What's going to make the difference is are you going to be ready for that opportunity or are you still going to be feeling sorry for yourself. So, I'll give you 24 hours to mope and feel sorry for yourself.' I left his office going, 'Oh my God, Clive's lost his mind.' That next morning I woke up and really processed what he said. I realized this guy's never gone wrong by me. I took the leap of faith and went out there and worked twice as hard."
In February, the opportunity that Charles said would come, did. MacMillan and several other players were brought into camp to compete for a roster spot and the rest is Olympic and USWNT history. She scored several vital goals – including a “golden goal’ in the dramatic semifinal victory against Norway -- as the Americans won the first Olympic women's soccer gold medal. MacMillan would also go on to be a key member of the 1999 Women's World Cup championship team, earn 176 caps, score 60 goals and be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
