Jon M. Fishman - Abby Wambach

Abby Wambach

Jon M. Fishman

Copyright 2014 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fishman, Jon M.
Abby Wambach / by Jon M. Fishman.
pages cm. (Amazing athletes)
Includes index.
ISBN 9781467721417 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper)
ISBN 9781467724364 (eBook)
1. Wambach, Abby, 1980 2. Women soccer playersUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile
literature. 3. Soccer playersUnited StatesBiographyJuvenile literature. I. Title.
GV942.7.W36F57 2014
796.334092dc23 [B] 2013022665

Manufactured in the United States of America
1 BP 12/31/13

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abby Wambach (front right) tries
to score a goal against Canada.

A CHANCE FOR GOLD

Abby Wambach and her teammates were
struggling. The US Womens National Team
trailed the Canada Womens National Team
by one goal, They were playing in a
semifinal match at the 2012 Olympic Games

in London, England. The winner would go on to
play in the gold medal match a few days later.
Its hard to score goals in soccer. Many soccer
matches end with just one or two balls in the
nets. But Team USA had already scored twice.
Abby knew they could do it again and tie the
game. Even when they scored their third goal,
there was something in me that knew that we
had more, that we could give more, Abby said.

Abby (second from right) and her
teammates celebrate another goal.

Abby takes a
penalty kick

The referee called a penalty a few minutes
after Canadas third goal. She said that a
Canadian player had touched the ball with her
arm. Soccer rules dont allow a player to touch

the ball with her
arms or hands. The
referee gave Team
USA a penalty kick.

The US team
wanted their
best scorer to

take the kick. They
chose Abby.

Abby set the ball
on the grass and

stepped back. She looked from the ball to the
goal. When the referee blew her whistle, Abby
stepped forward and launched the ball.

It raced across the grass.
The ball bounced off the left
goal post and into the net!
The game was tied,
After minutes, the
match was still tied. The
game went into extra time.
Neither team could score
in the minutes of extra time. Then, in the

third minute of injury time,
the match finally ended.
Abbys teammate Alex Morgan
knocked a header into the
back of the net. Team USA
would have a chance to win
the gold medal.

Alex Morgan drives the ball down the field.

Most soccer
matches have
two halves of
minutes each. If
the match is tied
after the second
half, the teams
play a 30- minute
extra - time period.

US coach Pia
Sundhage knew
the gold medal
match a few days
later would be
hard. But she also
knew her team
would fight for the
win. The team
refuses to lose,
Sundhage said.

Coach Sundhage trains her
team to go for the gold medal.

GROWING UP SPORTY

Becoming one of the top athletes in a sport
isnt easy. It takes years of work and practice.
The best athletes often get a lot of support
from their families as they grow up and learn
their sport. Abby had more support than most.

Abbys mom (left) shares her
excitement over a US victory

Pittsford is a suburb of Rochester, New
York. It lies close to Lake Ontario.

Abby likes to
spend time
outside. Biking
and camping are
two of her favorite
activities.

Mary Abigail Wambach was born on June 2,
1980, in Pittsford, New York. Her parents, Judy
and Peter, called her Abby. Abby has two older
sisters, Beth and Laura. She also has four older
brothers, Andy, Peter, Matthew, and Patrick.
The Wambachs are an
athletic family. I played
every sport that my brothers
and sisters played, Abby
said. She and her brothers
and sisters had a lot of fun
at home. We had a pool in

our backyard, so I swam a bunch, Abby said.
Abbys siblings didnt go easy on her just
because she was younger. My brothers never
let me win, although they would probably beg
to differ, she said. Growing up in a house full
of older athletes
made Abby better.
She always worked
hard to keep up.
Abby joined her
first youth team at
the age of four. She
showed a special
talent for soccer.
She played on the
girls team and
scored goals in
her first three games.

Abby first played soccer on a youth
team for both boys and girls. The kids
in this photo also play youth soccer.

Her parents and coaches decided to move
her to the boys team. Abby felt right at home.
She was used to playing against her brothers.
Abby played many different sports growing
up. But by the time she reached high school,
it was time to focus on one or two. She chose
soccer and basketball.

GATOR GIRL

Abby was a standout basketball player in high