What a Kick: How a Clutch World Cup Win Propelled Women's Soccer

What a Kick: How a Clutch World Cup Win Propelled Women's Soccer — page 7
of kicks would begin Superstar Mia Hamm scored a penalty kick beyond the reach of goalkeeper Gao Hong Chastain later said all the sounds became muffled when she set the ball on the mark Still Chastain recalled I felt very confident My team trusted me Chastain curled her toes under and fired with the laces of her shoe This kind of shot is called an instep shot and it’s meant to be powerful but not necessarily accurate I didn’t hear any noise I didn’t look at Gao she recalled later As soon as the whistle blew I just stepped up and hit it I just kind of lost my mind The goalkeeper Gao read where the shot was going and dived the right way But Chastain had struck the ball so precisely and with such force Gao couldn’t react in time The ball flew into the upper right corner of the net out of Gao’s range The United States had won