Author: Obrey Brown

A Redlands Connection is a concoction of sports memories emanating from a city that once numbered less than 20,000 people. From pro football’s Super Bowl to baseball’s World Series, from dynamic soccer’s World Cup to golf’s and tennis’ U.S. Open, major auto racing, plus NCAA Final Four connections, Tour de France cycling, more major tennis like Wimbledon, tiny connections to that NBA and a little NHL, major college football, Kentucky Derby, aquatics and Olympic Games, that sparkling little city sits around halfway between Los Angeles and Palm Springs on Interstate 10. — Obrey Brown.

It couldn’t have been a better sports Redlands reporting summer in 2001. It was, at least, glamorous for a local sports editor, that’s myself, who sought sports news for a local reading public that rejoiced over such information.

Heather Aldama was playing pro soccer for the Boston Breakers.

Landon Donovan was up in San Jose, playing for the Earthquakes. Donovan, for his part, would eventually become arguably Team USA’s greatest player.

Aldama had been a strongly amazing scorer before graduating Redlands High just as Donovan was arriving at that campus 1995-1996. The Lady Terriers, built around Aldama’s goal-scoring and goal-producing passes, won four league championships with plenty of hard-commencing CIF-Southern Section playoffs.

In one season alone, she racked up a phenomenal 38 goals and 22 assists. Over four seasons at Redlands, Aldama was All-CIF Southern Section each year. Her Lady Terrier teams reached the CIF quarterfinals twice and the semifinals once. That post-season play usually stood in the top tier of Division 1.

Aldama, surrounded by terrific talent along with talented coach Rolando Uribe who had been a scoring phenom for RHS’ boys side a few years earlier.

Part of a Southern California Blues side that won a state Under-19 title is, most likely, what landed Aldama in the collegiate spotlight; and, eventually, a professional move.

Besides the Olympics and those American male stars in the World Cup, Donovan racked up U.S. pro time in San Jose, Calif.

That summer of 2001 was great for a small-town daily sports editor – Aldama and Donovan.

SUMMER STOPS: ALDAMA, DONOVAN

The way it works on a small daily newspaper basis is simple. Real simple. You’re obligated to produce as much local copy as possible. Such a routine wasn’t necessarily so simple during non-school summer athleticism. High school – Redlands, Redlands East Valley and a growing Arrowhead Christian Academy – was holding off between June and September.

Due to shrinking budgets, the Associated Press wire services were all but unavailable to produce a sports section. Local copy was becoming even more mandatory.

You’d have to make up for it with all-star baseball results, country club golf results, bowling scores from the local House, maybe some Junior Olympic swimming results courtesy of Redlands Swim Team, while we followed the exploits of that year’s Redlands Bicycle Classic racists throughout their summer seasons.

But when that pair of soccer-playing, midfield scorers put on their professional uniforms, they attracted plenty of attention.

That summer, though, was great. For me. For readers. You rarely read much in the county or regional newspapers about either player. Each time in that summer 2001 Aldama, or even Donovan took the field – Aldama’s first season Boston, Donovan’s first season for the San Jose Earthquakes.

It was an opportunity for local coverage.

It almost defied the odds when AP would often staff plenty of shots for both Aldama and Donovan. A handful of photos from their matches would come across the wire on game nights. Both players, Aldama and Donovan, showed up in photos of those local sports pages in their hometown.

In a way, it almost defied the odds. At any point on a soccer pitch, there are 22 players. One AP photographer. It seemed like every match included a shot of those Redlanders. It’s not hard to really imagine. Aldama and Donovan were playmakers. Photographers like action. Their lenses are usually aimed toward those making plays.

Those AP shots filled at least one-third of that sports page. It’s one way to fill a local sports section.

This is an example of a photo that was available to the local sports desk in Redlands during summer play in WUSA. While Redlands’ Heather Aldama walks off the field in disappointment, the Washington Freedom is celebrating a playoff semifinals triumph (photo by Women’s United Soccer Association).

SANTA CLARA, A COLLEGE CHOICE

Unlike Donovan, who skipped college to play the European pro leagues in his midteens, Aldama chose NCAA powerhouse Santa Clara University as her collegiate stop. Four seasons of varsity play as a Lady Terrier attacker, plus her club-playing roots, she left for a top-collegiate program.

There were some highlights for this Lady Bronco. As a freshman in 1997, Aldama nailed a game-winning goal against West Coast Conference rival Loyola-Marymount.

She played against No. 3 Florida in the 1998 NCAA semifinals, against No. 19 Brigham Young University, playing in virtually every big Santa Clara match during her 1997-2000 collegiate career.

Aldama netted a 16-yarder against third-ranked Nebraska in a 2-1 win over the Lady Huskers on Sept. 19, 1999. In an NCAA playoff match against UCLA that same season, she scored in the 23rd minute, assisting on another goal in a crucial win.

Against Connecticut in the NCAA quarterfinals one match later, Aldama assisted on a pair of Aly Wagner goals, helping produce a 3-0 triumph.

In other words, Aldama always seemed to find herself in the mix – scoring, setting up goals and other plays, streaking downfield to work her way open.

Once college was over, though, so what next?

REPLACING TEAM USA

Aldama was part of a replacement for Team USA at a Jan. 13, 2000 match in Adelaide, Australia. In an event called the Australia Cup, Aldama surfaced as a substitute in the championship match, 3-1, over the Matildas.

Team USA’s main side had boycotted the match.

Sherrill Kester, Danielle Slaton and Wagner, Aldama’s college teammate, scored in front of 3,500 at Hindmarsch Stadium.

Playing against a more experienced Matildas’ squad, the U.S. held a 20-6 shots advantage, plus a 10-5 edge in corner kicks. It was in the 82nd minute that Aldama fed Wagner for Team USA’s final goal.

Mandy Clemens was part of that team, plus Jenn Mascaro, Michelle French and Veronica Zepeda with Lakeyshia Beene in goal.

Team USA, 2-0-1 in the four-nation tournament, had the same record as Sweden – playing to a 0-0 draw– winning on goal differential, holding a plus-nine to Sweden’s plus-four. The Czech Republic and host Australia made up the remaining tournament qualifiers.

It was that 8-1 win over the Czech Republic that did it for Team USA.

Up next was the Sydney Olympics of 2000. Considering that Sydney, Australia would be the host of that year’s 2000 Olympics, it had to occur that Aldama could see Team USA action when the Summer Games started.

That American’s co-coach, Lauren Gregg, noted the team’s approach – contract protests. She told Associated Press that Team USA achieved its objectives.

“First,” Gregg told the media, “we won by playing some exciting, attacking soccer. Second, these players invested in their development every minute they were on the field and took every advantage of this opportunity.

“Finally,” she said, “these games gave us a chance to evaluate our young personalities against much more experienced players, which gives us extremely valuable information as we go forward toward the Olympics.”

Team USA, Olympic gold medalists in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012, took silver in the 2000 Sydney Games. That team was largely built around the same group of historic women that notched World Cup triumphs in Pasadena a couple years earlier.

Team USA beat Brazil, 1-0 in that semi final duel, the Americans reached the finals against Norway. Norway, a 1-0 triumph over Germany, got three goals in its 3-2 triumph over the Americans. Curious that that USA side knocked off Norway, 2-0, during Group F play.

Aldama, incidentally, was not part of that Team USA side.

SQUARING OFF AGAINST ’99 CUP

While USA’s women were forming a global powerhouse at the international stage, Aldama was on the bubble to crack onto a formidable national team that included the likes of Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers, Carla Overbeck, Kristine Lilly, Brandi Chastain, Cindy Parlow, Tiffeny Milbrett, Clemens, Tisha Venturini, Joy Fawcett, Shannon MacMillan, Julie Foudy and goalkeeper Brianna Scurry – huge stars among those American players.

Its most famous World Cup triumph in 1999 came in a 5-4 shootout win over China after a 0-0 draw through extended time. Chastain’s famous goal-winning shot was celebrated, spotted dropping to her knees, whipping off her jersey and photographed in her sports bra.

That match was played at the Rose Bowl in front of nearly a packed house while shown on live international TV. The U.S., who knocked off North Korea, Nigeria and Denmark in pool play, had beaten Germany, Brazil and China, all world soccer powers. 

By contrast, Team USA’s men had never been able to produce a winning equation during World Cup play – with Donovan.

Aldama had a few national team appearances. The timing of her departure from Santa Clara, however, was met with the formation of a new pro women’s soccer league.

DONOVAN: TEAM USA’S BEST

It cannot be held back.

Donovan’s career has carried a long way, perhaps considered one of this country’s top male players, perhaps even through 2024. It’s hard to make it that Aldama, USA’s women’s side, doesn’t even compare to the men’s side.

It can’t compare. To this day, Team USA’s women has worked itself way past the men, regardless of, say, Donovan versus Aldama. Seems like he played plenty for sides in Europe, plus huge brilliance over nearly two decades as U.S. professional at both San Jose, but more at Los Angeles.

He played at plenty of growth for Americans – scoring hundreds of goals, setting up with dozens of assists, brilliant attacks against virtually every major opponent.

Unlike Aldama, Donovan was an Olympian, a Team USA part of the World Cup appearances – never champions.

Unlike Donovan, however, Aldama came close to reaching USA’s women’s highly-smoked international attack.

SETTING STAGE FOR WUSA

In 2001, the Women’s United Soccer Association, or WUSA, was created. One of the founding eight teams was the Boston Breakers. That league lasted three seasons.

Aldama was part of that Breakers’ side that included Lilly, plus Kate Sobrero and Tracy Ducar. International players came over from Germany – Maren Meinhart and Bettina Wiegmann, plus Norway’s Dagny Mellgren and Ragnhild Gulbrandsen.

Aldama showed up in Boston, courtesy of being the 28th player selected in a 2001 draft, that being a fourth-round pick by the Breakers. They played the former Redlands High/Santa Clara scoring gem on defense.

It was tough beginnings for Boston, which played to an 8-10-3 mark in its inaugural season, following that up with a 6-8-7 mark in 2002 – but no playoffs.

Matches were played at Nickerson Field in Boston. The team was owned by Amos Hostetter, Jr., who had served as chairman of C-SPAN Network.

That third and final season, though, under coach Pia Sundhage, former Norwegian scoring playmaker, was a little different. Boston finished 10-4-7 and reached the semifinals before a shootout against the Washington Freedom ended the Breakers’ season.

Aldama, wearing jersey No. 12, missed a shot in the penalty kick phase. Eventually, when WUSA suspended operations because of cash slowness, that was about it for the 25-year-old Aldama.

The Breakers reappeared, however – twice.

In 2007, they showed up as part of the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS), folding in 2012. After that, the Breakers became part of the Women’s Pro Soccer League Elite.

Who was Aldama playing against in WUSA?

It was that same core group of 1999 World Cup players.

Aldama was attacking the likes of Scurry, plus defending against the all-star talents of Fawcett, MacMillan, Akers, Parlow, Milbrett, Venturini, Foudy, Hamm, Chastain and Clemens, among others, perhaps considered among America’s best players.

In a July 3, 2003 match between Aldama’s Breakers and the Washington Freedom, Aldama notched her first professional goal in the 66th minute. There were 8,105 fans at Boston’s Nickerson Field to witness the two sides play to a 1-1 draw.

That shot was a curving, 25-yarder into the upper right hand corner of the net.

Such brilliance of such a shot lifted from Redlands.