Headed for Beijing, she's making it count

Angela Hucles said she's not interested in trying to play hero.

So how come she's so good at it?

Twice within a seven-week span this spring, Hucles, formerly best known as a consummate role player, rescued the U.S. women's national soccer team in stoppage time with dramatic, game-winning goals.

"One of the greatest feelings in soccer," said Hucles, a former star at Norfolk Academy and the University of Virginia.

Local soccer fans tuning into the Beijing Olympics should get a kick out of it, too. For years, Hucles sightings on the biggest stages were often confined to wide camera angles of the U.S. sideline. But that was before she recast herself as a late-match, go-to finisher.

If the national team gets the chance to celebrate this time, the Virginia Beach native could well have had a hand in things.

"I look at her and smile," U.S. national team coach Pia Sundhage said. "Something happened. I don't know what. I think it was her teammates and her team, and she decided this is it. She changed her speed and became better."

It's not as if she was a stiff before this year; no one with a gold medal and 75 international game appearances since 2002 comes close to fitting that description.

Minutes have been scarce throughout most of those appearances, however. She appeared in just two matches during the 2004 Olympics. And heading into this year, she hadn't scored a goal in international competition since 2004.

That Hucles was still a perennial choice for the national team spoke to her versatility - Sundhage said she excels at all aspects of midfield play - and willingness to accept less-glamorous roles.

"I'm not the type of personality to make a big fuss or scream if I don't play," she said.

The redefining of Hucles' role appears to have started with the selection of Sundhage as the national team's coach in November. In Hucles, Sundhage saw a low-mileage veteran with great fitness, technique and technical acumen.

She just needed to turn it loose.

"It's all about changing speed, being unpredictable," Sundhage said. "We showed her video and talked to her. All of a sudden, she got it."

Hucles first stepped into the spotlight May 3, when her injury-time goal lifted the United States to a

5-4 win against Australia. In June, Hucles struck again with a stoppage-time free kick that gave her team a 1-0

victory against Canada in the title match of the Peace Queen Cup.

"She's definitely given me more of an opportunity," Hucles said of Sundhage. "And I guess I'm doing a better job of taking advantage of those opportunities."

Hucles' play has helped the United States rebound from the disastrous 2007 World Cup, the low point of which was a 4-0 semifinal loss to Brazil. This year, the United States will take a 19-0-1 mark into Beijing.

The emergence of Hucles became even more significant in July after forward Abby Weinbach, the team's leading scorer, went down with a knee injury.

"I don't think we have the star, but we will get three or four stars," Sundhage said.

In addition to collecting another gold medal, winning it all in Beijing would be a financial windfall for Hucles. Under a deal struck by the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association in 2006, Hucles could earn up to $200,000 in salary, bonuses and appearance fees with a successful run in China.

A t 30, Hucles knows this could be her final Olympics. She has already begun planning for life after soccer and hopes to soon have her real estate license. "It's kind of a hidden passion," she said.

But another women's professional league could launch next spring; Hucles sounds like someone who wants to be a part of it.

"There's still a lot of things I want to do professionally involving soccer," she said. "But, at this stage, I have to take it day by day.

"So right now, I just need to focus on the Olympics."

Paul White, (757) 418-1447, paul.white@pilotonline.com