Catch up with the Gators in 2010 Women's Professional Soccer
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 | Soccer
Three Gator All-Americans played for Women's Professional Soccer teams this season – Stacy Bishop, Heather Mitts and Abby Wambach. Catch up with the Gators below.
Stacy Bishop
Stacy Bishop joined the Atlanta Beat for its inaugural season in 2010 after being acquired as a free agent from the Boston Breakers. She played in 22 matches and started for 18 of them and had one assist. Bishop started her professional career with the Central Florida Krush, where she made 27 appearances and scored nine goals. She began her collegiate career with the LSU Tigers, but transferred to Florida, where she was named an NSCAA All-American (1996), NSCAA Academic All-American in 2006 & 2007 and semi-finalist for the 2007 MAC Hermann Trophy.
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Heather Mitts
Fellow US Women's National teammate and Gator All-American Heather Mitts' season was plagued with injuries, but she did appear in 17 matches this season for the Philadelphia Independence, including the WPS Championship match on Sept. 26. Mitts is an active member of the US Women's National Team and competed in the 2010 Algarve Cup. She has also won two gold medals with the U.S. Olympics squad, at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and in 2004 in Athens. As a Gator, she was an all-time leader in games played, starts and minutes played and was a member of four consecutive SEC title teams (1996-99). She helped the team claim the 1998 NCAA Championship and earned NSCAA All-America honors in her final two seasons (1998 and 1999). Mitts began her professional career in 2000 with the Tampa Bay Extreme of the W-League before joining the newly formed Women's United Soccer Association.
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Abby Wambach
In her career with the Washington Freedom, Abby Wambach has been a key player for her team and in women's soccer. Wambach, the Freedom's captain, finished second in the league this season in goals (13) and shared second in assists (8). As the top vote-getter in the WPS All-Star lineup, she was captain of the “Abby XI” team against the “Marta XI” team in the 2010 WPS All-Star game. She has also been a regular on the US Women's National Team since 2003 and is the third-highest scorer for the team, with more than 100 goals in international play. She scored a goal in the final match of the 2010 Algarve Cup in Portugal this spring to propel the US Women's National Team to a 3-2 win over Germany. She also scored a game-winning goal against Brazil in overtime at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, leading the team to a gold medal. As a four-year starter for the Gators, Wambach set numerous records and was a member of the 1998 NCAA Championship team. She was the first soccer player in league history to receive the SEC Player of the Year award two consecutive seasons (2000 and 2001) and earned NSCAA All-America first-team honors in 1999 and 2001. She was the second overall pick in the 2002 draft for the now-defunct WUSA league and named Rookie of the Year in 2002.
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