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WUSA's Lalor returns to spotlight
By Dean Caparaz, Soccer America A standout performance at the WUSA combine earned Jen Lalor a spot in New York. It also triggered her return to the U.S. national team, after an absence of five years. Jen Lalor didn't expect the WUSA combine to lead her back to the U.S. national team. The 26-year-old midfielder, who was a member of the U.S. World Cup '95 team, had just hoped to make an impression and get drafted. She had had a career typical of a high-level women's player who wasn't part of USA '99 or Sydney 2000. Lalor, who hadn't played for the national team since '95, knocked around the world's semiprofessional leagues after graduating from Santa Clara in 1997. She played for the Shiroki Serena in Japan's L-League during the '97-98 season. In 1998-99, she played for Denmark's Fredriksburg. She played for Sweden's Hammarby in late '99.
Last year, Lalor played for the WPSL's San Diego WFC. She stood out at a WPSL camp for WUSA coaches and earned an invitation to the WUSA combine in Florida. FASTER AFOOT. She made a big impression there, in part by finishing high in a speed test. That was an amazing feat for a player who, in her younger days, was not fleet of foot. Lalor credits her former Fredriksburg coach, Bo Nielsen, who put her on a training program that improved her speed dramatically. "Julie Foudy came up to me, and she couldn't believe how high I was up there," Lalor said. "When we competed with speed with the national team, I was always in the back with the keepers and Tisha [Venturini]." "She stood out," Washington coach Jim Gabarra said. "She has experience, is good on the ball and is a good link player. She's definitely fit." New York coach Pat Farmer drafted Lalor with the fifth pick in the second round, the 13th pick overall. NEW ATTITUDE. Lalor's combine performance also impressed U.S. coach April Heinrichs, who shocked Lalor by recalling her for the trip to China. She doubled her career scoring total with a goal in a 1-1 tie with China on Jan. 14. Lalor had been a fringe player in the first segment (1992-95) of her U.S. career. She appeared in 21 games but didn't play a minute in Sweden '95. Heinrichs, who was a U.S. assistant coach in Sweden, says that Lalor has improved since then but that the biggest improvement was not a physical one. "She played very well in China," Heinrichs said. "She's a very similar player technically, tactically, physically, not psychologically. The biggest difference for her is her confidence. When we selected her, we needed to look at the younger generation but also at players with emotional maturity, who've been through battles." Lalor agrees she has a better grip on her nerves than she used to. At the pre-Sweden training camp, when she made a mistake in practice, it dragged her down at the next practice. "Now I feel so free," she said. "My philosophy the past year was just doing what I enjoy doing. I'm not thinking about the mistakes I make. It's paid off." Dean Caparaz is an associate editor at Soccer America magazine.
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