Hug For Haitian Goalie Shows U.S. Team's Spirit
Soccer blowouts are usually a cause for celebration, but when the American under-17 women's soccer team beat their Haitian counterparts 9-0 in a regional soccer tournament in Costa Rica, the victory was bittersweet.
U.S. goalie Bryane Heaberlin tells NPR's Melissa Block that when the final whistle blew after the March 10 game and the two teams shook hands, she noticed Haitian goalkeeper Alexandra Coby was still on the ground. Heaberlin says she and the rest of the team walked toward Coby.
"I opened my arms and gave her a hug," she says. "And everybody else joined in in the hug."
Heaberlin says that before the game, the team had read an article that said most of the Haitian team had been made homeless by the devastating January earthquake.
"I knew everything that she [Coby] had gone through before the game, and I knew how tough it had to have been for her," Heaberlin says. "So I just thought a hug would help her a lot."
After the game, the mood of the U.S. team was somber.
"Nobody was happy about the win," Heaberlin says. "We were all so taken [aback] by what had just happened, and we were all just thinking about all of the great things that we have in our lives."
The Haiti earthquake weighed on the U.S. team's mind even before the games. Heaberlin says that before the tournament, U.S. Soccer had the idea of each player bringing a bagful of cleats, soccer gloves and other equipment for the Haitian players.
"We didn't really know how much impact it would have on them, but I think it had a really great impact on the Haitians," she says.
Defender Olivia Brannon read a letter to the Haitians, thanking the team for inspiring the Americans to play great soccer and commending them for everything they had been through.
"Seeing the Haitians smile," Heaberlin says, "was amazing for all of us."
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MELISSA BLOCK, host:
Every once in a while, though not often enough, there's a story that makes you realize great sportsmanship and pure human decency are alive and well. And we're going to hear now about an emotional moment on a soccer field that proves the point. It involves a girls soccer team from Haiti and one from the U.S.
The two teams were playing at an international under-17 women's championship in Costa Rica. The girls are in high school, 15 to 17 years old, and the Haitian team was badly outmatched. The U.S. girls trounced them nine to nothing. But it was what happened after the game that's so memorable.
U.S. goalie Bryane Heaberlin joins us from Alajuela, Costa Rica, to tell us about it. Hi, Bree.
Ms. BRYANE HEABERLIN: Hi.
BLOCK: And tell us about those moments. The final whistle blew at the end of the game. You saw the Haitian goalie collapse to the ground in tears. What happened after that?
Ms. HEABERLIN: When the whistle blew, the U.S. team shook hands with the Haitian team at midfield. And as we were walking back towards our bench, I noticed that the Haitian goalkeeper was still lying on the ground. I and my team walked towards her. As we did, her coach helped her to her feet and I opened my arms and gave her a hug. And everybody else joined in in the hug.
BLOCK: And that group hug around the Haitian goalie apparently went on for -seemed like a minute and a half.
Ms. HEABERLIN: Yes.
BLOCK: What were you thinking during that time?
Ms. HEABERLIN: Well, I knew everything that she had gone through before the game and I knew how tough it had to have been for her. So, I just thought that a hug would help her a lot.
BLOCK: You mean you were thinking about the earthquake in particular?
Ms. HEABERLIN: Yes.
BLOCK: Do you know any individual stories from that Haitian team? Anybody that you heard about who lost family members or friends?
Ms. HEABERLIN: Yes. Prior to the game, the team and I were in a room and we read an article and it said that the backup goalkeeper had lost both of her parents, and that almost every player on the team was homeless.
BLOCK: So I'm trying to picture what happens next. You leave the field, you go into your locker room, and I've seen a picture of the team. It looks like your team has lost. You're all completely serious and apparently some of you were still in tears.
Ms. HEABERLIN: Yes. Nobody was happy about the win. We were also taken back by what had just happened. And we were all just thinking about all of the great things that we have in our lives. I remember one of our defenders, Olivia, making a comment, saying - she was saying that her mom and her aunt were in the stands watching that game and how the Haitian players might not ever have anybody to be able to watch their soccer games again.
BLOCK: Bryane, it sounds like this was on your team's mind well before you got to Costa Rica. Weeks before you'd been thinking about the earthquake in Haiti. Why don't you tell us what the team decided to do?
Ms. HEABERLIN: We had a camp before we left for Costa Rica, and during that camp, Morgan Bryan(ph) suggested that we should do some sort of fundraiser or something for Haiti. And U.S. Soccer came up with a really great idea of each player bringing a bag full of cleats, soccer gloves, everything you could think of that a teenage soccer player would like. We didn't really know how much of an impact it would have on them. But I think it had a really great impact on the Haitians.
BLOCK: What was it like when you did that?
Ms. HEABERLIN: It was terrific. We had Olivia Brannon read a letter thanking the Haitians for inspiring us to play our greatest soccer and commending them for everything that they had been through. And then the exchange - we each grabbed their bags and gave them to a Haitian player. And seeing the Haitians smile was amazing for all of us.
BLOCK: Bryane Heaberlin, thanks so much. It's great to talk to you.
Ms. HEABERLIN: You're welcome. Thank you.
BLOCK: Bryane Heaberlin is the goalie for the U.S. girls soccer team competing at the international under-17 women's championship in Costa Rica. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
