Back to Her Nature

It was another goal among so many, a nifty little chip shot over the goalkeeper from just outside the penalty area in the 57th minute of a 7-0 rout of Ukraine in a friendly at the University of Portland on July 10.

But for Tiffeny Milbrett, veteran forward for the U.S. women’s national soccer team, it was so much more.

“For me, what it means is, I’m not done,” said Milbrett, who will play forward today when the U.S. plays Iceland at the Home Depot Center. “I’m back, and it feels great, because I want to be here.”

That wasn’t the case in 2004, when Milbrett sat out the year even though she was poised to achieve milestones for appearances (she had 199) and goals (she had 99). She left the national team over “a difference in philosophy” with April Heinrichs, convinced that the coach’s tactical approach wasn’t right for her or the team. And she stuck by her decision, even though it kept her from her third Olympics.

“I just think you had two people who felt differently about how the game should be played and how a coach should allow players -- professional and elite players -- to make decisions based on what the game’s giving you,” Milbrett said. “We should be basing what we do out there on our instincts, and expertise, and what we see, not any pre-determined way. I wanted to be able to make the decisions out on the field.”

That she walked away one game and one goal away from milestones stunned some of her longtime teammates.

“I really thought she was done,” said former team captain Julie Foudy, who retired after the U.S. won the gold medal at the Athens Games last summer. “I thought she’d had it, not only with the coaching, but also with playing soccer.

“I think what has always made Millie unique is that she has always gone her own way. She’s always been an independent thinker, and a lot of times that’s a good thing. But sometimes, it’s not such a good thing within the framework of a team. And I think she knew that, and in the end, she did what was best for the team.”

Heinrichs, who resigned in February, could not be reached for comment. She and Milbrett haven’t spoken since a telephone call in January 2004 in which the player said she was quitting.

“I was always gauging where I was inside, and if I could go through it and suck it up enough,” said Milbrett, 32. “And it just got to a point where it was just, ‘Well, no.’ If I can’t be the player I should be out there, that got me to the national team, then I can’t do it.”

There were other factors as well.

WUSA, the women’s professional soccer league, folded in September 2003. As a result, Milbrett anticipated increased amounts of time spent in residency camp, practicing a system of soccer in which she didn’t believe. Mounting frustration was exacerbated by the pain that Milbrett felt after the death of her mentor, friend and father figure, Clive Charles.

Charles, a former U.S. national team and University of Portland coach, died of prostate cancer in August 2003. Nearly two years later, Milbrett’s eyes still fill with tears and her voice breaks as she speaks of Charles -- which she still sometimes does in the present tense.

“People refer to him as just being my coach, but he was much more than that. He was the one man that I absolutely trusted,” Milbrett said. “Every decision, every opinion he gave me was valuable and the best thing for me, and I trusted him. So he’s not just a coach. He was a full-on mentor and father figure.... I think of him all the time, every day.”

The Portland native, who set a school record with 103 goals while playing under Charles in college, moved past her decision to leave the national team more easily than she has her coach’s death.

Milbrett used her time away from the national team to relax and heal, both emotionally and physically. She had surgery on an injured right knee, and spent a season coaching soccer at Tigard (Ore.) High. Then she headed overseas to play for a Swedish club team -- which lasted for two months. Greg Ryan took over for Heinrichs in April and by May had contacted Milbrett about returning to the national team.

“I never wanted to have to step away. I had my eye on it ever since, absolutely,” Milbrett said. “But it wasn’t a goal, and it wasn’t a necessity. The only reason I came back was to feel good as a player on the field.”

Milbrett’s first match back -- that 200th international appearance -- was in a 2-0 victory over Canada on June 26. She had last played for the U.S. on Nov. 3, 2003, against Mexico.

Her career achievements place her in select company. Only five players -- all American -- have played in 200 or more international games and six have scored 100 goals. And she seems no worse for the layoff, still scoring off the dribble and creating open shots for others.

“I think she’s stepped right back into her role,” fellow forward Abby Wambach said. “She’s a goal-scorer, and to have somebody on your roster that, when they get into the game you know they’re going to produce, is great.”

Milbrett’s landmark 100th goal, scored in the otherwise ordinary friendly against Ukraine, completed the comeback.

“I think I really appreciated the quality of that goal,” she said. “It wasn’t just a tap-in. It was me seeing something and making something great out of a shot.”

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Today’s game

The. U.S. women’s soccer team will play Iceland in an exhibition today:

* When: 2 p.m.

* Where: Home Depot Center, Carson.

* TV: ESPN2.

* About the U.S.: The United States will be finishing a three-game summer schedule with the match. The U.S. (6-0-0) is unbeaten and has not given up a goal in 2005, holding an 18-0 margin. Absent from the match will be three-time Olympian Kristine Lilly, the second-leading points-scorer in U.S. history, who has been running a summer camp in Connecticut this week.

* About Iceland: The team might be hurt by the absence of sisters Asthildur Helgadottir and Thora Helgadottir. Asthildur is the team’s playmaker and most experienced player, Thora its top goalkeeper.

* History: The U.S. leads the series between the teams with a 6-0-1 record, including 4-3 and 3-0 victories in two friendlies last September that were part of the United States’ 2004 Fan Celebration Tour.

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Milestones

A selection of Tiffeny Milbrett’s significant goals for the U.S. women’s national team:

*--* 1 Aug. 16, 1992 -- Her first goal in her third game, a 4-2 loss to Norway. 10 June 6, 1995 -- Her first goal in World Cup play, in a 3-3 tie with China. 25 Aug. 1, 1996 -- The winning goal in a 2-1 decision over China to give the U.S. the first women’s soccer Olympic gold medal. 46 Sept. 18, 1998 -- Capped a two-goal performance in a 4-0 victory over Russia, in her 100th international appearance. 82 Sept. 28, 2000 -- Her dramatic injury-time goal sent the Olympic final into overtime, before the U.S. lost, 3-2, to Norway. 94 Nov. 2, 2002 -- Her fifth goal in a 9-0 victory over Panama enabled her to tie the U.S. one-game record. 99 Oct. 11, 2003 -- Capped a 3-1 victory over Canada at the Home Depot Center in the World Cup’s third-place game. 100 July 10, 2005 -- Playing at her alma mater, the University of Portland, she became only the sixth player to reach the 100-goal mark, during a 7-0 victory over Ukraine.

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