The greatest UP Athletes

By Bruce Garlinghouse, Staff Commentary -- The Beacon

1. Christine Sinclair

If women's soccer is to the University of Portland what football is to Ohio State, then our Archie Griffin is Christine Sinclair.

Women's Soccer Head Coach Garret Smith said he couldn't describe Sinclair because no words would do her justice. But if Charlie Sheen had the chance, he would most certainly describe her as a "Winner!" I agree with Mr. Sheen, which is why "Sinc" has grabbed the number one spot.

As a freshman, the Canadian native led all freshmen with 23 goals and eight assists, scoring the game-winning goal in the first of two National Titles. Sinclair left Portland in similar fashion, scoring two more in the 2005 National Championship game as the Pilots went on to beat UCLA 4-0.

"She came in a winner and left a winner," Smith said.

She was a prolific goal scorer who had an uncanny ability to find the back of the net. Over the course of her career on The Bluff, Sinclair scored 110 goals, was a four-time All-American, won two Hermann Trophies (most prestigious Player of the Year award in college soccer) back-to-back, was named WCC Player of the Year three times and was the epitome of a student-athlete, graduating with a 3.75 GPA in life sciences and named Academic All-American of the Year by ESPN The Magazine.

In Canada, she is a sports icon. At the age of 17 she already led the Canadian National Team in goals with 116 goals and won Player of the Year five times in a row from 2005 to 2010. In 2002 while a sophomore at UP, she was selected by the Globe Mail as one of the top 25 most influential Canadian Athletes, a list that included hockey greats Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.

"We used to threaten to steal her stuff and sell it on eBay if she was mean or didn't clean," former teammate and current UP Women's Soccer Assistant Coach Lisa Sari said.

Sinclair redshirted her junior season in order to make her first World Cup appearance. She scored three goals on soccer's biggest stage and helped Canada finish a respectable fourth place. She returned to the World Cup and netted three more in that tournament in only three games.

"I am so proud watching her play," Sari said. "She represents Portland so well, defines it really."

 

2. Kasey Keller

On the south side of Merlo Field are pictures of Portland's soccer immortals. And right next to my number one, Christine Sinclair, resides my close second, Kasey Keller.

Keller, who is arguably the best goalie the U.S. has ever produced, came to the University of Portland in 1988 and like Sinclair, immediately made an impact, helping the Pilots to a Final Four appearance in his first year.

"He was focused on getting the job done," current Head Coach Bill Irwin said. "He listened and was very coachable."

While Keller was at Portland, Irwin served as an assistant coach under Clive Charles and worked mainly with the goalies.

His senior season, Keller was selected as a first team All-American and was awarded the Adidas Goalie of the Year after being selected for the U.S. World Cup team in 1990.

"He came back from playing on the international team and he wasn't happy about what had happened so we spent the entire day working on his skills," Irwin said. "After everything that had happened he wasn't beaten and wanted to continue to work."

What is most impressive about Keller is his professional career and international careers.

Keller was the first UP alumnus to penetrate the European soccer scene. He has been a member of two English Premiere League teams, Millwall and Fulham, as well as teams in top-level leagues in Spain and Germany including the Segunda Division and Bundesliga. While on Borussia Mönchengladbach, he became the second American to captain a top-level German league team.

He was a part of the 1990 and 1998 World Cup teams and was selected as the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year three times in 1997, 1998 and 2005.

After 18 years playing professionally Keller has still got it. He currently ends the goal for the Seattle Sounders and told the New York Times he has turned down several offers from European clubs so his family can remain in Seattle.

 

Many were affected when Lebron James decided to take his talents to South Beach, including the University of Portland. Behind the "Big Three" is a UP alum and now Miami Heat Head Coach.

Spoelstra started at guard all four years for the Pilots, averaging 9.2 points, 4.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds a game over his career. He was selected WCC Freshman of the Year and is also a member of the Pilots' 1,000 points club.

After graduating, Spoelstra went to Germany as a player and coach on the TuS Herten, a German professional basketball team, before being hired as an assistant coach for the Heat in 1995. He would go on to be a part of the 2005-2006 World Championship team. He quickly worked his way up through the Heat organization and was selected to be Pat Riley's successor in 2008.

Despite getting off to a slow start, leaving many questioning Spoelstra's coaching abilities, the Heat are now 54-23 and are pushing for the number one spot in the east, all under the direction of Spoelstra. He has proven to be an effective coach who has been able to demand respect and faith from a star-studded group that many felt would walk all over him.

 

4. Tiffeny Milbrett

Before Sinclair graced the pitch at UP, Milbrett paved the way to soccer success on The Bluff. She was a three-time All- American who is near the top of every scoring category in Pilot history, ranking second in points and goals, and first in points and goals per game. In her first year at Portland she earned Soccer America's Freshman of the Year Award and in 1994 helped the Pilots get to the Final Four. She was a three-time finalist for the Hermann Trophy and was selected as a member of Soccer America's College Team of the Decade for the 1990s.

In 2001, she became a founding member of the New York Power in the Women's Soccer Association and was the league's MVP and Offensive Player of the Year.

But Milbrett's most influential impact on U.S. soccer came on the sports world's two biggest stages. After playing on a third-place 1996 World Cup team, Milbrett played a vital role on the 1996 Olympic Team, earning the U.S. a gold medal after netting the game-winning goal against China in the final game.

She returned to the World Cup team in 1999 and led the team in goals as they went on to win it that year. A year later, she helped the U.S. earn silver at the Sydney Olympics.

Milbrett currently ranks in the top five in the U.S. national team's history in three scoring categories.

 

5. Steven Cherundolo

Steven "Steve" Cherundolo rounds out my top five for the success he has achieved in Europe.

Cherundolo attended UP for only two years, earning Freshman of the Year honors, before being picked up by Hannover 96 of Germany's top-level league, Bundesliga.

"Steve was an exceptional player and still is. He is so popular in Germany they call him the Mayor of Hannover," Director of Soccer Bill Irwin said.

Cherundolo currently captains Hannover and has remained with the team since 1999. In his first year, he received substantial playing time before suffering a serious knee injury, one of may that would plague what could have been an historic career.

His success on Hannover granted him a spot on the U.S. National Team, but injury sidelined him again and prevented him from competing in the 2002 World Cup.

He played limited minutes in several other in ternational tournaments and friendlies because of injuries, but was still selected to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

As captain at Hannover he has helped the team move from the second level to the top level in the Bundesliga, which is considered one of the top soccer leagues in the world.