Kara Lang
| Kara Elise Lang | |
|---|---|
 |
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| College | UCLA |
| Conference | Pac 10 |
| Sport | Soccer |
| Position | Forward |
| Class | Redshirt junior |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Weight | 155 lb (70 kg) |
| Nationality | CAN |
| Born | October 22, 1986 Calgary, Alberta |
| High school | St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Oakville, Ontario |
Kara Elise Lang (born October 22, 1986) is a retired Canadian soccer player, who represented her country in two FIFA World Cups and the Olympic Games, and played club soccer for Vancouver Whitecaps Women. She is the youngest woman to be named to Canada National Women's Team, making her National Team debut on March 1 2002 at the Algarve Cup in Portugal at age 15.[1] Lang retired on January 5, 2011 at the age of 24 due to recurring knee and ACL injuries.[1]
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[edit] Early life
She was born in Calgary, Alberta and raised in Oakville, Ontario.[2]
[edit] Career
[edit] College career
Kara was ranked as the #1 recruit in the 2005 recruiting class, and chose to attend the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) where she is studying communications with an aim of a future career in broadcast journalism. Lang was named as a preseason All-American, which is a notably achievement for a freshman. The UCLA Bruins, under head coach Jillian Ellis, compiled an overall record of 22–2–2 in the 2005–2006 season, was ranked 4th nationally, and won the PAC-10 title on the strength of excellent team defence.
Lang started her college career with a splash, scoring a hat-trick in her second game. In the 2005 NCAA tournament, Lang was at her finest, scoring eight goals in six games.[3] Lang's UCLA Bruins met the University of Portland in the NCAA final, where Lang came up against one of her international teammates, Christine Sinclair; Portland won the title with a 4–0 win. Lang finished her Freshman year at UCLA with 17 goals and six assists in 24 games, finishing second in team scoring behind Danesha Adams.
She took a medical redshirt in the 2006 season after tearing an ACL during the offseason, and will have three more years of athletic eligibility at UCLA.
2007; played in 17 matches starting 16. Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 selection. Scored both goals in a 2–1 overtime victory over Portland on Sept. 28, her first college match since the 2005 NCAA Final (missed the entire 2006 season with an ACL injury). Ended the season with 17 points on seven goals and three assists. Tallied the game-winning goal in a 2–0 victory over Washington State on Nov. 9. Scored the Bruins' second goal in a 3–2 double-overtime victory over Portland in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Honorable Mention All-Pac-10 Academic selection.
2008; played in 24 matches, starting in 23, scoring five goals and assisting on nine. Helped UCLA to an unbeaten season of 18–0–2 (9–0 in conference play). Earned second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII honors. Scored a goal and 2 assists in the 1st round of the College Cup. Lost 1–0 in the semi finals to UNC.
[edit] Club career
Lang was affiliated with the Vancouver Whitecaps club in the W-League, after signing with the club in 2003.[4] The Whitecaps were the 2004 W-League Champions, and 3rd place finishers in 2005. Lang has scored 9 goals in 19 career games for the Whitecaps from 2003 to 2005.
On 25 March 2009 signed a contract with Pali Blues, she will play in the United Soccer Leagues W-League.[5] She scored her 1st goal for the club on May 17 vs the Real Colorado Cougars.
On Monday, March 15, 2010, the Vancouver Whitecaps confirmed that the 23-year-old midfielder/forward has signed a one-year deal for the USL W-League season, which starts May 30.[6] She last played for the club in 2006. Lang is coming off her second right-knee ACL tear, sustained in September 2009 during her senior season at UCLA.
[edit] International career
Lang holds the women's football world record for youngest player to score a full international goal. She scored against Wales at the Algarve Cup on 3 March 2002 at age 15 years, 132 days. Her senior debut, two days earlier, was a Canadian record for youngest senior women's cap.
At the 2002 FIFA U-19 World Championships, held in Edmonton, Alberta, as a 15-year-old, Lang scored three goals in six games and added a crucial penalty-kick goal under intense pressure in the semi-finals against Brazil. Canada lost in the final against their rivals in the United States.
At the age of 16, Lang played in all six of Canada's games at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003. Lang scored two goals in the World Cup (a tally each against Japan in the group stage, and against Sweden in the semi-finals). Lang's memorable free-kick goal in the semi-finals came in the 64th minute to give Canada a 1–0 lead against Sweden, but they would lose the game 2–1 and eventually finish in 4th place at the event.
Lang was an integral part of the 2004 CONCACAF U-19 Qualifying tournament in Ottawa, Ontario, where she played as a central defender at the request of head coach Ian Bridge. Lang proved to be a dominant force in defence paired with Emily Zurrer, and Canada captured the tournament title with a 2–1 extra-time victory over the United States. Despite high hopes, Canada lost in the quarterfinals against China in the 2004 U-19 World Championships in Thailand after being down a player for almost the entire game.
In the 2006 CONCACAF U-20 Qualifying tournament, Lang set a record for fastest goal (four seconds) when she scored from the opening kickoff against Mexico on 22 January 2006.[7] Kara participated in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 in China.
On August 6, 2008, Kara scored the winning goal for Canada in a 2–1 victory over Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Canada lost in the quarter-finals to United States.
Kara scored one goal in Canada's thrashing of Guyana for 8-0 during the 2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup qualifying tournament. She went on, along with her teammates, to win the tournament v Mexico in the final (1-0) on Nov 08, 2010. Unfortunately, this was her last appearance playing soccer, as recurring ACL and knee injuries, forced her to retire. She made the official announcement at an Oakville Soccer Club Press Conference on January 5th, 2011, in front of young fans, coaches, soccer club affiliaties, and press. "I have gotten everything out of this sport, and I have given this sport all that I have," she said about her retirement. Teammates Diana Matheson, Robyn Gayle, Carmelina Moscatto and Melanie Booth also noted that Kara was one of the most 'enthusiastic, hilarious, courteous and spontaneous people' that they ever knew, and were proud not only to have called her a teammate, but one of their best and lifelong friends.
[edit] Statistics
National team statistics
| Team | Caps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Women's Senior Team | 89 | 34 |
| Women's U-20 Team | 33 | 12 |
Major tournament statistics
| Year | Tournament | Games | Goals | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup | 5 | 4 | Runners-up |
| 2002 | FIFA Women's U-19 World Championships | 6 | 3 | Runners-up |
| 2003 | FIFA Women's World Cup | 6 | 2 | 4th place |
| 2004 | CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying | 5 | 0 | 3rd place (DNQ) |
| 2004 | CONCACAF Women's U-19 Qualifying | 5 | 2 | Winners |
| 2004 | FIFA Women's U-19 World Championships | 4 | 1 | Quarter-finalists |
| 2006 | CONCACAF Women's U-19 Qualifying | 3 | 1 | Runners-up |
| 2008 | FIFA Women's World Cup | 3 | 0 | 3rd in group |
| 2008 | Olympic Games | 4 | 1 | Quarter-finalists |
| 2010 | Cyprus Women’s Cup | Winners | ||
| 2010 | CONCACAF Women’s Cup | 1 | 1 | Winners |
Club and college statistics
| Season Totals | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | Min | Shots | SOG |
| 2003 | Vancouver Whitecaps | W-League | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 265 | – | – |
| 2004 | Vancouver Whitecaps | W-League | 5 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 285 | – | – |
| 2005 | Vancouver Whitecaps | W-League | 10 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 783 | 39 | – |
| 2005 | UCLA Bruins | NCAA | 24 | 17 | 6 | 40 | – | 101 | 41 |
| 2007 | UCLA Bruins | NCAA | 17 | 7 | 3 | 17 | – | 50 | 19 |
| 2008 | UCLA Bruins | NCAA | 24 | 5 | 9 | 19 | 1711 | 90 | 35 |
| 2009 | Pali Blues | W-League | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 2010 | Vancouver Whitecaps | W-League | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 332 | 9 |
[edit] External links
- Official National Team profile
- Official UCLA profile
- Official FIFA World Cup 2003 profile
- NCAA Women's Soccer
- "Kara Lang", JDG, Player Magazine, 2003
- "Inside Track", Teddy Katz, CBC Radio, 2003 (audio)
- "Kara's got kick", Terry Jones, Edmonton Sun, 2002
- Kara Lang – FIFA competition record
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b http://www.sirc.ca/news_view.cfm?id=38537
- ^ "Women's Team Goalscoring Leaders (CSA)" (PDF). 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-02-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20060207134700/http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/nationals/w_wc/scoringleaders.pdf. Retrieved 2006-04-16.
- ^ "2005 NCAA Women's College Cup". 2005. http://www.aggieathletics.com/specialsites/2005collegecup/sf2.php. Retrieved 2006-04-16.[dead link]
- ^ "Kara Lang Signs With Whitecaps (CSA)". 2003. http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=1070. Retrieved 2006-04-16.[dead link]
- ^ BLUES ADD UCLA TRIO WITH NATIONAL TEAM EXPERIENCE
- ^ Lang returns to the Whitecaps
- ^ "Canada Too Much For Mexico (CSA)". 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-02-06. http://web.archive.org/web/20060206122339/http://www.canadasoccer.com/eng/media/viewArtical.asp?Press_ID=2381. Retrieved 2006-04-16.
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