12 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • AUGUST 2019
COVER FEATURE
LONG ISLAND’S ALLIE LONG AND CRYSTAL DUNN
BY PATRICK LONG
The United States Women’s National
Team are World Cup champions.
Again.
They were no underdogs. In fact, the
defending champs were the odds-on
favorites to win it all, but there are no
easy roads to greatness and the soccer
players of the USWNT proved as
much on their path to 2019 Women’s
World Cup glory in France in July.
Of the 23 women on the USWNT roster,
two of them hail from Long Island:
Defender Crystal Dunn of New Hyde
Park and my sister, midfielder Allie
Long, of Northport.
They battled through controversy
from game one, where the team’s
sportsmanship was called into
question after their exuberant goal
celebrations in a 13-0 record-setting
takedown of Thailand. Some called it
classless, others called it competitive
spirit. Regardless of international
opinion, the women continued to
dominate.
After going undefeated in the
group stages, the team moved
on to a ruthless gauntlet of
the world’s best women’s
soccer clubs in the elimination
round. They fought
through Spain, France,
England, and finally the
Netherlands on their
way to a record fourth
World Cup title. In total,
the women came
up against three of
the top five teams
on the Fédération
Internationale de
Football Association
(FIFA)
Women’s World
Rankings.
What followed their
2-1 defeat of the Netherlands
in the final round
was a victory lap for the
ages. After overcoming
another controversy
over a dropped
American flag during
their post-game
celebrations, the women boarded a
plane to New York City, where they
appeared on Good Morning America,
traversed the Canyon of Heroes in
their ticker tape parade, then flew out
to Los Angeles for the ESPYs where
they won the Excellence in Sports
Performance Yearly Award for Best
Team, all while championing
their fight for equal
pay with support
from
the likes
of Sandra
Bullock,
q u a r -
terback
A a r o n
R o d g -
e r s ,
t ennis
legend Billie Jean King, and many
others.
Being the little brother of a spectacularly
talented older sister has its
perks. It earned me the opportunity
to sit down with a world champion
and talk to her about her team’s amazing
World Cup victory, growing up
on Long Island, watching previous
USWNTs, and the
afterglow of winning
it all.
Crystal Dunn was
on a well-earned
vacation and
unavailable for
comment.
What’s your
earliest memory
of Youth
Center Soccer?
Well,
you had
a red or
white
interchangeable
jersey. I loved those. I
loved the orange slices at halftime.
And I always had my grandfather, or
mom, or dad. Someone was always at
my games. Youth Center was just all
about having fun and seeing if this
something you wanted to do.
Do you think the sport’s popularity
here played a big role in two local
women out of 23 in the entire country
making the National Women’s
Soccer League team? Definitely. Six
girls on my club team on Long Island
were all drafted into the NWSL. I attribute
that to Long Island being such
a great pocket for really good soccer
development.
You went to the Atlanta Olympics in
1996 to see the USWNT play. What
do you remember about that? My
grandfather took me and my mom.
The most important thing that I
remember is just being inspired and
wanting to be like USWNT players
Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy and Michelle
Akers and Brandi Chastain.
You didn’t know you’d be making
the roster until about a month or so
before the World Cup began. How
did that phone call feel? After
our final exhibition game,
USWNT coach Jill Ellis told
us she was going to call us
within two weeks. Once
that began I was just
waiting for that call.
When I got the call I
just instantly cried.
The USWNT was
the odds-on favorite
to win it all,
but you still met
plenty of strong
competition.
Did you have
to make a
conscious effort
as a team
to not let those
favorable odds go to
your head? We work
and we play as if we
are the best team in
the world. We train
as if we’re going to
win the World Cup.
We don’t even think
Allie Long, pictured on cover wrapped in
the American flag, grew up in Northport.
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