(May 9, 2008) – USA vs. Canada. It’s a rivalry built on sharp elbows, shoulder charges and assertive tackles.
No participant in this series that now stretches over two decades exemplified this hard, physical of style of play more than Charmaine Hooper. An intimidator and initiator, Hooper’s bordering on abrasive on-field manner helped raise Canada’s performance against its southern neighbor.
A starter in Canada’s first ever match, a 1-0 loss to the U.S. on July 7, 1986, Hooper endured the dreary games in the late ‘80s and ‘90s when the Americans routinely routed the Canucks by such scores as 9-1, 7-0 and 6-0. On August 20, 2000, she logged a full 90 minutes as Canada claimed its first point since 1986 against the U.S. in a 1-1 tie. In total, Hooper faced the red, white and blue 30 times and scored 10 goals in those matches.
(J. Brett Whitesell/isiphotos.com)
Charmaine Hooper last battled Lori Chalupny and the U.S. in her final Canadian National Team appearance on July 30, 2006.
“Nobody wants to lose and you’re going to do everything within the rules to win, to make that happen,” said the former Canadian National Team captain of lining up against the U.S. “Sometimes frustrations come out. With all that adrenaline going, I think those games can bring out the best and the worst in players.”
Hooper won’t be on the field for the latest incarnation of the rivalry, Saturday’s USA-Canada match at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. (7pm EST kickoff, USSoccer.com’s matchAccess). Just as she made her international debut against the U.S., the final cap of Hooper’s career came on July 30, 2006 versus the Yanks. This time the tension wasn’t limited to the match. It was boiling within the Canadian squad.
The W-League’s Eastern Conference semifinals were being held the same weekend. Canadian head coach Even Pellerud allowed four National Team players who were members of the Ottawa Fury to skip the match against the U.S. to compete in the semifinals on the basis that their club had approached him six months before the playoffs about that possibility. Meanwhile, Hooper’s club, the New Jersey Wildcats, had also reached the W-League’s Eastern Conference semifinals. When Pellerud received New Jersey’s request six days prior club’s playoff game, he denied Hooper and teammate Karina LeBlanc the opportunity to suit up for the Wildcats and kept them on Canada’s roster.
Playing in opposite semifinal matches, the Fury and Wildcats both advanced to the W-League’s Eastern Conference Final where Ottawa, aided by its four National Team players, edged New Jersey, 3-2. For the top-seeded Wildcats who had posted a perfect 14-0 regular season record, it was a stunning defeat.
“I felt that the trust between my coach and myself was broken because my coach basically used his authority as a coach to control who played in two games and who didn’t play and in the end affected the outcome of the game,” said Hooper. “I felt that was wrong on many levels and that’s where it all began. It was a big mess that should never have happened.”
When Hooper failed to appear for a Canadian National Team training camp in August, she was suspended from the program along with fellow starters forward Christine Latham and defender Sharolta Nonen who decided to support their teammate. While the trio’s suspensions ended in November 2006, none of them have been called back into the National Team. In June 2007, an arbitrator ruled that Pellerud had the right to suspend the players.
With the loss of three starters and so much turmoil engulfing the Canadian National Team, the squad’s results naturally suffered. The fourth-place finisher at the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup went through a dire 2007 which included a 6-2 loss to the U.S., a 2-1 humbling by the U.S. U-20s, a 7-0 blowout loss to Brazil and the failure to advance out of the group stage at the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
But in 2008, Canada is once again showing signs of progress. Last month, the Canucks qualified for their first Olympic Games and put on a strong performance in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Final, a 1-1 tie against the U.S. that was decided in the Americans’ favor following a 6-5 penalty kick shootout victory.
Just as the Canadian National Team is moving on, so is Hooper. She and her family recently relocated from Chicago to Waco, Texas where her husband Chuck Codd will serve as an assistant coach under former U.S. Women’s National Team player Marci Jobson for Baylor University’s women’s soccer team.
When she’s not looking after the couple’s three-year-old daughter, Charlie, Hooper can still be found on the soccer field training with area men’s players. At the age of 40, she is considering playing for a WPSL team this summer and has her sights set on joining a Women’s Professional Soccer team for the new professional league’s inaugural 2009 season.
“If I have a couple of years left to play, why not play?” said Hooper. “You can’t always play for the rest of your life. I love the sport and I think I still have a lot of competitiveness in me and am still able to contribute.”
A lifelong forward who also saw action in the defense due to necessity for Canada, Hooper competed in the Women’s United Soccer Association from 2001-2003 as a member of the Atlanta Beat. It’s those recollections of playing professionally in the U.S. that are flaming her desire to play in WPS.
“When you look back at it, you just think ‘What an awesome experience!’” said Hooper. “I have a lot of great memories of being with teammates and winning with my teammates and developing relationships too.”
And she would be lying if she didn’t admit that all she wants is to feel one more time the thrill of being locked in a heated on-field battle complete with jersey tugging and shin kicking, and the result hanging in the balance.
Karyn Lush is a regular contributor to womensprosoccer.com and can be reached at karyn.lush@womensprosoccer.com . The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Women’s Professional Soccer or womensprosoccer.com.