Curtain Call

By Grahame L. Jones

Dec. 8, 2004 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

It is not quite the end of an era but it’s close.

Tonight at the Home Depot Center in Carson, three of the best players in the history of women’s soccer -- Joy Fawcett, Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm -- will bid the sport farewell when the United States plays Mexico in the final game for all three.

The result is of no significance, although Hamm begs to disagree.

“I’ve already told the players that we need to be successful because I don’t want to be upset for the next 60 years,” she said.

What is significant, however, is that this will be the last appearance of Fawcett, Foudy and Hamm with the U.S. national team.

No longer will the world-famous No. 9 hear the screams of “Mia! Mia!” from thousands of ponytailed young girls leaning over the stadium railing, imploring her to score yet another goal, sign yet another autograph, be what they all want to be.

No longer will the inspirational No. 11 be heard from midfield, driving her teammates on as only “Loudy Foudy” can, by voice and by example, a true captain on and off the field.

No longer will the calming presence of Fawcett, No. 14, the “Ultimate Soccer Mom,” be there to settle nerves in the defense, to demonstrate that, yes, elegance and steel can successfully be blended.

After more than 17 incredible years -- not quite 17 in Foudy’s case -- the final curtain is coming down, and the three players, each a two-time world champion and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, are stepping off the international stage. Emotions, understandably, will be close to the surface.

Foudy, as usual, summed it up best.

“I’m sad because I love the game and I love the sport and I love my teammates, and that’s going to be, I think, the hardest thing, leaving those guys,” she said. “But we’ve already been planning reunions and monthly visits

“I think we’ve left the game in a better place, which makes me feel good, and we’ve got a lot of wonderful young talent coming through ... a lot of people who will step in and do a great job for the U.S., not just as great athletes but, as we’ve always cared about, as great people.

“So it’s going to be a moment to smile upon, not to be sad about.”

Tuesday, the three players were honored at the Home Depot Center, where their stars joined those of former teammates, now retired, on the star plaza outside the stadium’s main entrance.

“I’m excited just to be with everyone again,” said Fawcett, 36, who played her final game in August when the U.S. won the gold medal at the Athens Olympics. She subsequently underwent surgery on her back and will not play tonight.

“I’m a little sad to see it come to an end and not be able to see everyone every day,” she added, “but I’m also excited to be able to spend time with my family and to do different things and experience another chapter in my life.”

Hamm, 32, who made her debut for the U.S. at 15 and has since scored a world-record 158 goals, has worn the U.S. jersey for more than half her life.

“When you put it like that,” she told team spokesman Aaron Heifetz, “I don’t know what the heck I’m going to do now.

“There are mixed emotions. Obviously, this is something that we’ve known and been a part of for a very long time. It’ll be an adjustment

“We’ve been players on this team for a very long time, but all of us are huge fans of the game and we will continue to be. Now, instead of being on the [field], we’ll be in the stands cheering.”

The U.S. team has traveled to every continent, except Antarctica, and played against the teams of more than 40 countries during the trio’s tenure. But it is neither the people nor the places that Foudy, 33, best remembers.

“I think there was always laughter,” she said. “We always had a ball with what we were doing -- from bus rides to being crammed in a van, to meals, to going to places that were less than desirable but finding ways to enjoy it.

“Our team was always great at adapting and finding the positives. I’ll miss that friendship.

“There have been so many bonds that we’ve gone through on and off the field, with marriages, deaths in the family and kids being born.... There’s more than just soccer. It’s a family, it truly was, and I definitely will miss that.”

And so, tonight, , Fawcett, Foudy and Hamm will take their final bows.

Then, only Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly will be left from the 1991 team that won the U.S. its first world championship in soccer and subsequently changed the face of women’s sports, in this country and around the world.

It is not quite the end of an era, but it’s close.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

FAREWELL GAME

Joy Fawcett

Position: Defender. Age: 36. U.S. debut: Aug. 3, 1987, vs. China. Caps: 239. Goals: 27.

Julie Foudy

Position: Midfielder. Age: 33. U.S. debut: June 29, 1988, vs. France. Caps: 270. Goals: 45.

Mia Hamm

Position: Forward. Age: 32. U.S. debut: Aug. 3, 1987, vs. China. Caps: 274. Goals: 158.

Major honors by all three players

* 1991 Women’s World Championship in China: gold medal.

* 1995 Women’s World Cup in Sweden: bronze medal.