Soccer Gold

Tisha Venturini

Position: Midfielder
Height: 5-6 (1.68 m) Weight: 135 (61 kg)
Born: March 3, 1973, in Modesto, California
Hometown: Modesto, California
College: University of North Carolina

National Team: Member of the Gold Medal winning U.S. Women's National Team at the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games ... Second on the team with 1,864 minutes played in 1995 ... Scored two goals at the `96 Olympic Games, including the game-winner versus Denmark ... Scored the first goal in seven games in 1996 ... Tied with Kristine Lilly and Tiffeny Milbrett with three goals to lead the team at the 1995 Women's World Championship in Sweden ... She and Carla Overbeck were the only two players to play in all 23 games in 1995 ...

Member of the U.S. Women's Team that won the title at the CONCACAF Qualifying Championship in Montreal in 1994 and helped the team qualify for the 1995 FIFA Women's World Championship in Sweden ... Played with the1993 U.S. Team, winners of the CONCACAF Championship in New York ...Member of the U.S. Squad the won the silver medal at the 1993 World University Games in Buffalo, NY ... Played at the 1990 Olympic Festival in Minneapolis. College/High School: Winner of the 1994 Missouri Athletic Club College Player of the Year Award and 1994 Hermann Trophy ... A three-time NSCAA All-American, she played on four NCAA Division I Championship teams while attending theUniversity of North Carolina, 1991-94 ... NCAA tournament's Most Valuable Defensive Player in 1991 and the Most Valuable Offensive Player in 1994 and was selected to the all-tournament team in 1992 and '93 ... The 1994 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year, three-time ACC Tournament MVP, 1991, 1993-94 and four-time All-ACC 1991-94 ... Named National Freshman of the Year by Soccer America and ACC Rookie of the Year in 1991 ... In her four years at UNC, she scored 69 goals and added 51 assists starting 93 of 95 games ... Broke her foot Sept. 28, 1993, and returned to action 22 days later just prior to the ACC tournament, where she was named the tournament's MVP ...

Led the nation in scoring in 1991 with 58 points, 21 goals and 16 assists, her goals where the most scored by a freshmen since Mia Hamm had 21 in 1989 ... Attended Grace Davis High School in Modesto, CA ... Led Davis to a four-year conference record of 54-0-2, scoring 107 goals and adding 37 assists. Personal:

Full name Tisha LeaVenturini. National Spokesperson for Produce for Better Health. Graduated from UNC with degree in Physical Education.

Full-International Appearances: 88

Full-International Goals: 33

First Appearance: Aug. 14, 1992, vs. Norway

First Goal: April 10, 1993, vs. Germany

From the MAC Herman Trophy Websie:

In addition to the 1994 MAC Hermann Trophy, Venturini was a four-time NSCAA All-American and played on four NCAA Championship teams while attending North Carolina from 1991-94. She was named the NCAA tournament's Most Valuable Defensive Player in 1991 and Most Valuable Offensive Player in 1994 and was selected to the All-Tournament team all four years. At UNC, she scored 69 goals and added 51 assists starting 93 of 95 games.

Venturini represented the United States of America in 132 matches, and scored 44 goals. She was awarded a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and was a World Champion at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. She also played in the W-League with the San Jose CyberRays, the Delaware Genies, and the Bay Area CyberRays where she won a championship in 2001.

Link: Wikipedia Entry

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