Newsmaker: Kristine Lilly (United States)

By Jesse Campigotto

Kristine Lilly has done it all. And she's not done yet.

When she takes the pitch for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the veteran U.S. midfielder will have a chance to add to an unparalleled resume that already includes the following:

Four World Cup appearances, including two titles (in 1991 and '99), and two third-place finishes (1995 and 2003).

Three Olympic medals (gold in 1996 and 2004, silver in 2000).

Four U.S. collegiate titles at the University of North Carolina.

More international goals than any U.S player except Mia Hamm.

A starting spot in every World Cup and Olympic match in U.S. women's history.

Well over 300 international appearances: more than any player - female or male - in soccer history.

Perhaps more amazing than those credentials is that, at 36, Lilly remains one of the most important players on a team she joined as a wide-eyed teenager in 1987.

"I'm still loving the game and being a part of this team and going for a World Cup again," the U.S. captain told the Associated Press. "I'm representing my country for a 20th year, something I could never have imagined when I was 16 and made the team. It's become my life."

And what a life the ageless midfielder has enjoyed as part of the "Golden Generation" of American women who catapulted their game into the U.S. consciousness in the 1990's. While marquee names like Hamm, Brandi Chastain, Julie Foudy, Joy Fawcett and Carla Overbeck have hung up their cleats to start families and pursue other careers, Lilly continues to play world-class soccer, and at a high level - she was the runner-up to Brazil's Marta in the 2006 FIFA world player of the year voting.

"Lil is our go-to player, our leader," U.S. top scorer Abby Wambach said. "In the waning minutes of a game, I want the ball at her feet."

That sort of recognition has come only recently for Lilly, whose rocksteady play was often overshadowed by her more luminous teammates in the U.S. women's team's heyday.

"For us, she was always a star and it's unfortunate that it has taken this long for everyone to recognize it," Hamm said. "I know for me, she has been in the top five in the world I ever played against or alongside of.

"I don't know how she does it. I will go out to training sometimes and she's still the best player on the field."

Perhaps the finest example of Lilly's unheralded excellence came during the Americans' victory over China in the 1999 World Cup final, an event recognized as the coming-out party for women's soccer in the U.S.

With an astounding 90,000 in attendance at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., and another 40 million Americans watching on television, Lilly's overtime header of a Chinese corner kick bound for the back of the net kept her team alive, setting the stage for Chastain's game-winning penalty kick.

While most fans remember Chastain's dramatic goal - and her iconic jersey-doffing celebration - it was Lilly's heady defensive play that made it possible.

Now widely recognized as one of her country's best players and one of the few members of the current American team with a world title to her name, Lilly will be counted on to supply the type of leadership that can only come from someone making her unprecedented fifth consecutive World Cup appearance.

Fortunately for the U.S., carrying the torch for a hungry but green squad that features 12 World Cup rookies is a responsibility Lilly relishes.

"In 2003, obviously, we were third in the World Cup, and wanting to win it back is a big deal. I want this group, too, to be champs - they haven't experienced it yet. I'd love for them to feel that.

"It's such a great feeling when you get something you want so badly."