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Maria Yatrakis from Brooklyn, New York, can't wait for the Olympics to start.
This article was originally posted on BigAppleSoccer.com on August 10, 2004.
michael lewis
HERAKLION, Greece — Maria Yatrakis from Brooklyn, New York, can't wait for the Olympics to start. The former Big East goaltender is scheduled to start for Greece in the first game of the Summer Olympics on Wednesday.
“I get chills just thinking about it now, thinking about being on Greek soil with the Greek fans, next to my girls who I've played with for two and a half years, with the Greek national anthem playing.” said. “It would be an indescribable feeling.”
Yatrakis was eligible to play for Greece because his parents were of Greek ancestry and his father was born in Greece, but he took a cue from his college coach at the University of Connecticut, Len Tsantiris, who is Greek. After trying out and being selected by the team, Yatrakis gained 29 caps and began to attract attention from around the world.
“He pushed me and told me I should go to tryouts and get a chance,” she said recently.
“I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to play in a game like this because I got the opportunity. When you see everything it takes to make this team… in mind and body. You have to put all your heart and soul into it.”
Playing against the United States is a tall order for most national teams. The Greek women's team was relatively inexperienced, and in order to improve the quality of the team, it was necessary to recruit eight American women of Greek descent, but she achieved a world record for any U.S. player to appear in an international match. Midfielder Christine Rielly is the only player with 276 games.
“They're the same players as us,” Yatrakis said. “So we must not get ahead of ourselves in our thinking.
“I'm not really intimidated. I think they're a great team. But I think we can definitely show ourselves and we can definitely play well. You never know. Soccer is It's a very strange game. The game can turn around at any time.
“It would be nice to play against them. Maybe if we go out and compete, we can sneak in a goal. No matter the result, as long as we can compete, I'm proud of us. .”
Yatrakis, 24, thought he would be late coming into work because of his job as a goalie coach at Columbia University. The Lions are scheduled to begin preseason on August 22nd.
“Kevin [McCarthy, the coach] They really supported me in every way,” she said. “I’m really lucky to have the opportunity to coach there and to go to the Olympics with their full support.”
Yatrakis played one year for coach Joe Lee with the HBC Nasty Girls (Long Island Junior Soccer League) and also played for the New York Magic and Long Island Rough Riders of the W-League. Yatrakis' time with the Lady Riders was limited, as he played for the Greek national team as much as possible during spring break, winter break, and summer break.
“She was amazing,” said Lady Riders general manager Kim Wyant, who scored in the U.S. women's national team's first international game in 1985. “We were disappointed that she could not contribute more to the team. We understood her commitment to the Greek national team.
“She's very athletic and very quick and agile for a goalie. She's very aggressive on goal. She uses her line well and is very aggressive with her teammates. This is something I always value as a goalkeeper.
“I'm excited for her.”
Yatrakis started playing soccer at the age of seven (“My mom wanted me to run around”), playing on a men's travel team and finally joining the women's team, the Manhattan Redlegs (now Manhattan Soccer Club), at age 16. I played. She did not play on the Olympic Development Team.
“I found every team I could and ended up playing there,” she said. “I didn't have a traditional soccer development.”
Yatrakis played basketball, softball and baseball, but there was something special about soccer.
“What caught my attention about soccer was just the freedom of being a player,” she said. “Coaches can't call timeouts. You have 45 minutes on the field with your team. It's a sport where you have the freedom to do whatever you need to do to win the game. I actually loved it.” I loved the freedom. In basketball, you have to run certain plays and follow the coach's instructions to do certain things. In soccer, you don't have that. You have to be free to play and create. Yes. That's what I like about soccer.”
Now, Yatrakis stops creative play.
Like many keepers, her career in goal was not by choice, at least not initially.
“I was playing on the boys team,” she said. “None of the boys wanted to be a goalkeeper. I was the only girl and I got caught in the goal so many times. It was so much fun. It was a challenge for me, but I loved it. I stuck with it and was good at it.”
The United States and the rest of the world will find out what Yatrakis is capable of on Wednesday.