Another of the World Cup’s signature moments came in that game against England, a young up-and-coming team many thought was poised for an upset. It was announced just before the game that Christen Press, a Palos Verdes native, would start in Rapinoe’s place. It wasn’t public knowledge at the time — Rapinoe stood on the sidelines, as if ready to play if needed — but her injury was fairly serious. But behind the scenes, another story was unfolding. Press, who Curry described as the team’s emotional leader, was quietly enduring the loss of her mother, Stacy Press, who died suddenly of a brain aneurysm in January after a short bout with cancer.
“She doesn’t really talk about it,” Curry said. “She stays focused on the job at hand…She is in charge of the emotional state on the team. Everyone had a very specific role and that was hers. She is the most calm, just well-centered human being I’ve ever seen, someone who just seems to understand the world. Her role is making sure everyone on the team is in a good place, mentally and spiritually, and the way she talks is so humble and so supportive.”
In that game against England, Press trotted onto the field with a team missing not only Rapinoe, but who would also lose one of its other offensive stars, Rose Lavelle, who likewise suffered a hamstring injury midgame. Press is a lithe, quick athlete known for the grace of her footwork and speed of attack, but there is something else she is known for among coaches and teammates — a strange aversion to heading the ball, so much so that according to Sports Illustrated her college coach nicknamed Press “the turtle.”
So naturally in the 10th minute of a tense defensive struggle, Press jumped up from a tangle of players and headed the ball into the net for the game’s first goal. As she ran across the field in celebration, she raised her arms and looked to the sky above in a rare moment, for her, of unbridled emotion. As Press posted on Instagram afterwards, the gesture was for her mother.
“I am because of you,” Press wrote.
After the game, Rapinoe becomes overwhelmed — another rarity — while talking about Press.
“Rapinoe, at the press conference, started crying,” Curry said. “Just to see Press have that moment, to know what she has been through, was so special.”
And so when the World Cup came to a close, and Curry waded through the team’s celebration in the locker room, the emotions she encountered were unlike anything she’d previously experienced.
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