| Golebiowski: Washington’s Veteran Rookie By Tim Truman WASHINGTON, DC (August 13, 2003) – Kelly Golebiowski is deep into her preparations for Saturday’s WUSA semifinal against the Boston Breakers. Fortunately, this will not be the 22-year-old Golebowski’s first experience in a pressure situation. The Sydney, Australia, native, was 14 years, 344 days old when she made her first appearance with the Australian women’s national team in July 1996, making her the youngest player ever to represent the national team in a full international match. Since that opening match against Freedom teammate Mia Hamm and the rest of the U.S. women’s national team, Golebiowski has earned 53 caps and scored seven goals for the Matildas. She competed in the 1999 Women’s World Cup and at the 2000 Olympic Games. For the majority of her career, Golebiowski played striker. That all changed this spring when Freedom head coach Jim Gabarra penciled Golebiowski in the Washington lineup at midfield. At about the same time, new Australia women’s team coach Adrian Santrac also switched Golebiowski’s field position. “Our new national team coach has me playing as a deeper forward, so instead of just playing up top and having my back to the goal and getting the ball up and turning, I’m in a position where I’m actually facing the goal,” Golebiowski says. “I can run at players, cut in, go wide, or cross balls in. So the two positions I’m playing now are similar.” Golebiowski saw action in 17 Freedom games, including 11 starting assignments, this season. She tallied a pair of goals, and added three assists while helping the Freedom to the post-season for a second consecutive season. Golebiowski’s first-ever WUSA goal was the game-tying score against Atlanta on April 26. “I’m more than happy with everything about the Freedom and the league,” Golebiowski says. “In terms of my play, I’m fairly happy but I wish at the same time I could have been more consistent throughout the season.” After some mid-season struggles, the Freedom midfield seemed to find its footing and began to jell as Washington strung together a four-game unbeaten streak late in the season to clinch a playoff spot for a second consecutive year. Golebiowski and her midfield mates face a difficult task against the Breakers this weekend. “Boston obviously has a few key players, and it’s important for us to shut them down throughout the entire game,” Golebiowski says of Boston’s scoring duo of Maren Meinert and Dagny Mellgren, and playmaker Kristine Lilly. “We have to lock up the middle of the park and force them to go wide and have to serve balls in. “Their runs off the ball are very clever and smart. We’re basically going to have to keep them wide, and make them play hard out there instead of closer to our goal.” Golebiowski is excited about the challenge the semifinals bring to the Freedom, and looks forward to helping her squad make a return appearance in the Founders Cup match on August 24. “My role is to give us as much width as I can on that type of field,” she says of Boston’s smaller Nickerson Field. “I have to stay compact with our defenders and just work hard to win the battle in the midfield. Then obviously in the attack, I help the strikers out and become like an extra striker.” Throughout the season Golebiowski proved she was a hard-working, physical player with a strong work rate. Her services from the flank provided excellent scoring opportunities for Hamm and fellow forward Abby Wambach. Golebiowski assisted on two of Wambach’s team-high 13 goals, and was the catalyst for the first of Hamm’s three goals in a 5-0 win over San Jose on August 2. One area that Golebiowski continues to improve upon is her defense. The move from striker to midfielder forced her to make the adjustment from concentrating on scoring to focusing on defense. “In this midfield role, there’s a lot more defending than I’m used to,” she says. “Getting more into the defense consistently is something that I have to work on.” With the 2003 Women’s World Cup set to kickoff next month, Golebiowski will join her Australian teammates immediately after the Freedom’s season ends. Even if Washington advances to the championship match and wins the title, there will be little time for celebrating. “I’m excited to play for Australia again in a big tournament,” she says. “We got a good draw, so it’s possible for us to win a game and go through to the next round and go further. I can’t wait for that to start up.” While the upcoming off-season promises to be hectic for Golebiowski, she hopes to be right back in the Freedom midfield come April and the start of the 2004 WUSA season. “Everyone on this team works for each other and helps each other out,” Golebiowski explains. “For a new, young player coming in, having experienced players like Mia, Siri (Mullinix) and Jennifer (Grubb) help you and guide you through the season makes you feel so comfortable. “I want to be back next year, and if it’s offered to me, I’ll be here.” Original article can be found here: http://washingtonfreedom.com/378744.html |