Christian Soccer Players Bring Home Women's World Cup; Give God the Glory

Mark Ellis : Jul 13, 2015
Assist News Service

"The wonderful, wonderful thing about loving Jesus is, it's not about me. And the spotlight isn't on me. So when I do step out on the field, I get to play with freedom because I don't have to worry about if I score or what happens if we lose or if I make a bad pass, because success isn't determined on that with Christ." –Lauren Holiday

(Los Angeles, CA)—Lauren Holiday's stunning volley against Japan was the third of a tsunami of goals that gave the U.S. Women's National Team the Women's World Cup on July 5. (Photo via God Reports)

Though winning that competition and two Olympic gold medals for women's soccer has been gratifying for Holiday, it pales in comparison with her love for Jesus Christ.

"Success is being the best soccer player I can be," the midfielder says. "The wonderful, wonderful thing about loving Jesus is, it's not about me. And the spotlight isn't on me. So when I do step out on the field, I get to play with freedom because I don't have to worry about if I score or what happens if we lose or if I make a bad pass, because success isn't determined on that with Christ."

Holiday, 27, retired from international soccer immediately after winning the cup. She is part of a cadre of Christians on the national squad that also includes Tobin Heath, Amy Rodriguez, Heather O'Reilly and Jillian Loyden.

Holiday was raised in a Lutheran Church but embraced a vibrant faith when she went into junior high school.

"I went to some youth camps and that's where I started to discover the presence of God," she told BeliefNet. "I was able to experience God through the singing and by talking to other girls that had similar experiences. That opened my eyes but I still had to seek out that relationship."

While she was still in high school, she was named to the U.S. Under 20 team, on which fellow Christian Tobin Heath belonged. Coach Tim Schulz is also a fired-up Christian.

"He was so passionate and he would cry and he would laugh. I wanted that too," Holiday says. "And that's when I really started to seek the Lord."

As she scaled in the Lord, so she scaled in soccer. She attended UCLA where, in her first season, she led the Pac-10 Conference with 19 goals. She earned First-Team All-American honors all four years of college, and during her time there, UCLA played consecutively in the NCAA College Cup.

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