Heather Mitts

She has sex appeal, a growing national profile, and experience as both a television reporter and an infomercial pitchwoman. Now if only Heather Mitts could find a regular soccer team. Like many of the top U.S. women's soccer players, the former Philadelphia Charge defender continues to train periodically with the U.S. national team. For now, there are few games, because the next World Cup isn't until 2007 and the next Olympics won't be until a year later. For the next year or so, there will be sporadic exhibition games for the U.S. team, but nothing on a regular basis.

Heather Mitts the soccer player was ready to become Heather Mitts the actress. ABC wanted Mitts, a defender for the Charge, Philadelphia's women's pro soccer team, to appear in an episode of the family sitcom My Wife and Kids. Dressed in her Charge uniform, Mitts was to teach soccer to the youngest daughter of Michael Kyle, played by the show's star, Damon Wayans. Her character? Heather Mitts. "I was so excited," she said. But a day or two before booking her flight to Hollywood last month - and just after she had received permission from Charge coach Mark Krikorian to miss practice - Mitts was notified that the script had been changed.

Three members of the Independence - defender Heather Mitts, forward Amy Rodriguez and midfielder Lori Lindsey - were named yesterday to the 19-player U.S. women's national team roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal. In addition, two other players with area roots were named to the roster - midfielder and Olympic hero Carli Lloyd, a two-time Inquirer South Jersey player of the year from Delran, and goalie Jill Loyden, formerly of Villanova and Vineland High. This year's Algarve Cup will run from Feb. 24 through March 3, and the U.S. team will depart for Europe on Feb. 18. The U.S. team has reached the Algarve Cup final in seven consecutive years, but lost in last year's championship to Sweden on penalty kicks.

Some teams have a player/coach. The women's U.S. national soccer team has a player/reporter. Heather Mitts, a defender for three seasons with the Charge of the Women's United Soccer Association, will play for the national team that will attempt to qualify for the Athens Olympic Games. She will also give on-site reports of the team's progress for NBC-10. Mitts, who has recovered from a broken right tibia suffered last June, was one of 20 players selected to the team on Tuesday.

Local soccer standouts Kristin Luckinbill (Paoli) and Carli Lloyd (Delran, N.J.) were called up to the 37-player roster of the U.S. Women's National Team, yesterday, in continued preparation for this summer's Olympic Games in Beijing. Luckinbill, 29, returns as one of the team's four goalkeepers following a gold medal-winning campaign in the 2004 Summer Games. The Dartmouth All-America has 14 caps (games played) with the full squad and posted a 0.72 goals against average in the 2004 Games.

Reach into your closet and dust off that old Charge jersey. The poster player is back. The Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer acquired Heather Mitts yesterday in a signing that returns the defender to the city where she started her WUSA career - as a member of the now-defunct Charge from 2001 to 2003. "It's where I began my professional career and most likely where I will end it," Mitts said in a statement. "I've been impressed with the organization and its plans for the team.

Independence defender Heather Mitts is coming off her best performance of the season in Sunday's 3-1 Women's Professional Soccer league loss at West Chester University to first-place FC Gold Pride of Northern California. Mitts, however, doesn't fully agree with that assessment. "It's tough to talk about playing well when you lose the game, but I thought the first half was my best first half," Mitts said. "I don't think the second half went as well. " This has been a frustrating first part of the season for the 32-year-old Mitts, who has been slowed by injuries.

Standout defender Heather Mitts of the Charge will miss tomorrow's WUSA game against the New York Power with a hip pointer. Mitts suffered the injury Friday during a scrimmage against Norway in Blaine, Minn., while competing for the U.S. national team. Mitts was one of 23 players invited to compete for 18 spots on the national team. The United States rolled to a 4-0 victory in the friendly against Norway on Sunday. Because of the injury, Mitts did not dress for the game. The Charge and Power are to meet at 7 p.m. at Villanova Stadium.

The text message from 7,200 miles away came 20 minutes after the match ended. Heather Mitts let her boyfriend know she had won an Olympic gold medal. A.J. Feeley already knew because he had been sitting nervously in the Eagles' locker room at the NovaCare Complex watching the two overtimes from Beijing that resulted in the United States' 1-0 upset of Brazil in women's soccer. "For me, the highs and lows of watching that game were gut-wrenching," the Eagles' reserve quarterback said yesterday afternoon.

As expected, the U.S. women's soccer team will be in Philadelphia on Nov. 6 to play at Lincoln Financial Field, as part of what is being billed as a "Fan Celebration Tour. " The 10-city tour was set up as one last chance for fans to yell "Mia!" because Mia Hamm and a couple of her celebrated teammates, Julie Foudy and Joy Fawcett, have announced their retirement from international soccer. The U.S. team, which won the gold medal in Athens, will face Denmark at the Linc at 4 p.m. Also returning will be former Philadelphia Charge star Heather Mitts, a reserve on the Olympic team.

Navy is headed to the Big East, giving up more than 130 years of football independence to join a conference that is in the middle of a massive overhaul. The Big East announced Tuesday that the U.S. Naval Academy has accepted an invitation to join the league for football only, starting in 2015. The conference has now added six new members in the last seven weeks after losing three members and having another school renege on a future commitment in the fall. Texas Christian was slated to join the Big East next season, but backed out when it was invited to the Big 12, leaving the Big East one team short of its desired 12, leaving the door open for Temple as a possibility.

HARRISON, N.J. - The U.S. Women's World Cup Soccer team collected a final tune-up win before playing for keeps later this month, and defender Heather Mitts earned a trip to Germany with a solid second-half performance. Lauren Cheney's goal during second-half stoppage time Sunday gave the United States a 1-0 win over Mexico in an international friendly before 5,852 at Red Bull Arena. Mitts, the former Philadelphia Charge and Independence defender, has been battling hamstring injuries and was told by coach Pia Sundhage she'd have to show she was healthy enough to be on the World Cup roster.

Kristin Luckenbill is returning to the area Saturday for both a homecoming and an expected farewell. An alumnus of Conestoga High, Luckenbill will be playing what she expects to be her final game as New Jersey's Sky Blue FC visits the Independence in Saturday's 7 p.m. Women's Professional Soccer matchup at West Chester University. Pressed into the starting goalkeeping role after regular Karen Bardsley suffered a broken clavicle while participating in an all-star practice last month, Luckenbill says she expects Saturday to be her final game before continuing her education.

Independence defender Heather Mitts is coming off her best performance of the season in Sunday's 3-1 Women's Professional Soccer league loss at West Chester University to first-place FC Gold Pride of Northern California. Mitts, however, doesn't fully agree with that assessment. "It's tough to talk about playing well when you lose the game, but I thought the first half was my best first half," Mitts said. "I don't think the second half went as well. " This has been a frustrating first part of the season for the 32-year-old Mitts, who has been slowed by injuries.

It's been quite a month for Heather Mitts, a cornerstone of the Independence, the new women's professional soccer team in Philadelphia. Last month, she married A.J. Feeley, the former Eagles quarterback. She then competed for the U.S. national team, which won the Algarve Cup in Portugal, beating Germany, 3-2, in the final on March 3. Last week, Feeley signed with the St. Louis Rams after spending the 2009 season with the Carolina Panthers. And on Monday, Mitts, 31, officially began her career with the expansion Independence of Women's Professional Soccer.

Three members of the Independence - defender Heather Mitts, forward Amy Rodriguez and midfielder Lori Lindsey - were named yesterday to the 19-player U.S. women's national team roster for the Algarve Cup in Portugal. In addition, two other players with area roots were named to the roster - midfielder and Olympic hero Carli Lloyd, a two-time Inquirer South Jersey player of the year from Delran, and goalie Jill Loyden, formerly of Villanova and Vineland High. This year's Algarve Cup will run from Feb. 24 through March 3, and the U.S. team will depart for Europe on Feb. 18. The U.S. team has reached the Algarve Cup final in seven consecutive years, but lost in last year's championship to Sweden on penalty kicks.

Reach into your closet and dust off that old Charge jersey. The poster player is back. The Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer acquired Heather Mitts yesterday in a signing that returns the defender to the city where she started her WUSA career - as a member of the now-defunct Charge from 2001 to 2003. "It's where I began my professional career and most likely where I will end it," Mitts said in a statement. "I've been impressed with the organization and its plans for the team.

You'd say 2008 was a precious year for soccer star Heather Mitts . Mitts, 30, brought home gold from Beijing with the U.S. women's national soccer team - and she picked up diamond from Eagles backup QB A.J. Feeley , 31. Mitts and Feeley have been together, on and off, for about five years. "It's about time," she told me yesterday. Mitts, pleading shyness, would not share how Feeley offered the cushion-cut rock in an antique setting last month. "But I will say I was shocked," she admits.

The text message from 7,200 miles away came 20 minutes after the match ended. Heather Mitts let her boyfriend know she had won an Olympic gold medal. A.J. Feeley already knew because he had been sitting nervously in the Eagles' locker room at the NovaCare Complex watching the two overtimes from Beijing that resulted in the United States' 1-0 upset of Brazil in women's soccer. "For me, the highs and lows of watching that game were gut-wrenching," the Eagles' reserve quarterback said yesterday afternoon.

In Philadelphia, Heather Mitts is remembered for her three seasons with the short-lived professional women's soccer team, the Charge. She may be better known as the girlfriend of Eagles backup quarterback A.J. Feeley. She is best known as a cover girl. Her official biography mentions that Mitts was "the first soccer player to appear in FHM, in a five-page photo spread. " Here's the part you could have missed: Mitts is a starting defender on the U.S. Olympic team that will play for a gold medal Thursday.