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America's World Cup hopes may have taken a major hit with the news that goalie Hope Solo may miss the tournament because of a 30-day suspension. Solo’s husband, Jerramy Stevens, was pulled over for driving under the influence while driving the team van; Solo was with him at the time of the incident.
This, according to U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati, may keep her out of the 2015 World Cup, which starts in June:
"We've asked her to do a number of things, and she's going to have to do those things and make progress in those areas. That's possible. We hope that's not the case. We hope she's making progress and joins the team. That's certainly the goal - hers and ours."
This incident is just the latest in Solo's troubles, which date back to last year when she was involved in a domestic dispute involving her sister and nephew. The ironic thing is, those charges were dropped by a Seattle court recently.
According to other reports, Solo was asked to refrain from drinking after that incident, but it doesn't look like she took the team's warnings seriously.
U.S. head coach Jill Ellis said action needed to be taken after this latest incident:
"The situation warranted a consequence, and we thought it was reasonable,'' Ellis said. ''This is important for us to be able to focus the players that we have on these games and then allow Hope some time to sort of reflect on some things. So I think as far as the specifics, like Sunil said, we're not going to get into those, but Hope and I had some very good conversations and I'm optimistic about moving forward."
Gulati and Ellis refused to say what Solo will need to do to be reinstated to the team, but obviously her absence will hurt the team going forward. Solo is one of the most prolific goalies in the world and if she misses the World Cup, it would be a huge blow to the United States Women's National Team.
Solo released a statement regarding her suspension in which she said she accepts the Federation's decision, and is sorry for disappointing her teammates and coaches.
My official statement on US Soccer's decision today. pic.twitter.com/WedGFPoADK
— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) January 22, 2015
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