Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
October 13, 2000, Washington Post

On Field, a Dream

Thousands of young soccer players dream of playing at Washington's RFK Stadium.

This weekend, Desiree McPherson, of Fairfax County, will have the chance to live that dream. She won't be playing with the pros on the Kansas City Wizards or the Chicago Fire. Heck, Desiree is only a 14-year-old freshman at Chantilly High School. But she will be showing off her soccer skills at RFK in the MLS New York Life Dribble, Pass and
Shoot national finals on Saturday and in a halftime exhibition at the MLS Cup 2000 game on Sunday.

Desiree is one of four finalists in the girls 12-14 division. Thousands of girls competed in trials all over the country. (The competition has boys divisions and girls divisions for ages 8-9, 10-11 and 12-14.)

First, Desiree will dribble a soccer ball through a special slalom course. Then, she
will show what kind of passer she is, booting the ball through a line of flags. Finally, Desiree will blast shots at a soccer net marked with targets. Her points will depend on which targets she hits.

All of these skills are second nature to Desiree. She has been playing soccer since she was 6 years old.

Still, the star of the Vista Tornado select travel team expects to be nervous in front of the RFK crowd. "I am pretty much always nervous," she admits with a laugh.

And what about life after the Dribble, Pass and Shoot finals? Are there any more soccer dreams left for Desiree? "I would like to play soccer for Chantilly High School," she says. (Soccer is a spring sport in Virginia high schools.) She adds, "I would love to play in college."

Any particular college?

"North Carolina," Desiree answers, naming the alma mater of her soccer idol, Mia Hamm.

But those dreams are off in the future. And Desiree McPherson is taking her soccer one dream at a time.

© 2000 The Washington Post Company