Jacqui Little

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Jacqui Little Rimando
Personal information
Full name Jacqueline Elise Little Rimando
Date of birth (1978-03-10) March 10, 1978 (age 43)
Place of birth Heerlen, Netherlands[1]
Height 5 ft 3 in (160 cm)[1]
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1993–1996 Valley United
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1999 Santa Clara Broncos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001 Bay Area CyberRays 15 (1)
2002–2003 Washington Freedom 40 (5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Jacqueline Elise Little Rimando (née Little; born March 10, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player. A fast forward, she played for Bay Area CyberRays and Washington Freedom of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) and trained with the senior United States women's national soccer team. She played in the WUSA championship game in all three seasons of the league's existence and won the WUSA title on two occasions with her two different clubs.

Playing career[]

College[]

Little Rimando attended Santa Clara University and played college soccer. She graduated in 1999 with a degree in sociology. With the Broncos, Little Rimando reached the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship Final Four in each of her seasons with the team. She was appointed to the University's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.[2]

Club[]

Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first official professional women's soccer league in the United States, began in 2001. Little Rimando was a sixth-round draft pick (41st overall in the global draft) by the Bay Area CyberRays. In 2001 Little Rimando started three of her 15 regular season appearances, contributing a goal and two assists.[1] She made a brief appearance in the 2001 WUSA Founders Cup as the CyberRays secured the inaugural championship.

In November 2001 Washington Freedom traded their Brazilian forward Pretinha to the CyberRays for Little Rimando and a third round draft pick. In Washington Little Rimando joined her twin Skylar Little, who was already on the Freedom roster.[3]

In 2002 Little Rimando started 12 of her 20 regular season appearances, scoring three goals as the Freedom improved their seventh-place finish in 2001 to third in 2002. She featured in the championship game but the Freedom lost 3–2 to Carolina Courage. Freedom coach Jim Gabarra praised Little Rimando's performances as an impact substitute: "Jacqui really accepted her role of coming off the bench well and provided a spark last year."[1]

Ahead of the 2003 WUSA season, Little Rimando kept fit in the off-season but also enjoyed some time away from soccer.[4] Another successful campaign saw Little Rimando start 19 of 20 regular season games and play in the 2003 WUSA Founders Cup win.[1]

International[]

In July 2005 Little Rimando was called into a senior United States women's national soccer team training camp in Carson, California.[5]

Personal life[]

Little Rimando and her identical twin Skylar Little were born in the Netherlands, but grew up playing soccer in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles. Skylar, a defender, played college soccer with UCLA Bruins, while forward Jacqui elected to move further afield with Santa Clara.[6]

In the 1999 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, Jacqui's Broncos team beat Skylar's Bruins 7–0. Skylar was drafted by the Washington Freedom and faced Jacqui's Bay Area CyberRays in WUSA's inaugural match, which the Freedom won 1–0.

After the collapse of WUSA, Little Rimando took an office job with Reico Kitchen & Bath. Although she liked the job she was sad to no longer be a professional soccer player: "The fact that I was sitting at a desk instead of doing what I love to do, it just hit me like a ton of bricks."[7]

In December 2005, Little Rimando married her longtime boyfriend, Nick Rimando. He played for the United States men's national soccer team as a goalkeeper and is also from California. The wedding was performed by Rimando's teammate Ben Olsen in Malibu, California.[8] Rimando and Little Rimando have two children, Jett Nicholas Rimando and Benny Rose Rimando.[9] In 2016 she was living in Salt Lake City, and remained married to Rimando.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e "24 - Jacqui Little". Women's United Soccer Association. Archived from the original on October 28, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  2. ^ "Jacqui Little '00". Santa Clara University. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "Freedom Trade Pretinha to CyberRays". Associated Press. November 14, 2001. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Truman, Tim (March 4, 2003). "Washington's Little Twin Powers". Women's United Soccer Association. Archived from the original on September 28, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "Four Former Broncos Invited To National Team Camp". West Coast Conference. July 17, 2005. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  6. ^ Payne, Dave (April 21, 2003). "Little Sisters Propel Freedom". Women's United Soccer Association. Archived from the original on September 28, 2003. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  7. ^ Steinberg, Dan (June 13, 2004). "Coping With the Loss of Freedom". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  8. ^ "Behind the Badge: Triple threat". DCUnited.com. December 15, 2005. Archived from the original on October 25, 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2010.
  9. ^ "KUTV 2News "Person 2 Person: Nick Rimando"". . June 9, 2013. Archived from the original on August 7, 2013. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  10. ^ Parker, Kevin (April 14, 2016). "The WUSA Washington Freedom 15 Years On: Where are they now?". All White Kit. Retrieved May 16, 2021.

External links[]

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