 Heinrichs at the 2003 World Cup | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | April Dawn Heinrichs[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1964-02-27)February 27, 1964 (age 61)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Denver, Colorado, U.S.[2] | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[3] | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| College career | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1986 | North Carolina Tar Heels | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987 | FCF Juventus | ||
| 1988–1989 | Prato Wonder | ||
| International career | |||
| 1986–1991 | United States | 47 | (37) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1990 | Princeton University | ||
| 1991–1995 | University of Maryland | ||
| 1996–1999 | University of Virginia | ||
| 1995–2000 | United States(assistant) | ||
| 2000–2005 | United States | ||
| 2006 | UC Irvine | ||
| 2011–2012 | USSF Technical Director | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
April Dawn Heinrichs (born February 27, 1964) is an American formersoccer player andcoach. She was among the first players on theUnited States women's national soccer team, and wascaptain of the United States team which won the first everFIFA Women's World Cup in 1991. She finished her international playing career with 46caps and 35 goals. Heinrich coached the USA women's team from 2000 to 2004, under her tenure team USA finished third in2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, won silver medal atSydney 2000, and gold medal atAthens 2004 Olympics. In 1998 she became the first female player inducted into theNational Soccer Hall of Fame.[4] In yJanuary 2011, Heinrichs was appointed Technical Director for women's soccer byUnited States Soccer Federation.[5]
Heinrichs is a 1986 graduate of theUNC where she was named National Player of the Year twice and earned All-American First team honors three times.
After playing in theMundialito with the United States national team, Heinrichs spent a short period playing professional soccer in the ItalianSerie A with Juventus and thenPrato.[6]
April Heinrichs played forUnited States women's national soccer team from 1986 through 1991, appeared in 46 matches and scored 35 goals, including fours goals at the1991 FIFA Women's World Cup inChina, wherecaptain Heinrichs formed a forward line dubbed the "triple-edged sword" withCarin Jennings andMichelle Akers-Stahl. Heinrichs remains among the all-time leaders in goals scored for the USA.[7][8]
April Heinrichs competed in the firstFIFA Women's World Cup in1991, and finished with her team as World Champions; played in five matches and scored four goals.
| Key(expand for notes on "world cup and olympic goals") | |
|---|---|
| Location | Geographic location of the venue where the competition occurred |
| Lineup | Start – played entire match onminute (offplayer) – substituted on at theminute indicated, andplayer was substituted off at the same time offminute (onplayer) – substituted off at theminute indicated, andplayer was substituted on at the same time |
| Min | The minute in the match the goal was scored. For list that include caps, blank indicates played in the match but did not score a goal. |
| Assist/pass | The ball was passed by the player, whichassisted in scoring the goal. This column depends on the availability and source of this information. |
| penalty orpk | Goal scored onpenalty-kick which was awarded due to foul by opponent. (Goals scored in penalty-shoot-out, at the end of a tied match after extra-time, are not included.) |
| Score | The match score after the goal was scored. |
| Result | The final score. W – match was won |
| aet | The score at the end ofextra-time; the match was tied at the end of 90' regulation |
| pso | Penalty-shoot-out score shown in parentheses; the match was tied at the end of extra-time |
| Orange background color – Olympic women's football tournament | |
| Blue background color – FIFA women's world cup final tournament | |
| Goal | Match | Date | Location | Opponent | Lineup | Min | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1991-11-17[m 1] | Panyu |  Sweden | Start | 3–2W | Group match | |||
1 | 2 | 1991-11-19[m 2] | Panyu |  Brazil | {{{4}}}. | 23 | 1–0 | 5–0W | Group match |
2 | 35 | 2–0 | |||||||
3 | 1991-11-24[m 3] | Foshan |  Chinese Taipei | {{{4}}}. | 7–0W | Quarter-final | |||
3 | 4 | 1991-11-27[m 4] | Guangzhou |  Germany | Start | 54 | 4–1 | 5–2W | Semifinal |
4 | 75 | 5–2 | |||||||
5 | 1991-11-30[m 5] | Guangzhou |  Norway | Start | 2–1W | Final | |||
She had an 8–6–1 record as head coach atPrinceton University in 1990.
Heinrichs guidedUniversity of Maryland to a 56–40–7 record from 1991 to 1995, earning Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1995 after leading the Terps to their first NCAA Tournament berth.
She was head coach from 1996 to 2000 atUniversity of Virginia, where she recorded a 52–27–7 mark in leading the Cavaliers to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. She led Virginia to a 13–10 record, including a trip to the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament in 1999 season.
She joined theUnited States women's national soccer team as an assistant coach in 1995. She became the team's head coach in 2000.
During her tenure, Heinrichs was often criticized for failing to lead the previously unstoppable national squad to a major international championship, but she coached the team to victory at the2004 Summer Olympics. Heinrichs led the United States to wins in international tournaments such as theAlgarve Cup,Four Nations Cup,Gold Cup and a much celebrated return to the podium by winning Gold in Athens. Heinrichs also led her team to the silver medal in the2000 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal in the2003 Women's World Cup.
Heinrichs' five years at the helm led to an 87–17–20 record. She resigned as coach on February 15, 2005, and became a consultant forU.S. Soccer.
She was named head coach for women's soccer at theUniversity of California, Irvine, on December 19, 2005, and later resigned to accept a position with theU.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
In January 2011, April Heinrichs was hired byUnited States Soccer Federation as Technical Director for women's soccer. The appointment, along withJill Ellis as development director, marks the first time U.S. Soccer had appointed full-time positions to oversee the women's youth national teams program. Besides focusing on technical directions of women's soccer, Heinrichs will oversee the under-20 and under-18 women's youth teams.[5]
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