WORLD CUP SOCCER Pursuit has Reddick in awe

The UNC star is the only amateur on the U.S. team.
CARSON, Calif. (AP) -- Catherine "Cat" Reddick was a star-struck teenager in the huge crowd at the Rose Bowl when the United States won the Women's World Cup four years ago.
Now she's the youngest member of the team as the Americans try to repeat in 2004.
The 21-year-old University of North Carolina star, the only amateur on the U.S. squad, still is awed she's joined the players she admires.
"I'm still pinching myself at times to wake up. Is this really happening or is it a dream? They're such amazing players and they make you that much better just because of the way they play," Reddick said. "They have the perfect touch, they have the perfect service.
"With that kind of skill and the speed of play, playing with them is something I could never have imagined. Sometimes I get so caught up watching them play that I forget I'm out there playing, too."
Respect
Reddick, who was 4 when she announced to her parents she intended to be a soccer player, appreciates what established stars Julie Foudy, Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Kristine Lilly have done for the game in the United States.
"Growing up, I never had anybody to look up to. But when I started figuring out that I loved soccer and I found out that these girls were around, I was like 'Wow, they're amazing.' So I've been looking up to them since I can't remember when," said Reddick, her face still flushed from a hot afternoon practice in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson.
"These women have done so much for the game. In 1999, I was 17 and a friend got me a ticket to the finals. The seats weren't the best, but it was an incredible experience. A lot of people certainly got caught up in the World Cup."
The United States beat China in a shootout in the championship match played before a crowd of 90,185 at the Rose Bowl and a national TV audience.
Tuneup tonight
The Americans, who face Costa Rica in a tuneup match tonight in Carson, open the World Cup tournament at RFK Stadium against Sweden on Sept. 21.
Reddick, a 5-foot-7, 150-pound senior defender at North Carolina, started all five games for the United States in the 2002 Women's Gold Cup.
"She's a great athlete, has good power, strength and speed," U.S. coach April Heinrichs said. "She has good size, so she's not easily run off the ball or run past, and she's rarely muscled off the ball because she's so strong.
"She's one of our top two or three players, and in terms of technical skills required in the back -- clearing, heading, service -- she's just tremendous. Usually what holds a young player back isn't her technical skills, it's usually the psychological. She's got the psychological package, as well. She's very composed, believes in herself, is not intimated, and she comes to play every day."
Reddick, from Birmingham, Ala., was a forward in high school until Bill Palladino, who was coaching her club team, persuaded her to move to the back. Palladino now is an assistant both at North Carolina and for the U.S. women.
Reddick seems well-suited to defense, a position where good plays usually are seen as routine and mistakes are greatly magnified if the other team scores.
"I like it when you're the last one on defense and if you make a mistake, everybody knows it and it's going to cost you. I like the pressure," Reddick said. "They [opposing teams] put all their fast players, their more skillful players up front.
"So if I mess up, I'm in trouble. My mom's like, 'Can't you go back up front?' "
Catherine has become "Cat" to her American teammates.
"By the time they say my whole name, 'Catherine,' I've gotten the ball stolen from me," she said, laughing. "I prefer when my family and my boyfriend and my roommate call me Catherine. I'm not an animal."