Kara Lang facts for kids
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Lang in 2009
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kara Elise Lang Romero | ||
| Date of birth | 22 October 1986 | ||
| Place of birth | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2003–2006 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 22 | (13) |
| 2009 | Pali Blues | 3 | (1) |
| 2010 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 8 | (1) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002 | Canada U-19 | ||
| 2002–2011 | Canada | 92 | (34) |
† Appearances (Goals). |
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Kara Elise Lang Romero (born October 22, 1986) is a former Canadian soccer player. She is also a sports analyst now. Kara played for Canada in two FIFA World Cups and the Olympic Games. She also played club soccer for Vancouver Whitecaps Women.
Kara made her debut for the Canadian National Team on March 1, 2002, at the Algarve Cup in Portugal. She was only 15 years old, making her the youngest woman to ever join Canada's National Team. Kara retired from soccer on January 5, 2011, when she was 24. This was because of ongoing knee and ACL injuries. An ACL is a key ligament in your knee.
She tried to make a comeback in 2013 to help Canada in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. However, she got another ACL injury in February 2014, which stopped her comeback. Kara now has two sons and a daughter with professional baseball player Ricky Romero. In November 2015, she was added to the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame as a player.
Contents
About Kara's Life
As of 2015, Kara Lang is married to former baseball player Ricky Romero. They have two sons and one daughter together.
Early Years
Kara Lang was born in Calgary, Alberta. She grew up in Oakville, Ontario. Her mother is originally from Manchester, England.
Food Choices
When Kara was a teenager, she decided to become a vegetarian. Later, she was inspired by her teammate Amy Walsh and became a vegan. This means she chose not to eat any animal products.
Kara's Soccer Career
Playing in College
Kara Lang was considered the top new player for college soccer in 2005. She chose to play for UCLA. Even as a first-year student, she was named a preseason All-American, which is a big honor. Her team, the UCLA Bruins, had a great record in the 2005–2006 season. They won the Pac-10 title because of their strong defense.
Kara started her college career very well. She scored three goals in her second game. In the 2005 NCAA tournament, she scored eight goals in six games. Her UCLA Bruins team played against the University of Portland in the NCAA final. Kara played against her international teammate, Christine Sinclair, in that game. Portland won the championship with a 4–0 score. Kara finished her first year at UCLA with 17 goals and six assists in 24 games.
In 2006, Kara had to take a break from playing. She tore an ACL during the off-season. This meant she had to sit out the entire 2006 season. She still had three more years she could play at UCLA after that.
When she returned in 2007, she played in 17 matches. She scored seven goals and made three assists. In 2008, she played in 24 matches, scoring five goals and helping with nine assists. She helped UCLA have an amazing season where they didn't lose any games in their conference.
Playing for Canada
Kara Lang is one of the youngest players to score a goal for her country's senior team. She scored against Wales at the Algarve Cup on March 3, 2002. She was only 15 years and 132 days old. Her first game for Canada's senior team was two days before that. It was a Canadian record for the youngest player to earn a "cap" (play a game) for the senior women's team.
At the 2002 FIFA U-19 World Championships, Kara was still only 15. She scored three goals in six games. She also scored a very important penalty kick goal in the semi-finals against Brazil. Canada made it to the final but lost to their rivals, the United States.
When she was 16, Kara played in all six of Canada's games at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003. She scored two goals in the World Cup. One was against Japan in the group stage, and the other was against Sweden in the semi-finals. Her amazing free-kick goal in the semi-finals gave Canada a 1–0 lead against Sweden. However, Canada lost that game 2–1 and finished in 4th place.
Kara was a key player in the 2004 CONCACAF U-19 Qualifying tournament. She played as a central defender, which is a defensive position. Canada won the tournament by beating the United States 2–1 in extra time.
In the 2006 CONCACAF U-20 Qualifying tournament, Kara set a record for the fastest goal ever. She scored just four seconds after the game started against Mexico on January 22, 2006. Kara also played in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2007 in China.
On August 6, 2008, Kara scored the winning goal for Canada in a 2–1 victory over Argentina at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Canada later lost in the quarter-finals to the United States.
Kara scored one goal when Canada beat Guyana 8–0 during the 2010 CONCACAF Women's World Cup qualifying tournament. She and her teammates went on to win the tournament. They beat Mexico 1–0 in the final on November 8, 2010. Sadly, this was her last soccer game. Recurring ACL and knee injuries forced her to retire.
She officially announced her retirement on January 5, 2011. She said, "I have gotten everything out of this sport, and I have given this sport all that I have." Her teammates said that Kara was one of the most "enthusiastic, hilarious, courteous and spontaneous people" they knew. They were proud to call her a teammate and a lifelong friend.
Working in Broadcasting
In 2011, Kara Lang started a new career in television. She became a sports analyst for Rogers Sportsnet, covering the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. She continued to work for Sportsnet after the World Cup.
In August 2012, Kara joined the team for a new show called Soccer Central on Sportsnet World in Canada. She left the show in early 2013 to try and make a comeback to the National team. In 2014, Kara joined the MLS on TSN broadcast team. She worked as a sideline reporter for the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC games. In 2015, she was also an analyst for TSN's coverage of the FIFA Women's World Cup.
Images for kids
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Kara Lang in 2009
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Kara Lang in the Canada-USA match at the 2003 World Cup
