Carson Pickett became the first player with a limb difference to evolve with the American selection on Tuesday evening. The North Carolina Courage defenseman was born without part of her left arm.
The United States Women’s National Team friendly against Colombia on Tuesday was a historic game for Carson Pickett. The 28-year-old defender earned her first cap with the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) on Tuesday and became the first player with a limb difference to play with the team.
A successful first
Born without part of her left arm, Pickett was established by Andonovski against Colombia in a friendly match (2-0 victory for the USA). The 28-year-old defender may be new to Team USA, but she already has plenty of experience under her belt in the American League. The North Carolina Courage left-back made his 100th NWSL appearance this month and was named to the league’s Best XI for the month of June.
Pickett’s debut with the USWNT started well. She joined in the celebration after the team opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. The United States thus extended their unbeaten streak to 69 home matches. The match still had to be interrupted for more than 30 minutes, due to lightning that was reported near the Rio Tinto stadium in the 75th minute. It was the last friendly match for the American team before the start of qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“A dream come true”
At a press conference, the American coach congratulated the player on her debut, never mentioning her handicap, like the majority of the communication from the USA that evening, who preferred to highlight her 1st selection only: ” Carson did really well in training last week and with the management of the Emily Fox minutes we had we thought Carson would be a good replacement, and I’m glad she was able to perform for 90 minutes.” Carson Pickett briefly tweeted after the match: “A dream come true.”
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