SOLO RETURNS TO THE FIELD FOR U.S. SOCCER: GOALIE PRACTICES FOR FIRST TIME WITH WOMEN AFTER TIFF.

Byline: Billy Witz

Staff Writer

CARSON -- As Hope Solo trotted onto the practice field Saturday night to take her turn in goal during a drill, she asked Briana Scurry, who was coming to the sideline, to toss her the red bib she was wearing.

The handoff was considerably smoother than their last one.

That occurred in late September in China when United States coach Greg Ryan pulled Solo, who had played every minute of the World Cup, in favor of the Scurry, the veteran of the 1999 World Cup and 2004 Olympic winners, for their semifinal match against Brazil.

With Scurry looking rusty, and a miscommunication leading to an early own goal, the United States were routed by Brazil, 4-0.

Solo stewed on the bench during the match, her temperature seeming to rise with each goal. When she was stopped by a TV reporter in the mixed zone, she was ready to vent.

"It was the wrong decision and I think anybody that knows anything about the game knows that," Solo said. "There's no doubt in my mind I would have made those saves.

"And the fact of the matter is it's not 2004 anymore. ... It's 2007 and I think you have to live in the present and you can't live by big names. You can't live in the past. It doesn't matter what somebody did in an Olympic gold medal game in the Olympics three years ago. Now is what matters and that's what I think."

This was nothing that wasn't being suggested by TV commentators or written by reporters, but when Solo's interview jumped to the top of ESPN's play list, it became the story of the World Cup.

"Guess what -- everybody knows who Hope Solo is. Everybody knows who Briana Scurry is," quipped defender Kate Markgraf. "We got as (much attention) as the '99 team. It just happened to be for a different reason."

Ryan, who would later be fired, suspended Solo for the third-place game. She was barred from eating with the team and many of her teammates shunned her. Solo was also not allowed to fly home with the team.

When the team returned home to play a three-game exhibition series, Solo sat on the bench in street clothes -- no hope, all solo.

So, with newly hired coach Pia Sundhage getting her first look at the team during a five-day camp at Home Depot Center, it was with more than a little trepidation that Solo returned to the field Saturday night for the first time since China.

"To be honest, I was a little hesitant, a little nervous because of the unexpected," Solo said after the nearly two-hour practice. "But I swear to you, once you take the field all your problems go away."

Solo had been in contact with a few teammates over the past two months, but hadn't had much interaction with many others, having just arrived in Los Angeles about an hour before practice. She went about her business with Scurry and the other goalkeeper, Nicole Barnhart, with little chit-chat.

When she was asked what the hardest part of the ordeal, her shoulders sank.

"That's too hard of a question for me," she said. "There were lots of difficult moments for me personally. There's a lot of weight. ..." She sighed, then continued: "Inside of me with the fact that I hurt a teammate that I'm still trying to struggle through and reach out to those players. There's a lot of different issues going on inside of me but again I'm looking forward to 2008, and 2008 I guarantee will be a better year than 2007."

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Photo:

Goalie Hope Solo reaches for a shot during the U.S. women's soccer team's practice Saturday at Home Depot Center.

Steve McCrank/Staff Photographer