ERIE, Pa. — Briana Scurry is one of the first African-American professional female soccer players and has long been a pioneer of the sport.
Today, the Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion is pioneering a new cause: concussion awareness. A victim of a traumatic head injury herself, Scurry testified before Congress on traumatic brain injuries and concussions in sports.
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, Scurry will share her story — both as athlete and advocate — when she visits Penn State Behrend as part of the college’s Speaker Series. Her presentation, “On Success & Following Your Passion,” begins at 7:30 p.m. in the McGarvey Commons of the campus' Reed Union Building and is free and open to the public.
Throughout her career, Scurry made 173 appearances for the United States, starting 159 of those games, to amass a career record of 133-12-14. She is best remembered for a dramatic shootout against China in the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. During the shootout, which took place in front of 90,000-plus fans, Scurry lunged to her left to prevent the third shot attempt from coming into the net.
“My method of operation was never look at the kicker. But with the third kicker (Liu Ying), something told me this is the one. I looked at her, and I hadn’t looked before or any time since, I saw her shoulders down, head down and I knew this was it. I knew it. I had that sensation. I knew no matter where she was, I was going to save it,” Scurry said this past June when reflecting on the save in an interview with the Los Angeles Daily News.
Scurry recently was named to the U.S. Soccer All-Time Best XI National Team. She is featured as part of the National Museum of African American History & Culture’s Title IX exhibit.
Her appearance at Penn State Behrend is made possible by the Student Activity Fee, the Division of Student Affairs and the Harriet Behrend Ninow Memorial Lecture Series Fund. For additional information, contact the Office of Student Activities at 814-898-6171.