2007 December 1 - W-League era photo galleries are available here (2005 season), here (2006 season), and here (2007 season). However, Carrie only played in 2005 since she became pregnant before the beginning of the 2006 season (see below).

2007 December 1 - Carrie Moore O'Keeffe update

Belated congratulations go to Carrie for giving birth on June 13, 2006, to a daughter, Caroline Spotswood O'Keeffe.

And slightly less belated congratulations go for being named head coach of the Hollins University women's soccer team. During their first season under her direction, they compiled a 3-13-1 record and finished 10th in their conference. While this doesn't sound impressive, it was still an improvement over the previous year, when they finished tied for last. Additionally, the team is young (losing only one player to graduation) and should therefore do even better next year.

News coverage of the hiring indicated that Carrie was looking forward to rejoining the Washington Freedom once it became a professional team again, though at the time she expected that to be 2008 rather than the currently expected 2009. Prior to becoming pregnant, she was one of the WUSA-era holdovers on the team, serving as captain of the Freedom Reserves in 2004 and 2005.

2003 December 24 - Carrie Moore got married!

Carrie looking lovely in her wedding dress (apologies for the quality of the scan - I tried!)

On December 6, Carrie married longtime boyfriend James "Jay" O'Keeffe at St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke, VA. Jay works for a Washington, DC, law firm, and the couple will be living there. The wedding announcement makes no mention of any of Carrie's fellow Freedom players.

Jen Grubb (Washington Freedom captain): “Carrie is my choice for [team] MVP.”

Siri Mullinix (Washington Freedom and national team goalkeeper): “Carrie Moore has been a tremendous player.... This season she's given us everything she has. We've put her on every top player on every team, and she's shut them down.”

Jim Gabarra (Washington Freedom head coach): “She's probably our most intelligent defender in terms of making the right decision and being at the right place at the right time. She never really makes a bad decision and that is really fun to watch.”

Anson Dorrance (PAX commentator, University of North Carolina head coach, former National Team coach): “The great story [of the Freedom's 2002 season], actually, was Moore marking the other team's best striker in each game and taking them out. She stayed with them and fought herself into a very successful season.”

Merrill Ring (CyberSoccerNews): “Carrie Moore [has developed] into a suffocating man marker.”

Lori Walker (Comcast SportsNet): “Carrie Moore right now is my leading candidate for defensive player of the year.”

Jennifer Thomas "J.T." (Fox SportsNet/CyberRays local broadcast color commentator): “Moore is an awesome one-v-one defender. I love watching that girl play.”

Dave Johnson (Comcast SportsNet): “Carrie Moore has been a big reason for the success of the Freedom on defense this season.”

Brian Straus (The Washington Post): “ Moore ... has emerged as a top marking back.”

Ken Wright (The Washington Times): “ Central defender Carrie Moore has played a pivotal role in man-marking opponents' high-powered goal scorers.”

Jim Gabarra (again): “Carrie really set the standard last year for what a one vs. one defender can be in this league..”

Well, first and foremost, she's from my hometown. I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the Freedom had a player from Roanoke, Virginia, and who in fact went to the same high school I did. I was astonished when I finally got to chat with her (at the 2001 "Meet the Team" event) and found that we also went to the same junior high school and elementary school, and in fact that she grew up about six blocks from where I did (and from where my parents still live). So that was pretty cool.

Too, I have a lot of respect for Carrie because through hard work and perseverance she's really moved up in the Freedom roster. She started the 2001 season as a benchwarmer, then came in on July 15 (about halfway through the season) as an emergency substitution for Emmy Barr, who had taken an injury to her forehead. She went on to play in every game for the rest of the season, two of them complete games. One of these was the final game of the season, where she gave her all on a hot, muggy August day, briefly collapsed on the field, and was honored as the Freedom's player of the game.

And in 2002, she started in the season opener, went on to earn a regular starter's role, became one of the stalwarts of the increasingly formidable Freedom defense and has emerged as a standout defender who has received praise even from opposing coaches, drawn votes for WUSA Player of the Week, and earned a spot in the WUSA All-Star Game. Way to go!

Newspaper articles

• The Washington Times, July 14, 2002: Moore Makes Marking an Art
• The Washington Post, July 23, 2002: Changes in Back Have Freedom Moving to Fore

From the Freedom website

• April 26, 2002: Freedom Benefit From Moore's Smart Defense
• August 18, 2002: Moore Thrives in the Shadows
• January 23, 2003: Moore's Focused and Having Fun

Official player profiles

• From the WUSA website
• From the Washington Freedom website

Other good links

• Interview with the Roanoke Valley Youth Soccer Club (with photos)