WOW!! Talk about de ja vu!! Isn't this the third time you have started this thread Heeligan2? Well at least I can post again some of what I had originally posted over on the wusa.com boards: Last Tuesday was the 22nd birthday of the Courage's back-up goalkeeper Emily Oleksiuk. Emily was a four year starter at Penn State University and was the 17th player selected in the 2002 Global Draft. I'm not sure if most Courage fans know this, but Emily has made two appearances with the USWNT and even started against Bente Nordby when the U.S. played against Norway in last year's Algarve Cup. Oleksiuk was also on the U-21 squad that won the 2001 Nordic Cup last summer that ironically enough (at least for me ) was played within about 30 miles of Bente's hometown of Raufoss, Norway. It must have been difficult for Emily to sit on the bench as Kristin Luckenbill's back-up this season especially since during her career at Penn State, Oleksiuk set the all-time NCAA record for the most minutes played. However, during this year's championship season it was great to know that the Courage had such a talented goalkeeper like Emily Oleksiuk who would be available to come in just in case anything ever happened to "Lucks." I hope that Emily has been having a great off-season and that she had a wonderful birthday. I look forward to seeing her in a Courage uniform again next season.