This Is the Los Angeles Sol: Christie Shaner

Part 24 and the last part in a series of articles on the players that make up the 2009 Los Angeles Sol.


For some, the game of association football is not for the faint of heart.

Sure, one must be enthused, enchanted and enthralled with the fluid passing, spectacular saves, and wonderful scoring ability of those who devote their time playing the world game.

But there is a physical side to soccer. In their efforts to tackle, athletes may end up injuring players rather than dispossessing the ball.

Some try to turn the referees into unintelligent gulls without feathers, wings, or judgement by looking like they were impeded on, with limited success.

Of course, that's another story.

And as players leap in the air to try to win possession, the risk of injury while being pulled by gravity increases with altitude.

But the efforts of Christie Shaner, who was traded from Sky Blue FC for a 2010 WPS draft pick, will not have been in vain.

Though she only started one game on defense for the Los Angeles Sol and suffered a season-ending tibia/fibula fracture, it is outweighed by her legacy competing with the likes of Notre Dame and the FC Indiana Lionesses, as well as putting on the navy blue and gold stripe of the league leaders.

Shaner was born on September 7, 1984 in Ambler, Pennsylvania. A small town of 6,426, the Borough of Ambler is located 16 miles northwest of Philadelphia, the home of the Independence, who will begin play next season.

Ambler is located in Montgomery County, the 20th weathiest county in America and one of the Top 10 Best Places to Raise a Family, according to Forbes Magazine.

As a center for theater, Ambler is home to the Ambler Theater and Act II Playhouse.

The Ambler Theater was originally opened in 1928 as a Warner Brothers movie theater, but is now non-profit and community owned. Currently undergoing renovation to make it look exactly like it was when it opened more than eight decades ago, the Ambler Theater shows independent, art, and limited-distribution films.

The Act II Playhouse is a 130-seat professional theater that was founded a decade ago, in 1999. Its productions have been nominated for more than two dozen Barrymore Awards while winning three, as well as being named a "Best of Philly" Suburban Theatre Company by Philadelphia Magazine in 2002.

Not too far from Ambler is Valley Forge National Historic Park, where vistors can relive the harsh conditions of the Civil War and the American Revolution. Also located in Montgomery County is the King of Prussia Mall, the largest shopping center on the East Coast.

Shaner first made a splash as a member of the Germantown Academy Patriots girls soccer teams.

Germantown Academy, located in the Philadelphia district of Fort Washington, is a nonsectarian school that was established in 1759. It takes pride in being America's Oldest Nonsectarian Day School while sharing one of the oldest rivalries in prep football history with the Quakers of the Willian Penn Charter School.

The values, ethics and integrity that constitute the Upper School's Honor Code were not lost on Shaner, nor was the desire to come out a winner. She led the Patriots to four straight Inter-Academic League titles.

Shaner's honors as a prep player are numerous: a five-time All-League and All-County pick, a four-time All-Southern Pennsylvania pick and two-time All-City selection to go with an all-state selection in her senior season. Shaner was also named 2002's Southeast Pennsylvania player of the year.

As a youth club player, Shaner also shined. She helped lead F.C. Parkwood Challenge (now known as F.C. Bucks Challenge) to four state titles from 2000 through 2003.

As a member of the ODP Region I team from 1998 through 2003, Shaner played matches in England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Monaco, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. That's a lot of frequent flyer miles for you.

News of excitement coming out of Fort Washington reached South Bend almost immediately. Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Randy Waldrum got the message, and set his sights on Shaner, who signed with ND in 2003.

In her freshman season, Shaner teamed up with current St. Louis Athletica star Melissa Tancredi to form part of one of the most potent defenses in the Big East Conference. She earned second-team all-Big East and Big East Rookie of the Year honors to go with second-team Freshman All-American honors by Soccer Buzz.

That season, Notre Dame finished with a 0.49 goals against average to go with 15 shutouts and a streak of 10 games without conceding a goal.

In Shaner's sophomore year, Notre Dame would go on to win the 2004 National Championship. Once again, Shaner's role in helping ND finish the year with a 0.51 GAA and a 25-1-1 record would be recognized.

She was named to the All-Big East third team and CoSIDA Academic All-District V second team while coming close to making the Academic All-America ballot.

In 2005, Shaner earned NSCAA second team All-Mideast Region and All-Big East third team honors while helping the Irish finish the season with an 0.60 GAA.

That season, a couple of players in the LA Sol's Brittany Bock and St. Louis's Amanda Cinalli would become that catalysts for the Irish's dominance in the conference while progressing as far as the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament.

In Shaner's senior year, the Fighting Irish would progress to the College Cup final only to lose to Anson Dorrance's North Carolina Tar Heels 2-1.

Nonetheless, a season that saw current Athletica star Kerri Hanks take the spotlight as the winner of the M.A.C. Hermann Trophy also saw Shaner earn her honors as part of a defense that earned a 0.40 GAA.

Shaner earned CoSIDA second-team Academic All-District V honors to go with being named to the All-Big East third team.

While establishing her presence as a formidable central defender at Notre Dame, Shaner made an impact as a member of the F.C. Indiana Lionesses of the Women's Premier Soccer League. F.C. Indiana now compete in the W-League.

In 2005, F.C. Indiana won the WPLS championship as well as the USASA Women's Open Cup.

In 2007, Shaner would help the Lionesses earned another WPSL crown and in 2008, F.C. Indiana would earn another Women's Open Cup with her at the helm.

Sky Blue FC selected Shaner as the 25th pick in the 2009 WPS Draft. But with Martina Franko out on maternity leave, it was evident that the Los Angeles Sol needed to find someone to fill the defensive hole.

In later June 2009, Shaner was traded to LA for a third-round draft pick in the 2010 season.

She would not last one game with her new club.

As she made an effort to control a loose ball with the Washington Freedom's Abby Wambach, she suffered a mid-shaft tibia/fibula fracture.

The void would be filled by Sharolta Nonen, who was signed by the Sol soon after.

It was the most unfortunate of circumstances for Shaner, a proud defensive player who had the best days ahead of her before the tragedy that happened at the Maryland SoccerPlex.

But accidents do happen, and it was no accident that this setback does not take anything away from what she has accomplished in her career.

An anonymous person once said this: "The pride you gain is worth the pain." And for Christie Shaner, she can lift her head high to know that even though it was for a fleeting moment, the Sol's No. 15 made the City of Angels proud.