Angela Hucles scored four goals, second only to Brazil’s Cristiane in the 2008 women’s Olympic soccer tournament.

Since February is Black History Month, FrontRowSoccer.com will post one story a day about soccer players of color from the United States and the rest of the world. This multi-part series we will feature players from Jamaica, Cuba, Haiti, U.S. Virgin Islands, Ghana, Bermuda, Brazil, Trinidad & Tobago, Senegal and the United States. Today, we feature  former U.S. women’s national team forward Angela Hucles, who starred for the Americans as they captured the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This story originally was posted at BigAppleSoccer.com Aug. 18, 2008.

By Michael Lewis

BEIJING, China — After trading Angela Hucles from the Boston Breakers five years ago, U.S. women’s national coach Pia Sundhage admitted she didn’t have the heart to cut the forward from the national team.

It turned out to be the best move Sundhage never made. Today, Hucles finds herself as one of the key U.S. players as the Americans head for their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal match. They have Hucles to thanks for that as she connected twice in a 4-2 victory over Japan Monday night and set up a confrontation with Brazil Thursday.

Both teams will have revenge on their minds. The U.S. defeated Brazil in extratime in Athens, Greece four years ago to secure its second goal medal in three tries. The Americans were embarrassed by the Brazilians in the semifinals of last year’s Women’s World Cup, 4-0, the worst defeat in team history.

“We’re getting better every single game and we have some great momentum,” Hucles said. “We expect a tough match, but we’re looking for gold.”

Hucles knows something about second chances. Playing with the Breakers, she was dealt to the San Jose Cyber Rays in the old Women’s United Soccer Association for national teammate Aly Wagner. She didn’t take it personally.

“It’s business,” Hucles said.

She has emerged as one of the more unlikely heroes of an American team that desperately needs a star, a personality and a scoring threat, especially after Abby Wambach, who filled those three roles, broke her left leg last month. Entering the Olympics Hucles had woefully underachieved internationally, having scored but eight times in 88 appearances. She has found the back of the net four times in five matches and is second only to Brazil’s Cristiane (five goals) among scorers.

“Angela Hucles has been important when Abby Wambach broke her leg,” Sundhage said. “She is the one player who has helped the team a lot.”

Sundhage called Hucles “average” when she performed with Boston.

“She had all the tools,” Sundhage said, laughing that she had traded the 30-year-old midfielder-forward. “She was just hanging around the midfield. she was so predictable.”

When she held her first National Team practice after replacing Greg Ryan as coach last December, Sundhage felt Hucles still needed a lot of work.

“She still was a little bit uncertain,” she said. “I said, ‘You have a chance to improve if you change things. You have a choice.’ ”

Instead of moping that she was “stuck” with Sundhage again (“I was very excited”), Hucles listened to her coach.

“She’s a professional,” Hucles said. “I knew she would treat me fairly.”

Sundhage did.

“Something happened,” Sundhage said. “She decided to get fit and change her speed.”

Now, the whole world is watching Hucles continue her transformation.

After being held scoreless in the first two games, Hucles connected in the 4-1 victory over New Zealand and in the 2-1 quarterfinal win over Canada Friday.

She continued her torrid pace with two more goals Monday night.

After Japan grabbed 1-0 lead on Ohno Shinobu’s 17th-minute goal, Hucles woke up a sleeping U.S. side, slotting home a Heather O’Reilly right-wing cross in the 41st minute.

“Our intention wasn’t to get a goal scored on us,” Hucles said. “I think it showed the strength of the team that we didn’t put our heads down. We continued playing and tried to raise the level.”

Three minutes later, Lori Chalupny gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead it never relinquished with a 17-yard bullet off a right-wing cross by Heather O’Reilly.

O’Reilly added a 22-yard chip shot in the 71st minute.

“All I was trying to do is get it far post and good things would happen,” she said. “I can’t claim to say I saw her off the line and chipped her, but like I said you try to get the ball across the frame of the goal and stir some trouble.”

Hucles put an exclamation point on the match with an intended right-wing cross that hooked into the net in the 81st minute before Eriko Arakawa scored with seconds remaining in stoppage time.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.