"Our Lady of Mercy dedicates field to Abby Wambach"

democratandchronicle.com

Just before she concluded her speech at the dedication of the soccer field in her name at her alma mater, Abby Wambach turned and addressed the girls who attend Our Lady of Mercy High School that had lined up behind her at the podium.

"When you look at the scoreboard and you see my name I hope it gives you motivation to one-up me. I'm serious. I don't want to ever be somebody's shadow," the star forward and two-time gold medalist for the United States said on Friday evening.

"I want you girls to believe in yourselves. Think about the people around you. Know what motivates you. Find a passion, find something you love and blow every record that I've set out of the water. I truly believe that because that's how we … grow and evolve."

There will be tangible proof forever now on the campus of Mercy, the private Catholic school in Brighton where Wambach's star first began to sparkle and from which she graduated in 1998. The scoreboard will read "Abby Wambach '98 Field," and those words will be painted on the new turf field, too.

But the 34-year-old from Pittsford wants her legacy to be more important. She wants it to be about setting the bar higher for the next generation of women.

That's why she once said she hopes U.S. teammate Alex Morgan breaks all over her goal-scoring records one day. That would show, Wambach says, that women can keep reaching greater heights.

"For this honor, I am beyond moved," Wambach said...

"I want to thank Mercy and the Sisters of Mercy for always praying, especially late in some of those Olympic Games. We love you for that," Wambach said, opening her speech with a joke.

Wambach thanked many. From her parents, Judy and Peter, and six older siblings, including older sisters and role models Beth and Laura, to a few high school teammates who were at the ceremony and her former soccer and basketball coach, Kathy Boughton.