Coach kicked upstairs

U.Va. women's soccer coach April Heinrichs has become the first woman named as head coach of the U.S. women's national team.

A former star player and captain on the national team, Heinrichs, 35, served as an assistant coach on both the 1995 Women's World Cup Team and during the 1996 Olympics, when the U.S. won the first-ever gold medal for women's soccer.

Heinrichs will leave her job at U.Va., where she compiled a 52-24-10 record and four NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons. Prior to moving here, she was the head women's soccer coach at Maryland and holds a 116-70-18 overall college record. Heinrichs also coached the U.S. under-16 national team for the past three years.

Another former U.Va. coach, Bruce Arena, is the head coach of the U.S. men's soccer team.