Catholic teen from New Jersey goes for soccer gold in Greece

Published: 2004-08-09

EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. (CNS) -- St. Bartholomew Parish in East Brunswick has much to be proud of -- one of its parishioners and a former altar server is competing in the Summer Olympics with the hope of bringing back the gold. Heather Ann O'Reilly, a graduate of St. Bartholomew School, is the youngest member of the 2004 U.S. women's Olympic soccer team. She and her teammates beat China 3-1 in their final exhibition game Aug. 1 in East Hartford, Conn., then headed for Athens, Greece. They were scheduled to play against Greece in their opening game Aug. 11 on the island of Crete. "I still have to pinch myself when I think about making the Olympics," the 19-year-old forward said. "I mean, it's the Olympics. You see them on television and you're in awe of it. Now it's me being part of it." "I don't think she's realized how much she's accomplished in just a short time," said her father, Andrew, an All-American middle-distance runner at Villanova University in the late 1960s and early '70s. He will follow every game along with wife Carol and their three other children, Michael, Steven and Kevin.

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